McMellow

Current Conditions
Temperature: -9F
Wind Chill: -37F

Well, things are definitely changing at McMurdo now that autumn is here. It's hard to consider it autumn, because it's like none I've ever known. But it's not winter yet, and it's certainly not summer anymore, either. The open water that I used to see every day from Arrival Heights is quickly freezing over again. The temperature has been staying consistently below zero. Little Reds are being replaced by Big Reds. Rambunctious parties are being outnumbered by quiet movie nights. I actually have time to read before bed.

The changes bring on an interesting blend of emotions: excitement and boredom, intimacy and loneliness, comfort and longing, introspection and extroversion. I think it's safe to say that spending the winter here will change me. But don't worry, I'm sure it'll only make me crazier!

The days are quickly becoming short. Today, sunrise is at 9:15AM and sunset is at 6:45PM. The time in between consists of evening light and long shadows. I haven't been terribly good at photographing the sunsets, but a lot of them have been cloudy. Katie, Rachel and I went up to Arrival Heights to see one a couple weeks ago that yielded these:

Who says Antarctica is all white?

My favorite mountain again:

I also like this one of Rachel gazing at the sunset out over the sea ice. It has a lonely feel about it:


On a lighter note, I spent a good part of this week working on making my music available to the world (yikes!). After searching unsuccessfully for a good place to post it, I finally gave in and built a website:

www.surlyjam.com

I've put up audio and video that should be pretty easily downloaded. If you have any trouble, let me know. Those of you still on the ice will find the audio files blocked by the firewall. If you want them, I'm sure you can find me!