Happy New Year...

It's hard to believe that 2011 has already come & gone. For me, it was a year of reaching life goals, pursuing photography, getting back to some writing and making new friends. It was also a year of family tragedy, overseas travel with friends & alone and an unexpected but happy return to Antarctica.  I couldn't have asked for more from 2011 and I said goodbye to her with the wave of a glass and a good stomp to live music at the South Pole. 

2012 is just breaching the horizon and I feel good about it. I hope to put a direction back in my life, that peaceful resolutions can be found for my family and that I can continue to find time for creative pursuits. I never keep resolutions, so I won't make any here this year, but I do hope to achieve much in the way of life dreams in the coming year. And I hope the same for you...

Overland Traverse to South Pole

A couple of days ago the second overland traverse from McMurdo Station, on the Ross Ice Shelf, to South Pole Station, in the center of the continent, arrived bringing us 83,000 gallons of fuel. They came with 8 of these huge tractors and made the trip in 29 days.

The Sad End

It's nearly time to pull everything from the greenhouse and I couldn't resist trying one more time to capture the delightful colors, shapes & smells that are still to be found there...

 

Hibiscus in a Bucket

We're getting ready to tear all of the plants out of the greenhouse in order to sterilize everything and start the food growing for the winter-over crew. The first thing to go was this huge hibiscus which is now sitting in a bucket in the hallway. I can't bear the thought of them all being thrown away....

South Pole Station

It was a beautiful night last night to go for a walk with -25F temps and very little wind. A perfect night for taking photos and skiing. The beautiful light here never ceases to amaze me and while there is a bit of junk around the station, I do love that most of it is so colorful. And never a place without a sense of humor, we now have our own 'Spool Henge'.

South Pole Greenhouse- Part Deux

We're getting ready to tear everything out of the greenhouse soon so that all the trays can be cleaned and maintenance performed on the system. I'm not terribly happy about this because it's my favorite place on station and it's nice to have a mini wonderland of greenery to step into at the end of the day but it seems necessary. 

Until then, I'm trying to capture the heart of it with my camera as it will be many weeks before it will regain its lushness.