Skuas, as mentioned earlier, are large, brown seagulls that arrive here in the summer. I've heard one report of a sighting, but they are not here in numbers yet, any way. Like the seagulls we're more familiar with, skuas are scavengers. They have a reputation for attacking people who may have food.
But this entry is about a different skua.
A small building at McMurdo is known as skua and it is an exchange center for ... well ... almost anything. People will bring things to Antarctica and decide they do not need it or, at least, don't want the bother of taking it back home. It goes into one of the many skua bins around town. Janitors periodically collect the items and put them in the skua center. (Yes, you figured that out already ... the janitors get first crack at things. Actually, anyone can go through the bins at any time.)
Clothes are the most popular items in the center. There are also shoes, games, various odd items and even partially used bottles of shampoo.
I made my first visit to skua yesterday. I hadn't been because I don't need anything, but I walked down with Bethany, the wife of a co-worker, just to look it over. Of course, I found something ... a 6-inch Christmas tree. It may be early to think about that, but I don't know that the tree will last that long. And the fun part is that I'll return it after I'm through and someone else can use it next year.
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