Oh what a time

I have had the day from hell trying to get my assessments done I understand the questions but putting them in my own words ohhh boy. Give me a cheque book and a pile of receipts no problem ask me about a laboratory analysis on QA,QC,accuracy,blanks and control and I am lost. I know what they do but to put that in my words is proving to be difficult to say the least.
I said to my husband why did I give up my job I am starting to wish for the mind numbing boredom (not really) but it does go through your head when you have to do assessments. Bottom line is I am enjoying what I am learning and I am still just hoping I pass everything.

Getting past that our new possums are doing well. We still have Lucky but hopefully for not much longer he is well over due to be released and I mean well overdue. I worry about him going out into the wild because he has been with us for so long and he is such a big boy now and he so horny (I feel for the boy he can smell the females that come into our yard and he calls for them) he won't be successful though because he is in a cage. (I think it would be hard to have sex through a mesh of wire "don't you").

Hopefully he will move on soon, we need more release sites around where we live. But we also need more people to take these poor orphans on or become members so that we have the finances to help.

It has been awhile

Well where can I start I have had such a full on four weeks since I started tafe. I have learn't so much I don't whether I have taken much in but it has been fun. Apart from all the riparian zones and the benthic zones and lots more I have done, ( how should I put this) I have met an interesting other side of me. That is how I am feeling. The first day I met a fellow student, we found we have so much in common it is scary. Now I think we could be really connected some how. She is around my age hasn't studied for the same amount of time, has two sons the same age as my two girls, has been separated and divorced the same amount of time, is living with a guy just like my Steve and so so many other little things, don't laugh but even our teeth have a similar story. Apart from all that she is she is a lovely lady and I am enjoying getting to know her and what else we may have in common. Funny thing is I have yet to ask her when her birthday is.

Getting away from that, the other day we had our first of many field trips where we got to rip out weeds etc. This trip consisted of us walking out to a small island off Wellington Point and digging up prickly pear. It is a 20minute walk (take into account we had wheel barrows, digging equipment, a roll of fencing wire, buckets, bags for rubbish and black plastic) and we were set. There was no water (except what you bought with you and no toilets). Did I mention it was in the middle of the day. Apart from all that when we finished I felt we had done something significant for the environment. We are all still picking out prickles out of our clothes, gloves etc one guy said he found one in his beard.

On my days off from tafe I have been working in my old job. Such a day was today, I honestly don't miss my old job and am looking to the future in the hope I get a job in what I am learning. I was quite down after today and really look forward to my days at tafe at the moment. I think I was never destined to be in a cage.

On a brighter note we have new babies, we have three new possums two ringtails and a brushtail (don't tell Steve but Sarah and I just got Clive our brushtail out and he escaped SSSHHHHHHH.) We caught him again but still we were very bad to get him in the first place but he is just sooooo cute. Hopefully I will get some pics soon. I promise I won't get him out again. That was for Steve as he will read this. Love you babe.

First Week in Tafe

This week was my first week back in the scary world of studying and learning. I have five assignments and I don't know where to start. My first day I was terrified about who would be in my class and what the teachers would be like now I am just worried I won't be able to pass. I just hope I can take it all in and walk away with a certificate.

My class is a good mixture of ages and sexes which is great. I have met some really nice people. The teachers though all seem to be stale so to speak I think they are wishing they were some place else. Given what they are teaching it is understandable. I think they want to be out in the field doing the revegetating instead of teaching it.

My first assignment I have decided to do Lyngbya an algae that smothers the vegetation in Moreton Bay thus killing off the food supply to some of our native wildlife in the bay. I have to really get my head around it all. But on an up note I get lots of day trips around the Redlands and we have to assess and revegetate a few plots in the area so that in years to come we can go back and say we did that.

I can't believe that two weeks ago I was in England and now I am back to reality with a bump. I even went to work today for 3 hours and I have to work next week. Oh God to be on holidays again.

Our Trip

Steve and Terry (Steve's cousin) who picked us up from the airport and showed us the sites around Dorset.

Steve in a heated room (doesn't he look happy). The start of our holiday.

Steve and I at Swanage (it was freezing)

Steve with his apendage (his camera never a long distance away).

Our Chickens

We decided to move our girls to a new spot in the backyard on the weekend because they had been in the same spot for months. What fun that turned out to be, each of the girls got really lost come bed time as their roost had been moved, so Steve and I for the first time in ages had to round them up and put them into their new position (as quick as we caught one and put her into the pen she would escape while we were catching the others, talk about running around like chooks with their heads cut off, sorry about the pun couldn't resist but that was what we would have looked like).

While doing this one of the girls decided to roost under some lemon grass that we have growing, when I moved the grass aside and picked her up much to my surprise we found that she had been using that site for quite some time because we found 12 eggs two broken and the rest we are going to check for freshness. So while we have been complaining that one of the girls has not been laying, she has in fact been laying outside of the nest.

So I now have to check out all their little hiding spots that they disappear to and see if there are any more eggs in the backyard.

Back in Aussie

We are back from the United Kingdom and Europe. What can I say, it was fantastic. Enjoying all the sites and the people was an eye opener. The welcome home was great. I am really looking forward to sleeping at this point (in my own bed). Have spent 48 hours travelling but I don't feel tired. I have to go to tafe tomorrow to register for my course I hope I don't fall asleep. I now have the bug to explore more countries but don't have the money so will have to save like crazy to explore more of our great world out there.

If you are into travel and have the money lucky you.

Overseas

Well we are overseas and a lot of fun it has been. I have seen so many different places and it has been great, but it has been really cold. We have had some fine days which has been good, the bad weather seems to be a couple of days behind us (thank god). I have seen so many places that I have only previously seen in movies or on the news. There is so much history over here it is amazing. Listing everything I have seen would take pages and pages so I won't bore you hopefully when I get back I will post some photos. (And bore you then)

We are in Rome at the moment and have free internet hence the blog entry. Went on a bus tour today costing 15 Euro ($23 Aus) each and saw most of Rome, the ticket is valid until tomorrow lunch time so we are hoping to see the Trevi Fountain (one thing I want to see from all the old movies I used to watch).

We are here until Saturday in the hope Steve will be feeling better as he has head cold. I am over mine his seems to be hanging on and on and on.

Ciao from Rome