We’ve seen the thermometer drop bellow –20 degrees on a few occasions, although it fluctuates wildly, and even reached positive 4.5 degrees a few days ago!!! A May record for Casey since records began! 
In terms of blizzards too, winter has definitely arrived. We had more blizzards in April than all other months combined since our arrival on October 30, and our most recent blizzard actually took our wind anemometer to the tantalizing speed of 99 knots (183km/hr) as a maximum gust! Anywhere else in the world, that would equate to a force three category cyclone, but inside the safe confines of our trusty buildings we carry on business as usual. In some parts of the Red Shed in fact, the sound of the wind is barely audible. Above was a photo taken by Tod, of me, and I can now see why the ropes are put up around station: that sort of wind has some serious power! 
The days are becoming significantly shorter now too. The sun, while technically above the horizon for 6.5 hours or so, makes such a shallow arc in the sky that at midday it is only about 25 degrees above the horizon (see the wonky photo of me above, with the Red Shed in the background). Of course, due to the angle it comes up at though, our sunrises and sunsets last for hours now, which is great on a clear or partly cloudy day. And we’ve been having a few of those lately. 
The shots above and bellow were taken from one of my favourite places in the world! It’s a hill called Reeve Hill, only 500m or so from station, but the view to the north-west is just brilliant! It’s actually one of the few places left here where we can be guaranteed to still see some animal life. Snow Petrels, which seem to be one of the only creatures game enough to winter with us by the look of things, along with seals, love playing around the steep rocky slopes. In the mid-ground you can also see Shirley Island. After proper sea-ice drilling and testing in mid May we should be able to head back over there for the first time since December! Which will be great, despite there being no penguins left any more.
Theres nothing like a fine and sunny day to be out of doors in Antarctica. The sharp light really highlights the bergs and other ice features, which you just don’t get to see on those cloudy and gloomy days, so the idea is to just make the most of it when the sun is out! The great thing about the people who come to Antarctica is that a good percentage of us are into ‘the outdoors’ and exploring: Craig, Tom and Tod are always up for getting out and about, so I’ve added a few photos bellow of just that. 
Craig took this on a recent overnight hike we did to the Wilkes Hilton. In the background you can see that the bay just in front of station was completely iced over… however, a few days later and the katabatic winds blew it all out to sea. That’s why sea-ice travel is pretty much not done in most areas around Casey: you need lots of good islands just offshore to hold the ice in when the strong winds blow, and we just don’t have many of those.
On another walk, Tom and I ran into this Waddell Seal (bellow). Although they look like huge sea slugs from a distance, they do have quite a cute face. We’re told to expect to see these seal all year round, and if you travel 40kms or so south, to the Browning Peninsula (the only hut I haven’t been to yet), you’ll get to see a large elephant seal colony. I’m really looking forward to that once spring comes round. 
In the absence of people who might care about our appearances (ie girlfriends), Tom and I both thought we’d road test some new hairstyles. Back in late February Tom got a Mohawk, and I all but shaved my head… something I haven’t done since I had nits in year two. But lets face it, even a second grader would’ve known better than to shave his head coming in to an Antarctic winter! 
I generally detest beanies… they remind me of pubescent teenagers with hooded jumpers and skateboards, terrorising old people, and showing too much of their silky boxer shorts… but lately I’ve been a little less scathing of their functionality.
The sun continues to move north now, but even shorter days, colder temperatures, and strong winds won’t stop people from getting out and seeing some of the surrounds. Now, just a month and a half away from mid-winter, the first half of the year seems to have flown by. But the nights are certainly getting longer, and the phrase perpetual darkness is meaning more to me every day.
However, the winter and wild weather we are coming into now was all part of the allure for me in the first place - and has always been. It’s really quite an amazing place: where else to you see the moon and sun setting, simultaneously, on opposite sides of the horizon, like this? 
