Are you ready for some football?

I know this is a little late, but I just wanted to give everyone an update on the football game I mentioned in the last post. I was waiting for the picture above (courtesy of Todd). What it shows is dark, snow, a huddle and a wolf, pacing through the background :) It was a warm day (-20°C with no wind) and we'd had the first big snowfall since August (yes, I said August) so there was plenty of padding. After about 5 minutes, the first wolf showed up and sat 50 feet away and watched for a while, I'm sure trying to figure out what the Hell was going on. Eventually another came, and the most that were wandering around was 4. We only had one 'incident' and that was where we threw a ball too long, and the wolf dashed in and tried to take it (I guess 'fetching' is a genetic trait!). About 5 people rushing it waving their arms and screaming (Hey, we were having fun, and the ball was flat enough as it was) changed it's mind about that particular 'pigskin'. I had brought a bottle of water out with me, and after the hour of play, it was frozen :) Could hardly walk the next day. I'm not THAT out of shape, but football in 4 inches of snow with winter boots and arctic kit (20 pounds, including snowpants) made for a good workout.

I got a bunch of questions from both Mom and Aunt Brenda (and Mere...**sigh**), so I'll cover the ones here that I didn't plan on covering in subsequent bigger posts.

Mom: When I first got up here there were 62 people. If I had to guess, I'd say that there were 5 or 6 females. Command-wise, there are a lot more non-military support staff being phased in over time, and I'd say that it's close to 40 or 50% non-military now (running kitchens, cleaning, maintenance, etc.). My stay, of course, is 4 months. Most military postings are either 3 or 6 months (majority are 6). There are some shorter, indeterminate stays, and some longer ones, as is the case with my boss, who works 13 months with a one month leave. Be patient about the other questions. I'm going to do work and food in the coming weekends.

Aunt Brenda: Currently, 70. But it's coming up on "tourist season" where lots of scientists and such come up for short durations and then leave. Population will swell to over a hundred in the coming months. There used to be permanent residents (my bosses position with EC was at one point) but they started to get a little "loco" so not anymore. From return visits, the longest I know of is likely close to 6 or 7 years accumulated, but that's over decades. It's likely longer than that.

Mere: Wood, 4 legged, Yes I spill, no just cheered, no.....and stop patronizing me :P

After this weekend and the next, I'll likely change from one large, weekly update to several smaller, more event based ones. I'm running out of broad topics to cover.

Hope you're all doing well,
Graham