Penguin!

I saw my first penguin in Antarctica! They say that the penguins arrive after the icebreaker comes in. The icebreaker arrived Sunday. The penguin was here Monday. It's a little adelie penguin. I watched it for about an hour an a half. First it was asleep in a ball like a little black cat. Then it stood up, stretched a wing. Later it raised both wings. Later yet it crowed like a crow. Still later it took a few steps, got into the water for a short swim, got out, and stood some more.

Below is the penguin with the icebreaker that arrived from Sweden.

How Cold Is It?

Just how cold is it in Antarctica? Not very right now--January. Temps are in the high 30's F just about every day. And with the sun up all the time, it feels very nice. Above is Pat fixing some field camp equipment. Kind of looks like a palm tree, doesn't it?

Above is Matt, our dorm's janitor, in shorts and a parka. Notice that he's standing on dirt--not ice and snow. McMurdo station has been more dust than ice for a couple months now. In the background is the frozen sea ice and mountains.

At the New Year's music festival, there was some warm weather dressing. Note the Hawaiian shirt.

Also at the music festival were sandals and shorts.

Just had to include this music festival guy.

Here are two of the guys that Carol works with--Tom the plumbing foreman and Don the boiler mechanic. The wind came up at the music festival, so even though the temp wasn't so cold, the wind was!