Tracey In Casey - Antarctica: August 2006

I sit at here and have breakfast with this magnificent view every day. How lucky am I?

Sitting on a rocky outcrop enjoying the sun and the view.

"Reeve's" Hill memorial. Reeve died down near Browning of Hypothermia

Walking through the quarry on my way to Reeves today

There will be a second panel 1.2 metres long to accompany this one

Completed Lead Light Panel

In full flight chasing birdies

Maxy the dog spots a birdy

"Off with her head"

Peasants, Viking Warriors and even a Nun turned out for our Viking theme night.

Our poor little plants are destroyed

The pile of ash on the left of the picture was once a Vacume cleaner!

The intensity of the fire melted everything near it

Waz and Joe head in to extinguish the fire in the hydroponics container

August 14 - 20

Hey Everybody
Well, it has been another big week work wise.
An impending Traverse to Law Dome and Law Dome East to repair two AWS (Automatic Weather Stations) next week has seen Andrew and I pretty well flat chat getting radios up and running, fixing antennas on the Travers van roof and generally getting all Comms equipment ready to go.
Add to that the usual jobs we have plus all the IT support, which there has been a lot of this week for some reason and it all adds up to another busy week.
I am off next week on the traverse myself and will be gone for over a week, so you wont hear from me next Sunday.

Now: - I was going to tell you about our Hydroponics Fire last week wasn’t I?
So here goes.
I was in the kitchen on slushy when one of the boys came in and told me he thought the Hydro container was on fire. So out I went to investigate and sure enough, huge plumes of dirty black smoke were pouring out of the roof of the container. I was fire chief that day, as Murphy’s Law dictates. I sounded the fire alarm and organised the fire team. Investigations after the fire revealed a pile of ashes and a melted motor that had once been a Karcher wet/dry vacuum cleaner were the cause of this disaster.
So our poor little hydro plants have all been destroyed and now we are left with nothing fresh at all to eat. I was really saddened by this fire. I have spent many hours in there amongst the greenery having chats to the plants. It was a peaceful place to visit and escape for a while. Unfortunately it is no more. It will be cleaned up and we shall see if it can be started up again, but I doubt we will see more greenery this season.

This weekend I have spent every minute I could, once the Saturday working day was over, down in the chippies workshop making the frame for my Lead Light Mirror. Myrtle is a beautiful wood and I have sanded until it is as smooth as marble. LOTS of sanding! The pink wood grain is just gorgeous. Earlier in the week I finished the first of my Lead Light panels. That took a few evenings of work to complete and I am really pleased with the result.

On Friday night we watched the movie “Highlander” which John, one of our Diesos, is actually in. On Saturday night we had a “Vikings” night. A spit roast and dress ups as Vikings and peasants was a lot of fun.

At last today we have SUNSHINE!!!! Yay!!!!
It has been a long time in coming I have to say. Until today the weather has been just crap for what seems like forever and I have been confined to station. Cabin fever was well and truly setting in for me. But it isn’t only me, a lot of the boys are frustrated and temperamental and everyone is getting on everyone else’s nerves lately. I guess it is just part of living in a small, confined community for such an extended period of time. It will be nice when the Big Orange Taxi arrives to bring me home, though it is still a long while off yet. I do love Casey and I love being here. I am still looking forward to watching the wildlife return in abundance. I can’t wait for the seals to start pupping and the sun to stay out 24/7 in a sky that is a magnificent blue like today, rather than the dead, cold, colourless gray it is has been for many weeks now. I have been isolated down here for a long time now so it is only natural that I become home sick. I miss my life and my house and garden and my mates, but mostly I miss my big boofhead dog Maxy. He is a legend and I long to be able to rise early in the morning and take him for a run along the beach, with the sun peeking over the horizon and gorgeous colours streaking the sky as the night ends. I miss the sound and sight of the waves breaking on the shore. I miss walking barefoot in the sand. I miss going to the pub with my mates or sitting at the Merewether SLSC sipping coffee and chatting to my girlfriend about all sorts of frivolous girly nothingness. I definitely miss perving on all those very sexy, bronzed Aussie surfers while sipping coffee and chatting at the surf club!
All too soon this adventure will be over and I will be back at home and life will have returned to the old version of normal. Then I know I will miss Antarctica: sitting 6 feet away from a Weddell seal down by the wharf; watching the view and the bergs from the Mess window every morning at breakfast and everything else that goes with being in this magical place. It will stay with me forever, as my memories of home have stayed with me while I have been down here.
Swings and round abouts really I guess.
Today I was able to get out on my own and walk for a few hours in the sun. It was just lovely. I took my camera and tripod over to Reeves Hill and beyond and took heaps of photos. As I sat on a snow covered rocky outcrop looking out over all the Bergs shining in the sun I thought of home. I also thought of Casey and was glad I was here.
Swings and round abouts - ….

Toodles till next week.
Trace :o]