Days Gone By

The Gould has gone with almost all summer folks. It is a sad turn of events, though brings our station population down to 26. I have my own room for the time being and lines at the dish washing station are manageable. Indeed, it is the good life. This coming weekend is a two day weekend for us. This comes at a much needed time, before the Gould returns for a 21 day stay. They will be in and out of port, fishing and running experiments along the peninsula.

The divers have begun diving at night, which keeps the late hours interesting. It is surreal to see them motoring around our inlet in the darkness, flashing their lights, in competition with stars and moon. Both of which have been in full form these past few nights.

On Earth Day, the divers along with 6 or 7 volunteers, retrieved 300 lbs of trash from the sea floor around station. I was out on a Boating II class, and unable to help out, but it was a pretty cool event, in honor of a great day. Also, thanks to an unexpected arrival of the sun we were all given 2 hours "safety break" to go boating. Our first wave took off to Hermit Island for some hiking and cruising around Cormorant Island and the glacier. We saw a variety of seals and birds. Cormorants, penguins, Giant Petrels. On the second wave, a group of us went to Humble Island where Station Manager Brett and Doctor Will allowed us (permit holders) to watch them weigh Giant Petrel chicks. They weren't quite as small and cuddly as you might imagine but they are prehistoric looking animals. The chicks weighed in over 12 lbs with wing spans of 5 ft and more. Oddly enough, as the birders approach the birds to pick them up and shove them in a bag, they don't struggle much at all. The parents as well, flutter away, leaving their chick to deal with the molestation on it's own terms. Thankfully the birders are careful, trained and respectful and no harm is done to the animal. Indeed the measurements gleaned are used to protect the species. After Humble Island we cruised around Loudwater Cove to enjoy the sights and sounds of the glacier. Carla, our IT guru and OSAR member expertly navigated us around rock and ice and we were home in time for dinner. I'll get some photos of this up soon.