Saturday, November 24, 2007

Life amidst desolation

Antarctica is, as you might imagine, a rather barren place. So when one does encounter non-human lifeforms, it's very exciting!

The first wildlife has descended upon us in the form of the South Polar Skua. The pics below show both the skua itself and the reason they like to hang about the station. In the wild this nasty bird survives by stealing food, eggs, and chicks from other birds. On station it's equally vicious, and has been known to steal sandwiches right out of peoples mouths.



In a similar vein, I finally discovered the station's greenhouse. This little oasis is wonderfully humid, +86F, filled with greenery, and contains two of my most favoritest smells: fresh basil and tomato plant leaves. Bringing soil to the ice is not permitted, so the greenhouse is completely hydroponic. And no need for pest control!

Tight quarters amongst the tomatoes:

"Lay me down in a bed of lettuce" (A Wheel of Fortune "Before and After" clue?)


Another odd self-portrait:


Stop and smell the roses for me,
pepe

2 comments:

fultonstudent said...

What a beautiful oasis.

Barb said...

Seems like you're longing for green. Brown seems to be the predominent color here right now. Snow has melted. Liked the self-portrait.