Thursday, May 27, 2010
Haven't posted any Aussieisms in a while, but I've written some down. A daycare is a "creche," and a "panel beater" is a body shop. Interestingly, Aussies don't say "potted plants" they say "pot plants" which as you can imagine, leads to some misunderstanding for Americans. The first time I heard an elderly women talking about her "pot plants" I was really surprised to think she'd be growing marijuana.
The locals like to say "good on ya" just as we'd say "good for you." They also say "How ya goin?" instead of "How're you doing?"
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Went out to a school with the education group again today, but this time it was teenagers, and the girls were much more afraid of the animals than the 5-year olds were. Lots of screaming and giggling, probably because there were boys there too. Most of the girls would only use one finger to touch the animals, and no one asked any questions - very different from the little kids, they asked tons of questions.
While at the center, one of the volunteers brought in two tiny joeys she's caring for at home, and this is a pic of her feeding one of them. It weighs only 124 grams, or 4.4 ounces. She said at this age they are very unlikely to survive, although she raised one that did and it's now pregnant with its second joey. This volunteer said she has 16 other joeys at home, all at different stages, but she can leave them alone because they just stay in their pouches all day, and she hangs them up on hooks along the walls. They stay in the pouch until they're about 18 months old, so it's a very long term commitment. These tiny little ones have to be fed every 3 hours, and it's important to keep them at the right temperture.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Today I attended a meeting for our American Women's Club 4th of July fair, since I volunteered to run the bake sale. I figured with less than 200 members, how big could the event be? But I soon found out at the meeting that last year there were 4 to 5000 people that showed up, since the locals are happy to party with anyone. So, I am now hoping that lots of members volunteer to bake things, or my little Susie Bake oven will be working overtime. I'm not sure it's even big enough to hold a cookie sheet, it's so tiny, and one side of the oven bakes hotter than the other, so you have to turn things around half way through.
Today I attended a meeting for our American Women's Club 4th of July fair, since I volunteered to run the bake sale. I figured with less than 200 members, how big could the event be? But I soon found out at the meeting that last year there were 4 to 5000 people that showed up, since the locals are happy to party with anyone. So, I am now hoping that lots of members volunteer to bake things, or my little Susie Bake oven will be working overtime. I'm not sure it's even big enough to hold a cookie sheet, it's so tiny, and one side of the oven bakes hotter than the other, so you have to turn things around half way through.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Today was my first time taking animals out to a school, and I'll need to observe several times before talking about the animals myself. The kids were really cute, so excited to see the critters, although 5-year olds don't have a very long attention span. When the lead volunteer, Margy, brought out the echidna, she asked the kids if any of them knew what kind of animal living in the Australian bush might want to hurt an echidna. The most popular answer with both groups of kids was either "lions" or "tigers," but my favorites from two little boys were "monsters" and "murderers." We had a hard time keeping a straight face with those answers.
Henry, the black cockatoo, decided he wanted to sit on my shoulder during the entire second session, and to keep him from squawking in my ear, I let him bite on my sweatshirt zipper, but surprisingly he didn't ruin it. The kids in the second group seemed much more hesitant about touching the animals than the first group were, and two of the little girls loudly announced they did not want to touch anything. Of course that was right after their teacher made an ugly grimace when we took the python out of its bag, so maybe the kids picked up on that. The Tawny Frogmouths sit so completely still during the daytime, that all the kids assumed this one was stuffed, until we took him off the perch and popped a tiny mouse into his mouth. Margy says the little kids get upset if the mice are big enough to actually tell they're mice, so we have to give them the really tiny ones.
Today was my first time taking animals out to a school, and I'll need to observe several times before talking about the animals myself. The kids were really cute, so excited to see the critters, although 5-year olds don't have a very long attention span. When the lead volunteer, Margy, brought out the echidna, she asked the kids if any of them knew what kind of animal living in the Australian bush might want to hurt an echidna. The most popular answer with both groups of kids was either "lions" or "tigers," but my favorites from two little boys were "monsters" and "murderers." We had a hard time keeping a straight face with those answers.
Henry, the black cockatoo, decided he wanted to sit on my shoulder during the entire second session, and to keep him from squawking in my ear, I let him bite on my sweatshirt zipper, but surprisingly he didn't ruin it. The kids in the second group seemed much more hesitant about touching the animals than the first group were, and two of the little girls loudly announced they did not want to touch anything. Of course that was right after their teacher made an ugly grimace when we took the python out of its bag, so maybe the kids picked up on that. The Tawny Frogmouths sit so completely still during the daytime, that all the kids assumed this one was stuffed, until we took him off the perch and popped a tiny mouse into his mouth. Margy says the little kids get upset if the mice are big enough to actually tell they're mice, so we have to give them the really tiny ones.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Amazingly, this is my 100th post, how time flies. My American Women's Club had their monthly meeting at a Mexican restaurant tonight, and husbands were invited. The food actually wasn't too bad, the closest thing to Mexican food we've had since we've been here. However, there were the names of various Mexican cities painted on the walls, and I don't think even one was spelled correctly. Oh well, at least the food was somewhat authentic tasting.
Amazingly, this is my 100th post, how time flies. My American Women's Club had their monthly meeting at a Mexican restaurant tonight, and husbands were invited. The food actually wasn't too bad, the closest thing to Mexican food we've had since we've been here. However, there were the names of various Mexican cities painted on the walls, and I don't think even one was spelled correctly. Oh well, at least the food was somewhat authentic tasting.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Today I volunteered to get the new facility ready to move the Kanyana animals into tomorrow. The new place is such an improvement, with all new equipment in the hospital and kitchen, and a separate building for patients in isolation. In the old place the hospital, kitchen and isolation units were all together, now the kitchen alone is about twice the size of the original facility, which is the house of the sanctuary's founder. The new grounds are located out in the Perth Hills, in a beautiful bush setting with lots of tall trees and peace and quiet.
Friday I go out to my first school to observe the education program, and we'll take about 10 different animals to show to the kids. Here are some of our education critters. This spiky guy all covered with leaves is an echidna, kind of like a porcupine or a hedgehog.
And here's what he looks like underneath.
This is a pic of me holding a bobtail, or shingleback lizard. They are very slow moving and quite heavy.
And this is a boodie, also known as a burrowing bettong. He was sound asleep and wrapped in a pink blanket, obviously a mistake since he is a boy, guess there were no blue blankets around.. When I asked a volunteer what his name was, and she said "Boodie", I replied that I knew he was a boodie, but I wondered what his name was. When she repeated "Boodie," I thought we were having an Aussie/American communication problem, but in fact, his name really is Boodie. Boodie the boodie.
Today I volunteered to get the new facility ready to move the Kanyana animals into tomorrow. The new place is such an improvement, with all new equipment in the hospital and kitchen, and a separate building for patients in isolation. In the old place the hospital, kitchen and isolation units were all together, now the kitchen alone is about twice the size of the original facility, which is the house of the sanctuary's founder. The new grounds are located out in the Perth Hills, in a beautiful bush setting with lots of tall trees and peace and quiet.
And here's what he looks like underneath.
And this is a boodie, also known as a burrowing bettong. He was sound asleep and wrapped in a pink blanket, obviously a mistake since he is a boy, guess there were no blue blankets around.. When I asked a volunteer what his name was, and she said "Boodie", I replied that I knew he was a boodie, but I wondered what his name was. When she repeated "Boodie," I thought we were having an Aussie/American communication problem, but in fact, his name really is Boodie. Boodie the boodie.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Yesterday was my final training session at Kanyana, and today was my first regular shift there. A woman and her daughter brought in a sick bird, and six of us volunteers were all standing together in the hospital when they came in. They walked right up to me to give me the bird, asking if I was the supervisor. I guess the fact that I was clearly the oldest one there, made them naturally assume I must be in charge - ironic since it was actually my first day. The other volunteers were either high school or college kids, so I guess I shouldn't feel too surprised.
Took these pics of some of the patients:
This little guy is a Boodie, and everyone initially thought he was a baby, since he's only about 1/3 the size of the others we have. However, he is from Barrow Island, and apparently the island species are typically smaller. The volunteer was feeding him milk through a syringe, so he has milk all over his mouth. Barrow Island is known as "Noah's Ark" because it has so many species found no where else on earth.
This is a Bobtail, a type of large, heavy lizard with very thick scales like armor. He was in for the flu, and after being on antibiotics for 2 weeks they are usually ready to be released. It's important to release them in the same area they were found, since they mate for life and the whole family stays close by.
These guys are Kookaburras, and when they start laughing you can hear them from a very long ways away, they're incredibly loud. These two were ready to be released, and while we were in the aviary, a Kookaburra on the outside kept flying down to harass these two. They seemed to be very bothered by him, and kept flying to the top of the cage and hitting their heads.
These are the two Tawny Frogmouths used in the education program, and an additional one was brought in later in the day. They are nocturnal, and during the day they sit with their heads tilted back, looking straight up, only they have their eyes closed (since they're asleep.) Because they sit completely still on the branch of a tree, and their feathers blend in so closely with the bark, they are very difficult to spot. They also make a strange, low-pitched humming sound. We had to pinch the heads off of mealworms, and then I fed them to these guys with tweezers. They also eat mice, but someone took the mice that we'd put out to defrost, so we had to tide them over with worms. I have volunteered to start working in the education program, so once I learn everything I need to know about the animals, I'll start taking them out to schools, retirement homes, special events, etc. Some of the animals in the program include these tawny frogmouths, echidnas, a python, bobtails, boodies, bilbies, tree frogs and Henry the black cockatoo.
This is Henry, he's pretty obnoxious and spends a lot of time screeching as loudly as he can. He was raised from a tiny chick by an old man who fed him coffee and toast, and not much else, and he never learned to fly. So when he brought him to Kanyana, they tried to get him to fly. It was a windy day and when he opened his wings, a gust blew him into a nearby tall tree. He was so scared he wouldn't top screaming and they had to call the fire department to get him down. So since then he's been the resident mascot, with free run of the house.
Yesterday was my final training session at Kanyana, and today was my first regular shift there. A woman and her daughter brought in a sick bird, and six of us volunteers were all standing together in the hospital when they came in. They walked right up to me to give me the bird, asking if I was the supervisor. I guess the fact that I was clearly the oldest one there, made them naturally assume I must be in charge - ironic since it was actually my first day. The other volunteers were either high school or college kids, so I guess I shouldn't feel too surprised.
This little guy is a Boodie, and everyone initially thought he was a baby, since he's only about 1/3 the size of the others we have. However, he is from Barrow Island, and apparently the island species are typically smaller. The volunteer was feeding him milk through a syringe, so he has milk all over his mouth. Barrow Island is known as "Noah's Ark" because it has so many species found no where else on earth.
These guys are Kookaburras, and when they start laughing you can hear them from a very long ways away, they're incredibly loud. These two were ready to be released, and while we were in the aviary, a Kookaburra on the outside kept flying down to harass these two. They seemed to be very bothered by him, and kept flying to the top of the cage and hitting their heads.
This is Henry, he's pretty obnoxious and spends a lot of time screeching as loudly as he can. He was raised from a tiny chick by an old man who fed him coffee and toast, and not much else, and he never learned to fly. So when he brought him to Kanyana, they tried to get him to fly. It was a windy day and when he opened his wings, a gust blew him into a nearby tall tree. He was so scared he wouldn't top screaming and they had to call the fire department to get him down. So since then he's been the resident mascot, with free run of the house.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Went out today for LaW with some of the ladies from the American Women's Club, and although it may sound impressive, it stands for lunch and wine. Every month they go to a different winery, and there are probably 30 to 40 wineries nearby. Once again, prices never cease to amaze us, as a piece of cheesecake was $16.50, so combined with the risotto it came to $48.50 for lunch, for one, and that did not include anything to drink. We're not stupid, we do the free wine tasting first, then drink water with lunch.
Went out today for LaW with some of the ladies from the American Women's Club, and although it may sound impressive, it stands for lunch and wine. Every month they go to a different winery, and there are probably 30 to 40 wineries nearby. Once again, prices never cease to amaze us, as a piece of cheesecake was $16.50, so combined with the risotto it came to $48.50 for lunch, for one, and that did not include anything to drink. We're not stupid, we do the free wine tasting first, then drink water with lunch.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Today was my second day of training at Kanyana, and we got to clean out the Bilby enclosures. They are really comical looking animals, with huge ears and big hind feet. Some were tame enough to pet, while others (males of course) were grumpy and hissed at us. Bilbies are endangered so the sanctuary has set up a captive breeding program, with nearly 100 babies born so far and returned to the wild. You have to weigh and measure their food everyday, and very precise records are kept. We also learned how to pick up and handle bobtails, which are very large lizards, with short, fat tails. They're much heavier than they look, and two of them had just had babies. Several were in isolation for the flu, and they exhibit symptoms just like humans with the flu. We learned how to handle birds, and how hopefully not to get bitten. I'm going to have to get used to feeding baby mice to the Kookaburras and the Tawny Frogmouths. They are the strangest looking birds, their feathers look just like tree bark, and during the day they sit so still on the branches, you could walk right by and never see them. I will have to remember to take my camera with me next time to get some pics of all these strange critters.
Today was my second day of training at Kanyana, and we got to clean out the Bilby enclosures. They are really comical looking animals, with huge ears and big hind feet. Some were tame enough to pet, while others (males of course) were grumpy and hissed at us. Bilbies are endangered so the sanctuary has set up a captive breeding program, with nearly 100 babies born so far and returned to the wild. You have to weigh and measure their food everyday, and very precise records are kept. We also learned how to pick up and handle bobtails, which are very large lizards, with short, fat tails. They're much heavier than they look, and two of them had just had babies. Several were in isolation for the flu, and they exhibit symptoms just like humans with the flu. We learned how to handle birds, and how hopefully not to get bitten. I'm going to have to get used to feeding baby mice to the Kookaburras and the Tawny Frogmouths. They are the strangest looking birds, their feathers look just like tree bark, and during the day they sit so still on the branches, you could walk right by and never see them. I will have to remember to take my camera with me next time to get some pics of all these strange critters.
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