Humidity hung heavy in the air this morning as I walked to work. There were a few snow grains dotting the ground and the ominous threat of heavy snow could be felt in my bones. We are in for a couple of days of heavy summer snow which means no flying but a couple of restful days. The end of the season is rapidly drawing near and people are talking more and more about their plans when they leave the ice. It’s a different time here now.

After dinner last night as I was turning in my dishes to be washed by someone else(as they always are and the dishwasher told me that penguins had been spotted near town. Lots of the new folks haven’t seen one up close and personal so I went back into the dining hall to announce the news. For some unknown reason they all seemed to be excited and wanted to head out immediately to view them. I on the other hand hastened back to my room to brush my teeth and fetch big red because the wind was blowing and I knew once they saw those little critters a long photo session would ensue. Unfortunately the news turned out to be inaccurate or wishful thinking so no pictures were taken and we ended up at the coffee house for some evening card playing.

Earlier in the day, though, we did take a hike to the Skua nest to check on the chick. When we arrived the little fellow was huddled up against a rock with no parent in sight. Well, dad was a few meters away taking his morning bath. My friends were able to get some up close and personal pictures of the little guy before mom and dad came swooping in to protect their offspring. The baby hasn’t grown much this week but seems to be quit healthy. On the return walk we looked out in the Sound and there in her full glory was the Swedish icebreaker Oden chugging back and forth opening the shipping channel. She looks like a tugboat on steroids (although I don’t think she has had to appear before any Senate committees). Within a few days we should have our first ship in port. The whales should be close behind as should more penguins.

If you were with me last year you read about a professional hitchhiker named Ben. He has hitched in 49 of 50 states (Alaska is the odd man out), to many countries to count and logged around 70,000 miles. He also has a sponsor and writes for a hitching web site. Last night we viewed a movie about him that was shot two summers ago by two movie making students. The movie chronicled his journey that summer across the United States. Have I said before how amazed I am by the people who are here and the lives they lead. I know I couldn’t do it but it’s really fun to live vicariously through them.

After dinner tonight several of us went down to Hut Point to check on the Skua nest. We were not disappointed. The viable egg has hatched and the little feather ball was out for a little walk about. It’s about the size of a tennis ball and is really cute when it decides to stretch its stubby little wings when it walks. We even got a chance to watch mom vomit up so nasty looking stuff for the chick to eat which it did with great vigor. (I know it looked as nasty as it sounds) The whole event lasted about fifteen minutes and culminated with the little guy tucking himself back under mom’s warm feathers for a little nap. We noticed that not far away someone had set up a camera and was taking stop action pictures of the nest. A solar collector was set up nearby to power the camera. The best thing was it was another spectacular day in Antarctica.

After the nest visit I headed over to the galley to listen to a friends travel log on a 13 month trip to Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. Thirteen months…don’t these people have a life? The stories, as always, were terrific and the pictures even more spectacular.

I’m always kidding around here as you probably know. I’ve included a picture of my best friend here on the ice, Jerry. I’ve also included a picture of the guy who really took me to the “South Pole” on his snow mobile. He couldn’t get the sleigh and eight tiny reindeer down here due to shipping costs. Apparently the pixie dust that allows them to fly doesn’t work south of the equator. It was a long trip but lots of fun.