Grand Old Lady

The grand old lady of Australia Zoo could be forgiven for being a bit slow, but time waits for no man or tortoise.

Australia Zoo’s Harriet, the Giant Galapagos Land Tortoise, died early yesterday morning, surrendering the Guinness World Record she held as the world’s oldest living animal. Harriet would have turned 176 in November. She was born in 1830 on Isla Santa Cruz, about 900 kilometres southwest of Ecuador. After being collected by Sir Charles Darwin in 1835, she lived in England for a short period before relocating permanently to south-east Queensland. The Galapagos Islands, Harriet’s natural home, have been attributed with spurring Darwin’s research into the Theory of Evolution.

Harriet took up her Australia Zoo lodgings in the mid-1980s, spending the final decades of her epic 175-year life on the Sunshine Coast. She became a major attraction at the Zoo because of her affectionate nature and colourful, historic past.

Not being one to hide from the spotlight, the world record holder would come out of her shell to celebrate her birthday with thousands of visitors each year. Australia Zoo’s Steve Irwin said Harriet’s passing marked a sad day for his family and the world at large.

“Harriet has been a huge chunk of the Irwin family’s life,” he said.

“I have grown up with this gorgeous old girl and so have my kids. She is possibly one of the oldest living creatures on the planet and her passing today is not only a great loss for the world but a very sad day for my family. She was a grand old lady.”

Zoo veterinarian Jon Hanger said Harriet had been in very good health until the sudden onset of a heart-related illness on Thursday. “She was a very old animal. Basically, her heart failed,” he said. “The best we could do was make her comfortable.”

Dr Hanger said there would be a memorial constructed at the Zoo to commemorate Harriet’s long life. “She will be very much missed. She had a lovely personality. “There will be a lot of very upset people at the Zoo today.”

The picture is of Bindi Sue Irwin, daughter of famous Steve Irwin, with Granny Harriet

The Light Will Be Shining...

During my week away my sweetheart hung up the lamps we had just bought. Well I can'’t call it just bought as we ordered them like 2 or 3 months ago but they had finally arrived just before I would leave for the Ardennes. They are of Italian design by a company called LucePlan and it'’s called Glass Glass. We always wanted an industrial design but also a little more stylish and we had been looking around for so long. We actually came across them in a clothes shop hanging above the counter. We asked where they came from and he gave us the advice the call the designer department and ask there. Well we did and they were very helpful (Thank you WE) and we were able to order them. As they are hand made we had to wait long but it was worth it just look how stunning they are!

A Sunny Week Away...

The last week I had an excursion to the Belgian part of the Ardennes. It’s an old mountain range with only steep hills to remember how splendid they once were. I went there for a minor course I follow for geography and we went there for the interesting rock formations under ground. The first day we followed the Ninglingspo (I was starting to wonder if I was in Thailand or Belgium?) and it was really hot but when we got back to the vans it started to rain and as we got closer to the chalet we would stay in it started to hose.

We were lucky that it cooled because of the rain and thunder so we could sleep well. This was actually the weather for the rest of the week, sun during the day and rain and thunder at night. During this week we had to make a geological map of an area we were appointed to by going to that area during the day and work on the map after dinner. It was a really busy week but we also had a lot of fun.

In the south of Belgium they speak French (Waals) and I’m really bad at French (more like I speak a few sentences and a few words I once learned at school) and one day one of the vans broke down and the teachers weren’t able to go grocery shopping and Daisy and I wanted to cook that night so we were given money to go shopping. Well it was hilarious, as we both speak french so poorly. It started with the word supermarket (supermarché in French) and when we asked someone where it was in poor French they were Dutch and they told us we were standing right across from it. In the supermarket we were confronted with many other obstacles as minced meat that we had to be sure of was made from cows. I remembered cow was bouf (of la vache) and I practically screamed it at the man when it popped into my head. We also had a problem that there wasn’t enough brown bread.

After all this we had a great laugh and it really was a fun week even tough we were all tired at the end we felt like we really learned a lot.

Farmer seeks wife?

For my study at the EHVA I had to follow a class called agricultural biology or for us farming biology and we were only with 8 students. It was one of the best ones I ever had as it was really hands-on and I have always been interested in farming. People have this distance now from where food comes from and there are even children who think meat grows in plastic packaging.

For this class we also had a day at a farm but as we wanted to also milk cows we had to be up very early and as the farm was miles away (like halfway across the Netherlands) and at least a 3 hour journey for me we all decided to stay at the field research centrum our teacher has close to the farm. The weather was a staggering 30 degrees Celsius these 2 day and it was actually to hot to do anything! We had a fun evening with cheap red wine and off course went to bed way to late so the next morning we all had difficulty waking up. After breakfast we went to the farm in our new beautiful blue coveralls (protective clothing, boiler suits) which was way to hot in this weather.

At the farm we were split up into smaller groups and we all got a job of our own and after a while we would rotate with each other so everyone could do everything. I started with herding cows towards the milking carousel and watching cow behavior, After that we went to the young calves to feed them and clean up and after that it was our turns to milk. I had done it before but never with a carousel and it was funny to see these cows turn around you. As we were the last group to milk cows we also got to help to clean everything there too and had great fun with the water on such a hot day. We had breakfast when everyone was done and got real milk (without all the processes and 100% fat) and home made yoghurt which was really sweet. After that we watched as the cows went to the field and went with 3 people to herd the cows to the fields.

There were 3 new cows who were allowed to go to the field for the first time and still had to learn what to do. When we got to the fields two of the young cows jumped into the ditch and weren't able to pull themselves out. We warned the farmer and he went to pull them out. After he pulled one out and started with the next one the first one jumped back in so it took longer then expected. After that we herded the stragglers back to the group and put up the fens.

When we got back we got to help with administration and other small things on a farm like mending fences and cleaning up the haystack. When we were all done it was actually time to leave but as we were sitting in the shade the people from Artificial insemination come for 2 cows so we stayed to watch. After that we said goodbye to the farmers who had been so nice to us all day and went back to the research centrum to pack up and go home.

It was a great day and I hope this one class will stay at school

BTW: we got to keep those lovely blue coveralls

Brooke's Animal Hospital

I love animals and have always loved to ride on a horse. I have seen so many suffering at the hand of humans because those humans don't know any better or are to poor to provide the necessary care. Many of those people depend on their animals and when that animal get sick or injured and with no money they can only watch as their animal die a slow and painful death. I wanted to do something and through a TV show I saw years ago I found an organization that is trying to fight this injustice in the world

The Brooke hospital for Animals relieves the suffering of horses, donkeys and mules working for poor people in the developing world. Their dedicated local vets and their teams provide free care, education and training in the heart of the communities they serve in Egypt, India, Jordan and Pakistan.

Their aim is to reach millions of working horses and donkeys suffering pain and distress wherever the need is greatest with their proven, sustainable solutions. They will achieve this by forging partnerships and sharing these solutions with local organizations, helping poor communities around the world that are dependent upon working equine animals.

This year the Dutch department of Brooke Hospital will celebrate it's birthday. 12,5 year have they been active with promoting their cause. To celebrate their birthday the TROS (a Dutch TV Channel) will host an afternoon show with old and new footage of Brooke. Including their latest work in Pakistan after the earthquake.

For more information in English
Brooke's Animal Hospital

Or in Dutch
Brooke's Dieren Hospitaal

The Language of Stones

As a child I never read that much but when I was around 14 I saw a book in the bookstore that catched my eye and which I really wanted to read and have. My mother bought it for me and if I would read it we would also get the sequels. It was Children of Amarid (The Lon Tobyn Chronicle) by David B. Coe and I finished it in a few days. That is how my love for books started. This post is about a new series of books I started to read and it's called the Language of Stones by Robert Carter. Here is a summary:

A rich and evocative tale based in a mythic 15th century Britain, to rival the work of Bernard Cornwell. The Realm is poised for war. Its weak king Hal, grandson of a usurper, is dominated by his beautiful wife and her lover. Against them stands Duke Richard of Ebor and his allies. The two sides are set on a bloody collision course! Gwydion is watching over the Realm. He has walked the land since before the time of the druids, since before the Slavers came to subdue the people. Gwydion was here when Arthur rode to war: then they called him 'Merlyn'. But for his young apprentice, Willand, a fearsome lesson in the ways of men and power lies ahead. The Realm is an England that is still-magical. Legendary beasts still populate its by-ways. It is a land criss-crossed by lines of power upon which standing stones have been set as a secret protection against invasion. But the power of the array was broken by the Slavers who laid straight roads across the land and built walled cities of shattered stone. A thousand years have passed since then, and those roads and walls have fallen into decay. The dangerous stones are awakening, and their unruly influence is calling men to battle. Unless Gwydion and Will can unearth them, the Realm will be plunged into a disastrous civil war. But there are many enemies ranged against them: men, monsters and a sorcerer who is as powerful as Gwydion himself.