Another week of trench digging and my biceps are looking massive. Well at least they feel as though they’re massive. I’m not quite sure I’ll know what to do with myself if there are no more holes to be dug.  Sorry for the delay in my report, but it’s been a slow news week. Well, at least for the island. Not so much for the mainland I suppose.

 The Mayan calendar will run its course by the end of 2012, the Colorado wildfires are still burning west of Colorado Springs, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting divorced. What is the world coming to? We got our first glimpse of world news the other day since our alienation from the outside world back in March and all I can think of is how happy I am to be here and not on the mainland. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve been working our rears off building two shade house water catchments, working to eradicate the non-native and invasive plant Pluchea indica and monitor fledging albatross reproductive plots for survivability. The Tomkat fiasco has taught me one hard lesson: each and every day here is a gift, and if the end is indeed near, I want to cherish each and every day spent on this island like it’s my last.

-From the writings of Toni Caldwell, Biological Science Tech Volunteer, Laysan Island Summer Crew, 2012