How we almost missed the best Aurora Night...

It snowned all day and we received almost two feet of snow yesterday. And the forecast was dismal, calling for more snow all through the evening and the entire night. Needless to say, my wife Cathy and I were totally bummed out - everyone was talking about the chance for incredible Northern Lights and we were completely clouded in. But, as so often as a Nature Photographer, it almost always pays to stick to the mantra "Never give up!" I went outside at around 9:30 pm to check on the conditions and sure enough I saw plenty of clouds. But I also noticed an opening in the layer of clouds towards the North (!) with a few stars twinkling! After my eyes adjusted to the darkness I also became aware of the purple-pinkish hue around me. The Aurora!
I quickly mounted the camera on the tripod and fired away, even including our house - situated at an elevation of about 9,000 feet and pretty much snowed in - because I felt that having house and snow in the photo really tells the story of how we nearly missed the potentially most amazing night for Northern Lights in our area...

Nikon D850, Manfrotto Tripod, Rokinon 14mm/2.8

Minor adjustments in LIGHTROOM