le_sigh_face's blog

Some things you just don't expect.

So people are stealing my cow palpation pictures on flickr and incorporating them into stories of living on a dairy farm and needing to stick their hands up tight cow butts regularly. Basically, my pictures have been incorporated into some secret artificial insemination fetish group. Weirded out? Yes. Complained? Yes. Will they be taken down? Hopefully.

Here's an example (just Gina sitting on a fence in this case):
Mine:
http://flickr.com/photos/n_auds/2551946081/in/set-72157605402741094/
Theirs:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136505@N08/2740667922/

They like to edit out the locals.

Is this seriously happening?

Tequila!

063

The only decent video I got at the Virgin Mobile Festival. I'm pretty happy with it - there's even music!

Junior the Jaguar

At the Belize Zoo they have raised an orphaned jaguar named Junior. He's 11 months old, and still very close to the zoo manager. In this video, we're all within a cage inside of Junior's enclosure, and Sharon Matola the founder of the zoo gets him to roll over for us. Afterwards, he climbed on top of the cage and gave kisses to all of us. Being licked by a jaguar tongue? Awesome.

Jaguar Summersault

Frickin' MIND BOGGLING

My amazing best friend Dasbecca pointed this out!

Ellen Degeneres-Corn Starch & Water

I want to try it so bad!!!

Leaf Cutter Ant Parade!

BelizeDay6.03 006

6.12.08

 

BBB Sheep

After we visited Fire

Big Rock Falls

Tree Ranch (dedicated to the futile attempt at producing genetically pure Barbados Black Belly sheep), Dr. T took us Big Rock Falls. I was completely unprepared. I had thought we were going to stop by our cabins first before making the trip, but as I've learned, plans don't really exist in Belize. So, in scrubs, no bathing suit, and slippery flip flops, I made the ridiculously steep climb down to the river. Most of the descent for me was spent in crab-soccer position. You have to remember crab soccer from elementary school - when you crawl around on your hands and feet but facing up (the next day those muscles reminded me that they do indeed still exist). Still, I made it, only suffering a bit of rawness on the palms of my hands.
    The effort was worth it. When we reached the river, to our right was a magnificent waterfall. It wasn't by any means the tallest, nor the widest, but it was beautiful. I handed Dr. T my Nikon, and he diligently took pictures of anything he considered impossible to get in trouble for. Responsibly, he ignored all of our more dangerous endeavors on the rocks. A few of the girls followed our van driver, and scaled the wall of rock enclosing the waterfall to dive into the pool beneath the it. Although I didn't have near enough the amount of gumption required to climb those rocks, I did make sure to swim right up to the falls and sit on the rocks where the water was falling. It was just something to be done, to be felt. Sitting on those rocks, you somehow felt insignificant, and lucky all the same. The water pounding down on you is just not something you get to experience everyday.

6.10.08

Up in the Trees

Today we went to Central Farms in the sweltering heat. Tried to pay attention, but said issue had most of us trying not to think about how hot and sweaty we were – and most of us failed. The combination of heat, humidity, and a lack of a breeze can be close to unbearable at times. Still, the trip was pretty interesting.  Anyhow, Central Farm is a government run operation, and they actually to be doing good for the country. Their main mission is to educate farmers about good pasture and herd management, and to provide good breeding stock in a variety of domestic breeds. The farms here tend to be small and second priority to other jobs, and the people don’t have a lot of money or education invested in agriculture. It basically leads to lower production at higher costs, and Central Farms is trying to reverse it with sustainable methods. I was just impressed by the thought put into the operation, and just seeing a government program that was really trying to directly help its people was inspiring.

We got to do some hands on activities as well. I got to inject a couple of calves and sheep with dewormers, using intramuscular (directly into muscle mass) and subcutaneous (just underneath the skin). Franny got to help castrate a young ram – which was kind of amazing because it didn’t make a sound or move at all despite no anesthetics. They have this strange behavior of becoming completely still once you get them to the ground. We passed around the testicles, giggling like school girls – Dr. T just shook his head at us.  The last girl to get the organ always ended up awkwardly holding onto it, wishing she hadn’t been last to receive.

Cayo Eats Whole Shoe

Also, we got a new addition to our group. Carly became attached to a puppy found behind a tractor, and with Dr. T’s ambiguous encouragement (believe me, it’s possible – Belizeans have perfected the art of being direct and vague simultaneously), she asked the farm manager if she could take him home. Of course he said, yes, he didn’t even realize there were puppies on the property (there were several decent conditioned dogs running around the property). So now we have Cayo, who is being the typical puppy – a terror when awake (total ankle biter), adorable when asleep, and a daily source of cuteness. The Belizeans refer to him as a pot licker, their way of saying mutt, referring to many breeds typical in Belizean mutts.

When we got home I and a few other girls went with Dr. T to do some housecalls in Dangriga and Hopkins. We got to see the ocean for the first time In Dangriga, not terribly lovely here, but at least we caught a good sea breeze. Hopkins was nicer, and we got to play with more puppies and give some antibiotic shots to them (they had developed colds from being born down on the sand). There are no vets in the area, and Dr. T is usually the only one willing to make the drive. When he’s not around Miss Nancy is there providing what she can. Animal drugs (and human really) are not very regulated here, with the exception of anesthetics, so it’s easy to get a hold of antibiotics and a variety of other medications and self treat. It’s a good and bad thing. At least animals are getting some aid when a vet isn’t readily available, but people without in depth animal knowledge often make mistakes, and well, less people look to getting the services of a vet when they can medicate the animals themselves. It was a nice trip. Dr. T told us he was going to miss us, this was our last week with him before moving onto the exotics instructor. We’re all going to miss him. He started off shy and unsure with us, but he really let us have an awesome experience doing things ourselves, and was so kind - always willing to take us to see things up to 3 hours away, with only gas money as our fee. We were never bored, he made sure of it.

Dr. T!

Uncanny! (and I promise, another Belize post by tonight - internet willing)

Individualistic Doer (ID)

(Just visiting? Take the free test and determine your personality type!)

Individualistic Doers are self-assured and very independent persons. They are quiet and realistic, very rational, extremely matter of fact persons. They strongly cultivate their individualism and enjoy applying their abilities to new tasks. But they are also very spontaneous and impulsive persons who like to follow their sudden inspirations. Individualistic Doers are good and precise observers who register everything which goes on around them. However, they are not so sensitive as regards interpersonal relations and are surprised when they occasionally rub someone up the wrong way with their direct and blunt manner. They are not particularly fond of obligations; but if you give them space, they are uncomplicated, sociable and cheerful individuals.

Individualistic Doers enjoy challenges - action and the odd kick are simply part of their life. They love tempting fate and many people of this type have risky hobbies such as skydiving or bungee jumping. This also applies to their workaday life. Individualistic Doers are in top form in critical situations; they can grasp situations, make decisions and take the necessary steps extremely quickly. Hierarchies and authorities impress them very little; if a superior is not competent, they will have little respect for him. Individualistic Doers like to take on responsibility. They have a marked sense of reality and always find the most suitable and expedient solution for a problem. They resolve conflicts openly and directly; here, they sometimes lack tact but are also very good at taking criticism themselves.

As friends, Individualistic Doers are loyal and devoted; they only have a few friendships but many of them last a lifetime. People enjoy talking to them because of their optimistic attitude to life and their ability to listen. However, they prefer to talk about mutual interests and hobbies rather than about theoretical or philosophical issues - they are not tangible enough for them. They need a lot of freedom and time to themselves in love relationships but, at the same time, they are also very tolerant towards their partners. It happens very seldom that Individualistic Doers fall head over heels in love. They are far too rational. They prefer to pick their partner on the basis of mutual interests and preferences which they want to share with that partner. Individualistic Doers are not particularly fond of effusive outbursts of emotion. They prefer to prove their love by their actions and expect the same of their partner. Whoever wishes to tie an Individualistic Doer to himself needs a lot of patience. It takes some time before this personality type is willing to get involved with another person.

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Adjectives which describe your type

introverted, practical, logical, spontaneous, adventurous, resolved, independent, fearless, loyal, analytical, realistic, optimistic, interested, quiet, curious, circumspect, individualistic, action-loving, venturesome, cool, dispassionate, reserved, skilful, confident, independent, communicative, down-to-earth

These subjects could interest you

travel, nature, hiking, cars, model making, gardening, drawing/painting, astrology, spiritual matters, music, literature, writing, strategy games, politics

6.09.08

Amy's High Jump

After visiting the only large pig farm still running in Belize (thankfully it was only a tour – no castrations), Dr. T drove us out to Barton Creek Cave in the Tahoe. This excursion was only 1.5 hours of bumpy road, so not so bad. We arrived to find a group of surfers, who had driven all the way from Colorado after hearing about Barton Creek Outpost. It was simply a small bar on stilts with a thatched roof overlooking a clear stream. The creek was flanked by a small cliff face, and the trees have several rope swings to jump from. Before eating lunch we had a pleasant swim, pushing around one of the bar owner’s kids on a surfboard and watching some of the other girls jump from the cliff face and the rope swings. I personally have had enough of cliff jumping after bruising my butt and the back of my thighs badly from jumping multiple times off a 30 foot cliff in Hawaii, so I was happy to take the pictures.

When we had enough of swimming we assembled and went canoeing up the river to Barton Creek Cave.  Now this place was amazing – when you looked up what impressed upon me was just the feeling of someone having replaced the sky with rock. The stalactite and stalagmites were neat (especially a formation that created a natural bridge) but I could have just stared at the ceiling of the cave the entire trip had my

Awesome Flower

neck allowed it. The feeling was just surreal. The guide pointed out some ancient Mayan artifacts along the way, the coolest of which being a Mayan Skull, a result of human sacrifice, but the most amazing part was when we got to near the end of the cave. He had us turn off all our lights and asked us to be silent for 15 seconds. I’ve never experienced something so eerie. It was pitch black, you couldn’t even see your hand if you waved it in front of your eyes. It was a dark you could never adjust to, a dark that would eventually cause you to have hallucinations to make up for the lack of vision. You could hear the water dripping from the rocks, and the soft ripples hitting the walls of the cave. You soon wanted the lights back on.

Sitting on Cats

As we paddled back we shut down our lights once more to see the blue glow of light penetrating the cave. Now that was a beautiful site, I only wish I had been able to capture it in a photograph.

When we got back into town we stopped by Dr. T's office for an unexpected arrival. A quatimundi had been trapped, and it was necessary to suture it up as it had been hacked with a machete. Afterwards it was sent to a rehabilitation center.

Wildlife Work

6.08.08

Today was a bit of a strange day. We started off by going to Country Meats, a slaughter house in --.  After putting some plastic covers over our shoes, hairnets and lab coats we began our short tour of the place. It was a tad disturbing, some of the conditions we saw. Between the cold room and the slaughter room there was a plastic curtain that the carcasses would slide through (carried on meat hooks). The gross thing about it is that it was covered in blood stains and some unidentifiable dark smudging – all of which would eventually touch the next carcasses to pass through. Once we got into the slaughter room there were 3 cow carcasses in various stages of processing. We kept having to wait for the noise of the chain saws to pause. This was basically like my necropsy internship for me, with the exception of the carcasses being completely skinned, the heads were piled in a corner, and the death was so recent you could still see the muscles twitching. That last bit I have to admit was kind of neat for me. What was also interesting to learn was that animals about to be slaughtered need to be as calm as possible for the best quality meat. The adrenaline drenched muscle of a stressed animal apparently won’t cook as well, or be as tender. It was nice to know there was sort of built in protection for the well being of these animals in their last moments. We all piled out quickly when we saw the next cow being brought in for stunning, however. Nobody really wanted to see that. It’s not that I couldn’t watch it; death is just something I need to be mentally prepared for.  I mean, my first adventure with animal death was my Meme taking a cute rabbit out of its pen, killing it, and tearing out its eyes with a knife to bleed it. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting that and I still remember it clearly. It was a dark grey rabbit. But hey, I still like to eat them – so I can’t say I was scarred for life.

                After a trip to Western Dairies (the main milk processing plant in Belize) we stopped by a tiny farm to basically castrate some pigs. This, I have to say, is probably the first time I considered possibly ruling our large animal practice as my career path. First off, it was the wrong time of day. It was already 3 pm, and generally Dr. T hates doing surgery after the morning hours because the animal’s metabolism gets faster. This results in using a whole lot more anesthetic to knock the same animal down. We ended up getting a prime example of this with the boar that was to be castrated. It would jerk violently with every slice of the blade, people were sprayed with blood, and the animal was in obvious pain even after Dr. T used more anesthetic. It was probably the most unpleasant surgery I’ve ever seen, and you could tell Dr. T was really displeased with the whole thing. This was followed by neutering piglets WITHOUT any anesthetic (apparently even in the states they don’t). The piglet is just held b the rear legs and neutered. I thought the squealing was horrible, but some of the girls actually did some of the piglets themselves. I couldn’t, I know if that animal flinched, so would I, and this is the point where I thought about giving up on large animal medicine. Young farm animals just have it rough. I had to decide that if I needed to do this in my future career, I’d just need to use a local anesthetic at the very least. It was at least comforting to see the piglets run around like nothing had happened as soon as they were set down.

(No pics today, may get some from friends)