Day 342: Fighting Technology, for You

Let's see if we can get some photos out here...

Alrighty then! Here's some interesting stuff around where I live – this is my favorite dog here, Grey:



His name is actually “grey” in Russian, which I can never manage to remember, but since I mostly talk to him in clicks and whistles or English I don’t really think he cares what I call him.

He’s my buddy! He knows how to shake hands and eats our trash. I tried to throw out some chicken bones the other day and Galina stopped me to put them in the dog’s bowl: “Your dogs can’t eat chicken bones. Our dogs eat anything.”

Sergei’s other dog, Black – he’s pretty cool too, but Grey hangs around my cabin more:



In a corner of my dining room is a display of a bunch of postcards, a painting of the station in winter, and this photo:



That’s the families that were living here 30 years ago – the women at the top are Galina and Ana, the wives of Sergei #1 and Sergei #2, respectively. The guy in the front left is Sergei #2. I don’t recognize Sergei #1 anywhere, and I suspect he’s the one taking the photo.

I should really start calling the Sergei’s by their proper names: Sergei Zimov and Sergei Davydov.

Sergei D. and Ana have a Dalmatian, of all things. His name is Neilsen and he likes to attack everyone and the neighbors hate him. For some reason he really likes me, probably because I’m not afraid to pet him and let him get within 5 meters of me without screaming and throwing things.



So - photos from the failed boat trip. Before the engine stopped working, we were moving along at a pretty good speed. Here's a photo of me doing what I do, courtesy of the Japanese lady scientist:



Goign past the airport, a pile of old planes:



From towing the boat home, Sergei Z and Sergei D working from the smaller boat:



From the leisurely tour of the Cherskii coastline – here’s some buildings in Cherskii:







The loading dock/industrial zone:





I really wish I could post larger pictures so you could see these people better - there's actually a guy in this massive crane moving coal onto a boat:



A family on a boat watching our progress:



From stopping at the lake where the Ross gulls were - Sergei waiting for the Swiss birders to crawl back to us through the bog:



Object of my intense lens envy:



We stood on top of a smoke house to scout out the birds.



Next door - my dream home...







After dropping off the birders, on our way to Pleistocene park - a house on the river:



A Yakutian family:



The Yakutian worker's home at the park - a sort of bunker on wheels. Do you remember Martek from the solstice festival? His name is actually Marak, and he's living and working out here now too.



Their outdoor kitchen:



From my mosquito complaints, looking grumpy:



Look's like I managed to beat the internet! Just for fun, since who knows when I'll get this business to work again, here's Sergei Z handling some bison fossils:



And here's a falcon being chased by some sparrows.



More exciting stories soon! Hopefully this time with photos correctly distributed.