Puddles of Water

It was a clear day today, 5th November 2008, after few days of cloudy and windy whether and one day of blizzard. So I went out for a short walk after lunch. It was a warm day at -5ºC. The first thing I noticed as I trudged through the snow deposited during the winter blizzards was that my feet sank ankle deep into the snow and left deep footprints. Walking through snow was tiring business. Just a few days back the snow was windpacked and walking on it was as easy as walking on a concrete floor. The snow also felt wet and sticky instead of the usual dry, powdery consistency that we have come to associate with Antarctica snow during the last one year.

As I walked on, I came across a few lakes. As I was attempting to cross one of them, I heard a slish slosh sound. I looked at my feet and was surprised to find myself standing in a pool of water about 1 inch deep. However, I thought that this might be an aberration and tried to move on. But at many places the situation was a same. The puddles were often covered by a thin layer of ice which cracked as soon as I stepped on it and my feet encountered water. On my way back, I came across a slope that was covered with ice. There, I noticed a tiny stream of water trickling down the slope from the lee of a stone.

This was the first time in the last 10 months that I saw water outside the station. Till now it was all snow and ice. It is now suddenly unsafe to venture out on the snow and ice. We have to tread carefully. Gone are those days of walking all over the lakes and the snows without caring to watch our step, secure in the knowledge that everything would be as hard as concrete.

The snow petrels, penguins, skuas, warm days, 24 hours daylight (sunrise- 00:58, sunset- 20:56), and now liquid water- all signs of arrival of summers are now present. Summer is now well and truly here.