Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Went hiking last weekend and saw these huge ants, called Bull Ants. Bill put a coin down to get some perspective for a picture, and the ants came out immediately to check it out. As soon as I took this photo one ant, all by himself, pulled the coin, comparable in size and weight to our nickel, down into the hole. So they're not only big but strong too, and apparently they've got a bite to match.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Been a long time since I've posted anything, just been busy at the wildlife center mostly, we got our first baby bird of the season in this week. Someone also brought in a galah which was obviously a pet, they're a beautiful gray parrot with a pink head, and this one was very friendly and talkative. He kept saying "kiss kiss" and he climbed onto one of the volunteer's shoulders and she said "Oh, I think he's whispering sweet nothings in my ear." Just then another volunteer walked up from behind her and said "No, actually, he's masturbating on your head." Birds are funny.
Last week when we took some of the animals out to a school with 4 and 5 year olds, we took along Henry the black cockatoo as usual. The volunteer showed the kids the difference between the tail feathers of the male and female birds, and then Henry showed off his tail feathers by opening up his wings. The volunteer then asked the class, "So how do we know Henry is a boy?" And a little boy raised his hand and said, "Because he's named Henry!" Can't argue with that logic.
Been a long time since I've posted anything, just been busy at the wildlife center mostly, we got our first baby bird of the season in this week. Someone also brought in a galah which was obviously a pet, they're a beautiful gray parrot with a pink head, and this one was very friendly and talkative. He kept saying "kiss kiss" and he climbed onto one of the volunteer's shoulders and she said "Oh, I think he's whispering sweet nothings in my ear." Just then another volunteer walked up from behind her and said "No, actually, he's masturbating on your head." Birds are funny.
Last week when we took some of the animals out to a school with 4 and 5 year olds, we took along Henry the black cockatoo as usual. The volunteer showed the kids the difference between the tail feathers of the male and female birds, and then Henry showed off his tail feathers by opening up his wings. The volunteer then asked the class, "So how do we know Henry is a boy?" And a little boy raised his hand and said, "Because he's named Henry!" Can't argue with that logic.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Yesterday was our club's big 4th of July bash, and estimates on attendance was 6 to 7 thousand, it was crazy. Luckily the weather was beautiful, no rain at all, so most of the time people were outside. We sold out of nearly 4 hundred dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts in an hour and a half, and some people drove 2 hours to get them. I ran the bake sale and we sold tons of stuff, but everyone kept asking for anything pumpkin, and we sold out of all of it very quickly. Bill got stuck making popcorn, and the line never went down, although the line for hotdogs was about 5 times as long.
It was fun but hectic, now time to start planning the Thanksgiving dinner, which thankfully is for members only. Here are a couple of pics from July 4th.
Yesterday was our club's big 4th of July bash, and estimates on attendance was 6 to 7 thousand, it was crazy. Luckily the weather was beautiful, no rain at all, so most of the time people were outside. We sold out of nearly 4 hundred dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts in an hour and a half, and some people drove 2 hours to get them. I ran the bake sale and we sold tons of stuff, but everyone kept asking for anything pumpkin, and we sold out of all of it very quickly. Bill got stuck making popcorn, and the line never went down, although the line for hotdogs was about 5 times as long.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Well June is almost over, half a year gone already, and we're definitely into winter now. The last couple mornings have been freezing, right around 32 degrees in fact. It does warm up during the day, as long as you're in the sun, but it's far from shorts and t-shirt weather, although that's what lots of Aussies are wearing these days. I don't know how they do it, it is definitely cold right now, and our heater is not working.
Last month the strangest thing happened while we were watching the ABC Nightly News from the US. We tape it since it comes on here at 3:00am, and there was a segment about Berkeley requiring incoming freshman to have their DNA tested. They were showing scenes of students around the campus and the reporter stopped to interview a few of them. Then they showed a couple of students sitting on the steps of a building, and I said to Bill, "that looks exactly like Josh." He replied that of course it couldn't be since Josh lived in Seattle now and hadn't been at Berkeley for 15 years, but I insisted on rewinding it several times and although it was just a side view, I was certain it was Josh. Of course it made no sense, especially since this guy was smoking, (and I knew Josh NEVER smoked) but I took some pics of the TV screen and emailed them to him. I was so glad to hear I wasn't crazy and it really was him, although why the network would intermingle 15-year old file footage with current stuff is beyond me. So bizarre to be sitting in Australia and see my son on TV, only from 15 years ago, truly strange... When I spoke to him later he noted he never thought he'd get ratted out on the smoking thing by a film crew 15 years after the fact.
Well June is almost over, half a year gone already, and we're definitely into winter now. The last couple mornings have been freezing, right around 32 degrees in fact. It does warm up during the day, as long as you're in the sun, but it's far from shorts and t-shirt weather, although that's what lots of Aussies are wearing these days. I don't know how they do it, it is definitely cold right now, and our heater is not working.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Well, today Australia made history with its first ever female prime minister taking over. I think the way their system works is that if the current prime minister appears to be losing popularity, like this one was, then his party can replace him with someone else, until another election is held. Not sure when that will be but this is the first time they've had a female running the country, so things should be really, really good from here on out.
Last Saturday we tried something we'd never heard of before, called orienteering. Basically you go out to a forested area, they give you a topographic map and a compass, and you're expected to find several different electronic markers before returning to the starting point, with the whole thing being timed in case you feel competitive. Well Bill loved plotting the course, like I figured he would, and I was just along for the hike. It's all cross country, except for a short trail in the beginning, and most of the participants were running through the brush instead of walking. Crazy people. We finished the first, easy course in less than an hour so went back for a longer one, and that one took a little over 2 hours. Bill used the compass and map to find the markers, and my sole contribution was to put the peg in the electronic thing to mark we'd been there. If it'd been up to me to find our way we'd still be out there stumbling around in the bush.
Well, today Australia made history with its first ever female prime minister taking over. I think the way their system works is that if the current prime minister appears to be losing popularity, like this one was, then his party can replace him with someone else, until another election is held. Not sure when that will be but this is the first time they've had a female running the country, so things should be really, really good from here on out.
Last Saturday we tried something we'd never heard of before, called orienteering. Basically you go out to a forested area, they give you a topographic map and a compass, and you're expected to find several different electronic markers before returning to the starting point, with the whole thing being timed in case you feel competitive. Well Bill loved plotting the course, like I figured he would, and I was just along for the hike. It's all cross country, except for a short trail in the beginning, and most of the participants were running through the brush instead of walking. Crazy people. We finished the first, easy course in less than an hour so went back for a longer one, and that one took a little over 2 hours. Bill used the compass and map to find the markers, and my sole contribution was to put the peg in the electronic thing to mark we'd been there. If it'd been up to me to find our way we'd still be out there stumbling around in the bush.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Well today I went out with the education group again to a school, and this time I had to present two of the animals myself. I was not exactly prepared for this, but I stumbled through and did my best. Now I really need to read all the info they gave me so I know what to say - I just assumed I'd have several more times to observe before being expected to talk.
Things have been very quiet at the hospital lately, so I've had a chance for a lot of one-on-one training. Yesterday I learned how to tube feed birds and bobtails, although I sure hope I don't have to do it anytime soon; I'm afraid I'd put the tube down the wrong way or too far and choke the poor things.
I'm still trying to figure out all the different accents at the wildlife center, since there are volunteers from lots of different countries. Yesterday a Scottish lady with a very thick accent was asking another volunteer where the "gat-ill" was, and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Then she said, "You know, the lit-ul gat-ill," and I realized she was saying "little girl." Wow, that was a tough one.
One of the supervisors was showing some of the new volunteers the charts, and she noted that the comments written down are always kept very professional. But then she started laughing as she read a comment at the bottom of a bird's chart that was not doing very well. It said simply "Poor littel lov."
Well today I went out with the education group again to a school, and this time I had to present two of the animals myself. I was not exactly prepared for this, but I stumbled through and did my best. Now I really need to read all the info they gave me so I know what to say - I just assumed I'd have several more times to observe before being expected to talk.
Things have been very quiet at the hospital lately, so I've had a chance for a lot of one-on-one training. Yesterday I learned how to tube feed birds and bobtails, although I sure hope I don't have to do it anytime soon; I'm afraid I'd put the tube down the wrong way or too far and choke the poor things.
I'm still trying to figure out all the different accents at the wildlife center, since there are volunteers from lots of different countries. Yesterday a Scottish lady with a very thick accent was asking another volunteer where the "gat-ill" was, and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Then she said, "You know, the lit-ul gat-ill," and I realized she was saying "little girl." Wow, that was a tough one.
One of the supervisors was showing some of the new volunteers the charts, and she noted that the comments written down are always kept very professional. But then she started laughing as she read a comment at the bottom of a bird's chart that was not doing very well. It said simply "Poor littel lov."
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Went on a really interesting tour today with the American Women's Club, to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They have been in existence for 75 years, and provide medical service to all remote areas of WA, via prop planes and the very recent addition of a Lear jet. There is no fee for this service, and in many instances it is the difference between life and death, since medical centers are so far away from most places in WA. The state comprises one third of the entire continent, so the area is huge and medical facilities are basically non-existent in the outback. The service they provide is free of charge to anyone living or traveling in AU, and they have something like 35 doctors, 40 nurses and 35 pilots on call.
We got to see some of the prop planes they use, and a flight actually came in while we were there, with the patient being immediately loaded into a waiting ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital. We went inside a simulator, and the plane is literally filled with medical equipment, making it a challenging place to be if you're claustrophobic.
Went on a really interesting tour today with the American Women's Club, to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. They have been in existence for 75 years, and provide medical service to all remote areas of WA, via prop planes and the very recent addition of a Lear jet. There is no fee for this service, and in many instances it is the difference between life and death, since medical centers are so far away from most places in WA. The state comprises one third of the entire continent, so the area is huge and medical facilities are basically non-existent in the outback. The service they provide is free of charge to anyone living or traveling in AU, and they have something like 35 doctors, 40 nurses and 35 pilots on call.
We got to see some of the prop planes they use, and a flight actually came in while we were there, with the patient being immediately loaded into a waiting ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital. We went inside a simulator, and the plane is literally filled with medical equipment, making it a challenging place to be if you're claustrophobic.
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