Sunday, September 8, 2013

Paint Work

It's been a nice but busy week again.  A few rain showers have made the ducks happy.  They love to splash around in puddles on the street after a rain.  Our botulism problem isn't really slowing down yet, but I'm hoping it will soon.  I've been saying that for a while, but one of these weeks it may happen.  I can't believe that we've still got some albatross chicks around too.  There are only a few, but it's a couple of weeks past the normal time for them to be gone.  It's nice to have the work crews on island for the lead based paint removal.  There's always a bit more socializing when that group is here, and they are preventing quite a few albatross deaths by removing or sealing the lead paint.
 
Chris Jordan's Midway Film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival a few days ago.  I was looking for some writeups or reviews, but haven't found them yet.  I still haven't heard anything about distribution of the film yet, so don't expect to be able to see it right away.  I, like the rest of you, am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to see it. 

The lead based paint abatement project is ongoing again this summer.  The workers are remediating the paint on the Midway Mall right now. 
 
We've been doing some work around the Midway Memorial.  The petrels keep digging under the sidewalk causing sections to collapse.  There's now some fencing under the dirt to keep them out from under the sidewalk.  It'll look nice when the grass grows back again.

We went over to Eastern Island to see if any seal pups needed tagging.  We found one that needed a tag, and quite a bit of trash on the beach too.
 
I had a report of a dead monk seal in the corner of the harbor.  It might look dead, laying in the marine debris and dead albatross feathers and bones.  Don't worry though, it's fine.  It just picked a gross spot to sleep. 

This is Bravo Barracks.  No one lives in it anymore.  The third floor was deemed unsafe quite a few years ago, and now we've just put people up in houses or Charlie Barracks.  It will probably be torn down one of these years.  Wisdom, the albatross, nests behind this building and was already raising chicks when it was built in 1958.

3 comments:

Pete Prellwitz said...

Hey, Pete!
The bowling alley's looking really nice! You guys should host an "International Midway Bowling Championship Invitational" for people who'd like to spend a week on Midway. They pay their own way, of course, and most of the time would be spent enjoying the island and helping out. But you would actually hold the IMBCI on one or two nights and give out a trophy. (Perhaps even the coconut bowling as a warm-up event.) I bet you'd be able to get somewhat sanctioned by the US Bowling Congress. It'll offer a fun opportunity to both get some publicity while also hopefully generating donations as people become more aware of Midway and the wonderful and necessary work done there.

Anonymous said...

Hiya Pete!

I found this article about the Midway Film.. http://realscreen.com/2013/09/11/tiff-13-art-wildlife-and-hollywood-converge-in-midway/

It's not a full-on review, more of a "highlights" article, but it was a good read nonetheless. I too am interested in hearing what people thought of the movie and seeing it for myself. :)

Thanks, as always, for sharing photos! Wonder why that seal picked such a littered spot to rest...

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete,
I love checking in now and then with your blog to hear what's happening on beloved Midway, and enjoy your awesome pics.

Quick update on the film...we did screen it at TIFF as a work in progress...just didn't get it quite where we want it by the deadline. So, it's still being polished and will hopefully show at a few festivals in early 2014, then be distributed more widely after that.

I hope you're doing well and ready for the coming winter out there.

Cheers,
Victoria Jordan