Birthday Bash

So I am very fortunate not only to be here, but I was able to be on Midway for my birthday!

It was a very special day. It started off with of course a big birthday breakfast at the buffet. Then when I got to work Cindy was so sweet and had made me an albatross barf lei. All the stuff in the lei she found inside albatross carcasses. Apparently she sells them and she was telling stories of even ambassadors and high class people wearing them. I was very happy and was able to wear it most of the morning.

Another special treat was I was able to handle and feed a laysan duck. Handling these cute little ducks is always fun and, lucky for the ducks, we haven't had too many sick to handle so it was cool that there was one on my b-day.

Putting the feeding tube in

Massaging the throat to prevent spit up while you take the tube out

All better :)

I was really worried that I would have to pull weeds on my birthday, but to my great surprise and happiness we ended up doing a dolphin survey the whole afternoon! Cynthia (the manager of Kure Atoll) and other Kure people have been down here visiting Midway on their way home to Honolulu. Cynthia has been doing dolphin surveys for a research project for years and years and wanted to do one here on Midway before she left. We were going to do it on Monday, but you have to have PERFECT weather with no wind, and so we just so happened to have PERFECT weather on my special day!

I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world on Oct 15th

There were a little under 200 dolphins surrounding us

I have never ever seen such beautiful water, it was mind blowing how clear and calm it was

22 and lovin it!

You have to have a permit to swim with them, but towards the end I was able to stick my camera under the water. It was hard to aim underwater not being able to see what your shooting while speeding by on a boat while leaning over the edge, but luckily I got a few really cool shots

Right before we left to go on the survey I ran into Kittypong. A couple of weeks ago I ran into him while looking for glass balls. This was before I found my beautiful babies, so he started helping me look for them. He is so sweet and told me that if you found one he would give it to me, I of course told him that that was too nice and not to do it, so I was very surprised when he pulled this beautiful ball out of his pocket and gave this to me...

After spending the day running around with dolphins, we headed over to the clipper for delicious birthday buffet. During dinner the cooks came out with a surprise cake and everyone sang happy birthday to me. It was a really nice surprise.


I was very sad to see the day end because I don't think I will ever experience a birthday like this one again. I got some amazing and unique presents and memories that I will cherish for a long time!

I've got the fever!!

So since I have been out here I have defiantly caught the glass ball bug. I didn't even know what glass balls were until the construction crew came out here for the last month. A couple of the guys were fanatics and would get up and comb the beaches at 4 am for these things. Well there passion was contagious because last sunday I went out to look for them at 4:30 am!

It is not as bad as it seems because I had to get up for general conference at 5 anyway. It just so happens that my computer was running fast that day so I had a little extra time before it started and I couldn't waste a perfect opportunity to scope out the glass ball hot spots before everyone else. So I got up and checked the harbor corners, but no luck so I went back home. But I still had an itch that I couldn't scratch so I went back out a 7 am in between sessions.

This time I walked from the cargo pier to cross point (which is called turtle beach), but since that beach is closed off I had to walk along the vegetation and keep my eyes glued to the beach so I fell into like 80 petrel holes. I still didn't find one so I was just going to walk on the road back home, but I couldn't give up hope so once again I trudge through the petrel holes. Then half way down the beach there she was just shimmering and shining in the sunlight. I ran over to her and picked her up and she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She's not perfect...just special. It is this pale light blue and it has a couple of cracks plus it has this powder on the inside. I think it used to have a spindle but it got crushed up into powder, or it is cocaine and I will be able to pay off my loans when I sell it, either way is cool

My second child was a surprise baby when after dinner on monday I decided to walk down to Rusty Bucket before the sunset. So I get my ice cream cone and walk down and right there
shinning so brightly is another beautiful glass ball!!! It was right in front of clipper and it was right in the tide zone so it looked like it had just washed in. It had to be fate! I was not expecting to find anything on north beach because that is the only legal beach on the island so I thought that anything worth while would have been picked off already. This one is smaller and it is the classic blue green ball color, but it is really pretty and almost a perfect circle.

I am very happy with my new collectors items and can now hopefully return to normal sleep patterns now that the pressure of finding at least one glass ball has been lifted from my shoulders!

The glass is now half empty :(

Well I am officially on the down hill now. Friday was our hump day and now the time seems to be speeding by. To celebrate the event I decided to try and capture the beauty that I live and work and play in...

Verbasina

The birds called bonin petrels actually dig holes

This is the dump where they piled and burn some of the carcasses

Algae in the sunrise duck pond

We have now saved this fairy tern chick about 3 times

Poinsettia

The water is so glassy calm

Feel the pain, love the pain

Red tail tropic bird chick

All of this in one day, it is just amazing how beautiful this place really is!!