A BIT OF HOME
We now have an imitation gum tree inside "Gadget Hut." We brought
it with us from Australia to break open after mid- winter. It's a
synthetic branch with green leaves and twigs on it. It reminds us
of home and the little bit of green give us a hint each day that
spring is on the way.
THE RAGING AURORA
On Saturday night Margie and I discussed our twelfth wedding
anniversary. We decided that on 2 July 1996 we will have a big
celebration but this year we'd let the date pass without any sort
of super celebration.Well, did we get a surprise that evening! We
noticed a funny type of interference on the radio and then noticed
the green glow coming through the window. We went outside and
discovered we were having an amazing auroral storm. It was raging
directly above us. The whole sky was covered with the aurora. We
couldn't see any stars at all. Strong and spectacular explosions
lit the sky. We felt so close to them that it seemed as if we could
reach up and touch them.The aurora was very intense and it lasted
for two hours and then just disappeared.
THE RADIO INTERFERENCE
On night this week the radio did stop working. We couldn't listen
to music and new. It really worried us so we checked absolutely
everything. It appeared to be an aerial problem so I checked all
the connections. I went over everything with a fine toothed comb
and just as we were about to give up, I realised that sometime in
the previous week I had knocked a small knob on the front of the
radio. It's called a 'squelch control' knob which is used during
radio transmission and reception of messages. This was the cause of
our radio problem. I simply turned the knob and the radio crackled
back to life. Margie and I laughed for about an hour at how silly
we had been. The radio is now working.
MAKING ENERGY
We had a little bit of sun one day and our Solarex solar panels
were putting half an amp into our batteries which is the first time
in months. Hopefully in about eight weeks, we will not need the
generator any more. It's been to windy for the wind generators so
se keep them as our emergency back up system for power
generation.We feel quite up lifted by the pleasant behaviour of the
generator this week. It started the first time we pulled the cord!
We think we may be understanding the idiosyncrasies of generator's
behaviour in the cold. It is usually quite a struggle but this time
after pouring hot oil into the head and warming the sump with the
blow torch, it started. Our Dryfit batteries are still coping very
well.
SWIMMING IN MID-WINTER
We spoke with Scotty at New Zealand's Scott Base again this week.
Some New Zealand personnel are flying out in mid- August. Margie
would like to walk to Scott Base which is almost 1000 kilometres
away to catch the plane out. Scotty said he would wait! (Don't
worry, neither Margie nor Scotty are serious.)Scotty told us that
all the personnel at Scott Base went for a Mid-Winter swim. The
water temperature was minus 2 degrees Celsius and the air
temperature was minus 30 degrees!Not wanting to be outdone by a
Kiwi, I am trying to work out how to get into and out of the water
safely. As soon as the wind stops, I'll try a quick swim. Margie is
going to wait until summer.
MARGIE IS SAFE BUT SINGED
We had a small incident this week when Margie was making roast
pork. The oven was on and Margie decided to make rice pudding. We
have to prime the burner of our pressure kerosene stove so the
burner is hot enough to vaporise the kerosene when we attempt to
light the burner. We do this by putting methylated spirits on the
burner and lighting it. Since the oven was already quite hot when
Margie put the metho on the burner it flashed into flames about one
metre high. Margie's eyelashes and eyebrows were singed by the
flash flame. Luckily it didn't burn her face.
WATER IN WINTER
The biggest problem this week: I couldn't have my bath. We're
trapped inside with not enough water for two people to bathe.
Margie took the water and she smells really sweet.Getting water is
tough. The winds keep getting stronger and stronger. Right now it
is blowing from 70 to 100 knots. It has been blowing that hard
continuously for the past five days. I had to go out yesterday in
80 knots of wind to get snow for water. We were completely out of
water. It was very difficult and the wind knocked me about quite a
bit. It was very exhausting.
WHAT THE WIND HAS DONE
The wind instruments finally gave up this week. After a period of
wind averaging 90 knots for over four hours and then going well
over 100 knots the instruments just stopped working. We are now
guessing the wind speed until we get a chance to repair the
instruments.
SUNSHINE AND TEMPERATURE
The total sunshine we had during the month of June was 10 hours and
35 minutes. The temperatures this week have been between minus 21
and minus 10 degrees.
OUR FRIEND THE MOON IS BACK
The moon is once again on its way to being full. We enjoy the light
of the moon on the snow. Enjoy the full moon.
Keep warm,
Don
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