JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for July 09, 2024

I’d heard of the skua but never knew how to pronounce it until now:

SKYOO-uh.

Mean birds!!

Antarctica’s “endless summer” runs in the 33°F -36°F range. Ummmm, I pass.

Kids’ song I hadn’t thought of in forever -

When it’s springtime in Alaska,

And it’s 99 below.

All the Eskimos go barefoot

Just because they like the snow.

All the polar bears get sunburned

When the wind begins to blow.

When it’s springtime in Alaska

And it’s 99 below.

(Never made the hit parade.)

The same thing happens with day lengths in the Arctic. When I was in Alaska, it was hard to get used to daylight all night in summer time.

From eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)South Polar SkuaBulky cold-brown seabird with white wing flashes. Usually seen singly in strong and direct flight, sometimes resting on the ocean with rafts of shearwaters. Chases gulls, large shearwaters, and even boobies, forcing them to regurgitate their food.

These heatwaves are unbearable.

How do skuas shorten summer?

Sunny is a fount of knowledge. Quality in, quality out.

When did they decide to change the arrangement of the comments? I have been reading through my favorite strips this afternoon, and two strips ago it suddenly came up centered.

I note that wise Sunny has a bottle of sunscreen close at hand.

Do they serve caviar at that camp?It gets more posh every year.