Emperor
First of all I want to congratulate my brother Asa and his girlfriend Erin on the birth of their daughter Abigail. Best of luck to all three of them. We look forward to seeing our new niece this spring when we are back in the states.
The big news in town yesterday was the Emperor
out at the runway. He stood pretty much in the same spot for at least 5 hrs. The news of his presence spread quickly through town and people were soon flocking to see this regal bird. The shuttles were full most of the afternoon bringing people out to see the single penguin that seemed neither bothered nor moved by the presence of the paparazzi-like spectators. Our generally slow Saturday afternoon ranks at the runway dining facility were swollen by the presence of penguin tourists.
The storm has past and the sun has been back out turning town into a veritable mud pit. The streets are flowing with little rivulets and the transition onto the sea ice is getting worse by the day. I heard a rumor that the annual runway-move over onto the ice shelf is scheduled to happen the day after Christmas. Everyone is still positive about the sea ice clearing out allowing the yearly visit of the vessel to happen for the first time in 3 years. There is still ample snow around town and the GA?s have been hard at work all week shoveling out buildings, vehicles, storage tanks, and everything else that go buried by the storm. There have even been eruptions of snowball fights (often associated with sledding) which I am sure Justin Huston will be glad to hear. For the official report on the storm and it?s aftermath have a look at this week?s Antarctic Sun; our weekly Sunday paper.
Luke