My last week

The resupply ship left last night about 10PM. It was loaded up with containers of our waste, which has been sorted and packaged for future recycling or disposal in the US. The ship also contains our scientific samples. Now that the ship has gone, the schedule here is getting back to normal. It's Sunday here so they served brunch as they usually do on Sundays. The road to Hut Point is open to pedestrian traffic again now that vessel operations are completed, so I decided to go for a walk after brunch.
I keep going on about water and wildlife. It has been a good year for both of those things. There were emperor penguins around last night, which I saw from a distance, but did not get close enough to photograph them. They were gone by the time I walked to Hut Point today.
It's a little cold today, but the water almost has a tropical blue color against the sea ice. It is about +15F today and 15 mph winds.
Did you notice the seal at the bottom of the picture above? I actually did not even realize that the seal was there when I took the picture. I saw it when I walked back again and then I zoomed in so you can see better. This is one of the Weddell seals that live around here. They are really pretty, even though they don't look like much when they are just lying around on the ice. Their backs are dark and their bellies are lighter and mottled looking, probably so they can hide from their prey.
Here is the Coast Guard ice breaker docked at the ice pier. I'm not sure how much longer they will be here now that the ships are all finished. They will probably be finishing here soon too. The season is really winding down. There will be a flight every other day for the next two weeks. There are only 7 more scheduled flights for the season and all of the people who do not plan to stay for the winter will be leaving on one of them.