An appetising April snapshot from our Winter Doctor

April Appetiser

The sun has set over Casey Station as I sit in the clinic reflecting on the weeks passing by and waiting for the dinner bell to go. Maybe even salivating a little as I look forward to the foodie heaven that awaits me most nights in the mess – but I’ll save that essay for another day.

They say people often become similar in appearance to their pets. I wonder could this be happening here between our expeditioners and the wildlife surrounding Casey Station? I noticed as the adelie penguins (pygoscelis adeliae) went through their noisy, irritated moulting so too did many of our team. The Saturday morning haircuts became more boisterous and entertaining. Our fearless Station Leader may or may not have set the scene earlier in the season… He certainly rivalled any adelie penguin mohawk with his Elizabethan styling and provided much laughter all round. A wise expeditioner once told me ‘if you want to add a smile to your day go hang out with a penguin’. I would happily add ‘go cheer on Jacks laundry haircuts’ for a good dose of laughter. Sadly, our adelie friends have mostly departed following the pack ice zone but I still get my daily smile from the fabulous range of expeditioner haircuts. I look forward to October when the Adelies return to our nearby coastline and the antics continue.

The beautiful weddell seal (leptonychotes weddellii) won’t desert us over winter. I am sure many a previous PMU doctor could wax lyrical about the dental similarities in the dead of an Antarctic winter between the weddell seals incredible ice cutting teeth and the expeditioners pearly whites. The weddell seal ingeniously uses its powerful teeth to keep breathing holes open in the pack ice to survive over winter and eventually their teeth get worn away. Thankfully the marvels of modern dentistry should have resolved this issue with our resourceful expeditioners (I shall wait and see). Unfortunately, I am not so sure the expanding waistline comparison is resolved as I fight my way through a superb dinner ending in a mouth-watering cheesecake and reflect on the 400-500kg mass of the gorgeous chilled out weddell seal.

No photographic evidence of these comparisons are forthcoming.

Happy days ahead for team Casey.

Soph Plowman Winter Doc.

A close up view of a penguin, staring directly at the camera, with its' head tilted slightly to the left of frame. The penguin has a raised band of black feathers behind its' head which gives it an appearance of a styled haircut. The background of the photo is filled with large grey rocks.
Three small penguins are making their way down a shallow hill towards the camera. They have their arms and feet raised in a manner that makes them appear quite clumsy, as they are on land! There is a long low fluffy white cloud stretching horizontally across the photo in the background.
It the background of this photo lies several low steel buildings of various colours. The largest one of these, to the left of frame, is red and known as the red-shed. The foreground of the photo is snow covered rock, with about a dozen small Adelie penguins standing facing the left of frame. The penguins are in a group known as a 'waddle' and are standing on open rocky ground, on a low hill. The sky is partly cloudy.
The foreground of this photo is a rocky hill, with sea ice and several other low outcrops of rock stretching into the distance. The sky is a pale blue, with barely any cloud, and a band of dusky orange light dividing the sky and land. The sun can be seen half set below the horizon to the very left of frame. Dr Sophie is standing on top of the hill, to the right of frame dressed in warm yellow and black survival clothes. She is facing the setting sun.
This photo shows large a round chocolate dessert tart, covered in crushed nuts, sitting on a wooden serving platter. In the background is another dessert tart.
An Adelie penguin is making its' way towards the camera with arms raised high by its' sides. It is walking over a large snow covered rock. The surrounding ground is comprised of large black snow covered rocks. The sky is partly cloudy.
Snow covered ground with v-shaped penguin foot prints going in every direction across the photo.
Bands of ice and open water stretch horizontally across the photo, with a low rocky island in the distant background. The foreground shows a large seal, with a dark grey back and a light grey stomach with darker spots, resting on its' side and looking back towards the camera. The sky in the background is overcast and gives the picture a grey tint.
The foreground of this photo is occupied by a large seal, lying horizontally across the frame, on an ice covered shoreline. The seal has a silver and light grey stomach, covered in dark grey spots. It has its' head raised and is looking at the photographer. Behind the seal is a small bay with some small pieces of ice floating in it, and an ice covered hill rising in the background. The face of the ice hill is fractured and broken where chunks of ice have broken away during the summer. There are long icicles hanging from the bottom of the hill, above the water.
This photo frame is filled with a cheesecake, topped with crispy corn flakes and nuts, sitting on a white plastic serving platter.
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