Jan 1, 2009

I had a worrying feeling recently that I would never really be able to
tell people what it is like here, what it really means to be here. I
think I could describe the scene just fine, to tell what it looks and
sounds and smells like to be surrounded by tens of thousands of
penguins, with snow drifting lazily sideways and 100 shades of gray in
the clouds and ocean. I could tell about the quick chill of a
snowflake landing on my face then evaporating away in a moment. I
could tell of the booming of calls across the colony, sometimes
sounding like a flock of geese feeding in a field, and at others like
nothing I’ve heard before. I could tell of the joy of watching penguin
chicks hatch and grow fast on full bellies of krill, and of the
gruesome spectacle when they are plucked from the nest and eaten
alive.
But I worry that I won't be able to tell about my feelings, what it
means to me to be here, and what it’s really LIKE to be here. I feel
so many emotions thru the course of the day. Pure joy to deep
loneliness. Curiosity, wonder, boredom. Excitement, exhaustion,
stress. Mix these together and simmer at freezing for 6 weeks. Serve
in a coffee-stained mug with dark chocolate to get a sense of what
it’s like to live here. Then in a few weeks you’ll get to see my
pictures and get a bit better feeling.
We’ve had a busy few days to start the New Year. Mark and Jeff, the
BBC crew, returned on the 31st and brought with them several packages
from home. With all the new camera gear, cardboard shreds and candy
wrappers flying around, not to mention 7 people trying to get
comfortable in a space not much bigger than a nice-sized bathroom, the
hut had a busy, festive look. At the strike of mid-night (actually 2
minutes late because we got distracted) we hoisted rum or whiskey and
wished each other happy new year. Mark almost sang a song then decided
better of it.
The next day promised to be exciting, as we were to begin measuring
chick condition. It was sunny, calm and warm as we began
systematically moving through the colony snatching chicks briefly from
their nests for measurements. With four people we had an efficient
production line; one would pick a random nest and get the chicks while
dodging beaks and flippers then bring the one or two chicks out to the
others. Then one of us would measure the wings, one would weigh, and
one would record data. After just a minute or two the chicks were back
in their nest under confused parents (no skua has ever brought chicks
back!!). It took us an hour and a half to do the required 50 chicks,
and all went relatively smoothly considering only one of us had ever
done this before.
Later in the day, as I was waiting for the weighbridge data to
download, I spotted a leopard seal snoozing on a floating platform of
ice, with around 100 Adelies standing right next to it! The penguins
seemed rather casual, and even seemed at times to be daring each other
to get closer. The seal must have already eaten, since it hardly
appeared to notice all the gawkers just a few feet away.
Smelling dinner 50 feet away from the hut was welcome after 10 hours
in the field. We had chicken sautéed in coconut milk and canned
tomatoes, with blueberry cream pie brought by Mark and Jeff from the
McMurdo galley for desert. Another hour or so of data entry, then
sorting through the day’s few hundred pictures, then it’s time to go
to bed.