Annes Blog

I love Micke !

2012-01-29T14:03:00.001-08:00

my new desk :)

Testing uploads...

2012-01-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

I´ve been uploading my pictures to Facebook, but it downsizes them to the point of looking crappy. I usually use 100o Pxls width, what´s the point of lugging around a DSLR if you can only look at stamp sized-photos? So, I want to try blogger, also for the people who´re not using Facebook.
It is just so annoying and time-consuming, that Blogger doesn´t have the option of multiple uploads (5 pict. max), so it might take a while till I find a way to get around it or doing it manually.
(Click on the photos for better quality.)

Angry, Yasuni, Niebel

2011-12-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

On my last week in Ecuador I went to a Lodge in the Rainforest, run by the local Sani on the border of Yasuni National Park.

It is one of the most amazing places, maybe the most amazing place, I have ever seen.
We went there by boat - seeing Oil production sites, destroying the forest, all along the way.

Back home I started reading about this paradise and am both saddened and enraged by the role the german government, represented by our "development minister" Niebel (FDP- what else?!) plays.
Here´s an article (in german). (There are more on Spiegel online etc.)

"This is the chance of a lifetime: a unique opportunity to preserve the moths that hover over a tapir´s eye just long enough to drink from its tear duct, or the poison-dart frogs that piggyback their recently hatched tadpoles from the forest floor uo to the small pools that form in bromeliads high in the canopy. Let´s hope the world takes it." (BBC Wildlife, David Herasimtschuk, Oct 2011)
Well, I guess Germany won´t.

Thanks to farsighted people like Mr. Niebel my Niece and Nephew won´t be able to discover places like Yasuni once they´re my age.
But I guess we cannot really afford to spend 40 mil dollars on something as ridiculous as protecting one of the worlds most biodeverse places on earth (and it´s people!), the money is much better spent on saving another bank, and another one....and of course we have garanties there that the money is well spent.
Tell the ecuadorians to cut down the forest, once they replant it they´ll get money for CO2 savings or whatever ...

Link to Yasuni-itt: http://yasuni-itt.gob.ec/

Juvenile Condor

2011-12-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

Amazing birds!
This is a wild juvenile, who came to visit the captive Condors at Hacienda Zula a couple of times - she was very inquisitive.

Merry Christmas, Wesołych Świąt, Fröhliche Weihnachten & Feliz Navidad!

2011-12-24T05:13:00.000-08:00

" It had taken all my life to understand what that means: baboons, elephants and people belong with the ones they truly know. We need more than strangers around us. Mark and I had studied the significance of social sytems of other species for decades, but in doing so, we had left our own families. And what we learned was that it is not so much that the troop is incomplete without some of its baboons or human beings, but that the individual baboons or human beings are incomplete without their troop.[...] Because most people are as scattered as desert lions, one can find plenty of strays in the dunes; all you need is a net to bring them in. To be complete we need Nature and our troops, but both are slipping away beyond our reach. We must save what wilderness we can because it was our first home, and without it we will never fully understand who we are. [...]we must put our troops and our families back together again. Like Kalahari lions at the end of drought, we must form a new pride. "
Deliah Owens, Secrets of the Savannah

travelling

2011-12-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

I took a boat trip to the Isla de la Plata from Puerto Lopez - it was fantastic! Saw loads of seabirds, including blue-footed boobies, and marine green turtles. When I cycled to a beach close by I saw hundreds of tracks of turtle hatchlings, reminded me of 6 great, hot weeks when I volunteered at a beach in greece where we guarded nests, dug up old nests, counted eggs...
See, again? Happens all the time - tings remind me of other travels. And 90 % of the time its good memories so I like it ;). The hostel in Puerto Lopez was great, I had my own cabin in a beautiful garden, just across the beach. Went swimming, lazed around, ate invertebrates...ahem...yes....abandoned my vegetarianism for a week to eat shrimps & mussles. Muy rico!
Was kind of sad to leave, I could have stayed a bit longer, esp. as diving didn´t work out for organisational reasons. At least I could do some snorkeling.
Now I'm back in Quito an though I do enjoy having access to a book store (reading "black swan green" at the moment and love it), a veggie reaturant and everything I feel like every day I spent here is wasted.
So, tomorrow it´s off to Yasuni, the rainforest, the amazoian, the oriente. Off to a lodge, a tent, a canoe and loads od mosquitoes. Btw. I did manage to get preventive pills `gainst malaria in the end. I met a canadian couple in the hostel who´ll be doing the same thing, so we can go to the airport together ;). It always depends a lot on luck and good guides and patience to see stuff in the forest - so I hope we´ll have all of those.

Tavel Time

2011-12-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

This morning I left Quito and took a plane to Manta, on the coast.

And finally - I was waiting for it ! - I had my first unpleasant Taxi driver. He tried to talk me into not taking the bus but his Taxi to Puerto Lopez for 40 $ (3 $ by bus) and told me it would take 4 hours (2,5 hrs) and didn't accept my first two polite refusals...when he finally dropped me off at the bus station he ripped me off but I was just glad I got rid of him. How I missed that :).

Just an indicator that things at the coast are different - people scream at you, try to drag you into restaurants, there is loud music everywhere...
Puerto Lopez is a total tourist town, not the "fishing village" my travel guide made me expect. The people in Zuleta were incredibly nice by the way.

Well, the hostel is nice, I saw Frigatebirds, Pelicans, Geckos and tomorrow I'll take a tour to an island - so I'm not complaining, things could be much worse.
Might even go diving, haven't decided yet. Forgot everything from my course last year...went into a dive shop today and will think about it tomorrow.
And it's good to see the sea again - I've spent so many months in Greece, Thailand, Jersey, Honduras and Australia at it, that it almost feels like coming home though that might sound ridiculous, I know.
This is a bit like Utila...I don't know, but I've seen quite a few places by now and now I always end up comparing. Is that good or bad or doesn't it matter?
It's diminishing the sense of "childlike wonder" a bit but it also makes dealing with reality easier. Been there, done that - kind of.
But then I sit here and I watch a 25 Frigatebirds circling over ther harbor and 5 pelicans dive for fish - and it´s fantastic. No matter how often I've seen pelicans, they are still great and Frigatebirds are a first (I think...) - so I know how special this is and enjoy it maybe even more?

But back to comparing: Number One of beautiful places on my list ist still Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia.
Hard to beat. Probably impossible :).
But I´ll give the Isla de la Plata tomorrow a chance. Hoping for seabirds and if I{ m really, really lucky maybe some sealions or dolphins. Will be glad about any nice day, hopefully with nice people.

BTW, In Quito I accidentally ran into the biggest fiesta they have, that was fun ! :)

Quito

2011-12-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

Back in the capital of Ecuador, Quito.

Said Goodbye this morning and went with the bus from Zuleta to Ibarra, from Ibarra to Quito and with the Taxi to the hostel. Found the office of the lodge in Yasuni I´ll be visiting next month and paid - have I mentioned that I hated ecuadorian banks? :)

Tomorrow noon I´m taking an inland flight to Manta and from there a bus to Puerto Lopez, close to Machalilla Park. Hoping for seabirds, snorkeling and sun ;).

Right now Im trying to find malaria pills (yeeeees, I should have bought them at home, but for the condor place you don't need them...) that work. "Funnily" enough the pharmacies seem to only sell stuff that the ecuadorian plasmodium has long since developed resistencies against...
Mum, you just didn´t read this, ok ? ! :)

Ok, back to the busy streets (it´s a kind of fiesta today), city wandering, trying to learn spanish, figuring out Quito, good food, strolling aimlessly, looking for pharmacies and a camera shop...

2011-12-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."
Bill Bryson, Neither here nor there

Last days at the Hacienda and a bit sad to leave. Had a great time here and will miss some people and animals.
But it's raining, so it's easier to look forward to my week at the sea .
Hope all goes well with travelling, I like being places not so much getting there.

2011-11-26T17:56:00.000-08:00

only one week left at the hacienda, time flies.
This week I saw a wild andean bear and watched it almost all day, very! thrilled about that. I also saw a possum yesterday night - and I just love them :). Trying to plan my holidays here has become a bit of a struggle, though. I spent almost my whole day off on going to Ibarra (next bigger town, 1 hr by bus) and trying to make a payment for a Galapagos Trip. 7 Banks and a couple of hours later I gave up.
At least I wont be completely broke when I return.
So, the new plan is to go back to Quito and catch a flight to Manta on Tuesday the 5. Then take the 2hr Bus to Puerto Lopez and stay there till Sunday. Puerto Lopez is on the coast and close to Machalilla National Park . I'll spend my days on the beach, on the Isla de la Plata watching Seabirds, snorkelling or maybe even diving (got certified in Honduras last year)?
I'll see...
On Sunday I'll fly back to Quito and on Monday catch the flight to coca in the amazon basin. I'll spend my last week there, camping in the rainforest, trying no to be eaten alive by mosquitoes and watch as much Wildlife as possible.
Then I'll once again fly back to Quito and then back home.

That's the plan.
Keep you fingers crossed it works:).

For now I'm just glad to be here, enjoying my time. Yann and me went bushwacking up a little stream to a waterfall today and every single muscle hurts...
(Btw. : yes that's work, we were looking fo Tapir and Beartracks)

Paramo

2011-11-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

Already two weeks over...time flies.
Yesterday we were taken up to the Paramo at 4000 m (you can really feel the height, it takes the breath out of you) on the back of a truck, saw lots of Alpakas and a fascinating landscape.
Today Yann and me scrambled up an overgrown path up a mountain to look for bearsh... great fun ! :) (seriously)

Right now I'm trying to figure out what to do between the 5the and the 20th when I'll be travelling. I guess it's either going to be Yasuni's Rainforest or the Galapagos and ?. Both aren't cheap potions (and Galapagos is downright unaffordable...) but I do want to see some mammals here :).
I'll see... trying o figure out dates and prices.

In 10 minutes we'll be served dinner at the hacienda, in many ways this is a luxury volunteering holiday, which I enjoy a lot! (Yes, I'm old.)

Condors!

2011-11-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

Took the Bus from Quito to Gullyabamba (Quito Zoo) on Monday morning. Got to meet Sarah (Canada), Erin (Canada) and Yann (France) my fellow volunteers and Sarah and Fernanda, the project coordinators. Together we were taken to "Hacienda Zuleta", the project site.
It's a beautiful place, a top hotel & a dairy farm with lots of cows, horses, a cheese factory, freeranging donkeys, a bunch of lovely dogs, fantastic gardens with hummingbirds and trails in the cuntryside.
We're the first bunch of volunters staying in our own house and kind of guinea pigs to get everything sorted, which is kind of fun.
The volunteer house is very nice, we've even got a fireplace. In the first week we got to know the place, were tought about condors and bears and moved the rabbit cages. The rabbits and guinea pigs are used as food for the 7 captive condors that live on a site close to the hacienda. One of our tasks will be to take care of them and to do behavioral observations. We'll also be wandering around the area, looking for other widlife, esp. signs of andean bears and mountain tapirs.
On Saturday we went to Otavalo, a two hour bus trip to an amazing market with all kinds of beautiful textiles. A really touristy place but still nice, and a fun day off and out. Being the only Gringos on a bus full of locals always is an experience in itself...

We already saw some wild condors, impressive animals.
The only thing that's been not so nice is the weather - it's been raining every day, but we've also had sunny spells. Today it was dry till 5 o clock pm and we were walking around in Tshirts all day ! :) Well, apart from the time we spent at the condors cages, were I were longsleeves to avoid being eaten alive by the mosquitoes...

Gotta go to dinner now (yes, we get it done for us :P).

Greeting from Quito!

2011-11-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Picture not mine, at : http://imagenes.viajeros.com/fotos/r/rg/rgohmb-bg.jpg

I`m in Ecuadors capital after a very long and tiring (but relatively uneventful) journey of 23 hrs. Had to run through Madrids airport (which I know by heart because I spent 8 hours there last year) but then my second flight was delayed so that my luggage made it as well :).
Got to meet someone at the hostel during breakfast and we spent the day exploring the city, including taking the teleferico to a viewpoint at 4700 metres, very nice.
Monday it`s off to the condor project where i´ll spend the next month.

This week:

2011-10-30T02:58:00.000-07:00

My niece, nephew, sister-in-law (I like the english term) and brother moved - they now live only a 15 minute drive away. Excellent!
Work at work is done & machine has been mothballed.
My dad has been in and out of hospital.
My dsungarian hamster and last pet has passed away today.
I´ll be flying to Ecuador in less than a weeks time.
Christmas is just around he corner ;).

Cannot complain about boredom.

2011-10-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

"When we remember we all are mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
Mark Twain

2011-10-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Mark Twain, 1857

Hodophopbia = the fear of travel.

Mixed emotions right now, love travelling but am nervous because I don´t feel well prepared for the next journey, due to a shortage of spare time recently...

I guess it´ll all turn out allright, it always did yet ;).

And, another one by Mark Twain (and an all-time favorite of mine) "“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear”

Once I´m at it :
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first."

coffee?

2011-07-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

after yeras of trying to be in bed early on sundays it feels extremely weird trying to stay awake - nightshift on monday. training for travelling down under :) ?

2011-07-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Fernwehattacke

2011-07-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

The english language is definitely incomplete, it´s missing a word for "Fernweh". It´s like being homesick but the other way round - a longing to travel & be far away. Dictionary says itchy feet, wanderlust (which sounds german but isn´t, really) or travel bug.
But those don´t hurt, do they?
Anyway, got a serious Fernweh-attack right now.
Want to go, faaar away. Now-ish. Tasmania would be nice. Australia, too. Guess Portugal (never been) or Greece (spent there almost 4 months in total, working with sea turtles) would do.
Btw.: It´s also missing an expression for a song being stuck in in your head, and one of my life´s missions is to introduce the word "earworm" into english ;).

Whoever said you cant buy happiness...

2011-05-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

...forgot about puppies!

Photo session with cooper, a labrador-vizsla mix and his howners, colleagues of mine

Attention!

2010-12-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

snow-shovelling ! :)
Very white and nice Christmas, in front of my parents´ house.

2010-12-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

Winter has come! It´s a bit annoying if you have to drive a car, but on the other hand it´s incredibly beautiful and I love the seasons here - from minus 15 to plus 35 !

rose ("cool water") in my employers show-garden - nice and warm on a cold winters day

More Photos

2010-11-17T22:24:00.001-08:00

Since I´ve been home I´ve been sorting my pictures from Utila and am now waiting for the result to arrive , a photo-book.
If you want to, you can get a glimpse here : online-preview
Otherwise Life has gone back to normal, 7 hour shifts give me the chance to settle in nicely :).

Back home

2010-10-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

After some great weeks "off" on Utila, which got better and better the longer I´ve been there, I´m now back home. It´s been really nice to see my family and friends again and to be back in my apartment, which feels like the first real home after my parents house.
Tomorrow is the first day back at work, I´ll see how that goes...

Open Water

2010-10-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

Finished my open water dive course today, just sat the exam.

Diving course!

2010-10-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hola,
I've moved - from a small island (Utila) to a tiny island (Jewel cay).
I'm doing a diving course (open water, Padi - if I make it...) and did my first dive today. Not in a pool but in the sea....it's too windy to practice in shallow waters.
Such a weird feeling!!!!
I'm the only one on the course, pity my poor (and apparently very good) instructor.
And though i guess I did everything wrong I'm a bit proud of myself course I didn't panic, though we practiced stuff like flooding your mask, being out of air...
Well, I' m a bit afraid I will never be able to remember all the stuff you need but I'm very happy that I could remain calm under water today, in spite of the waves and everything.
See how it goes...

2010-10-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

bat rush hour

us, walking (or stumbling) through the mangroves - the habitat of the Iguanas this project is about. Moskitos also think it´s a great place to live!

Just when the rain starts - at least once a day now - there´s an invasion of flying termites

this is how Utila deals with the growing waste problem:
Well, who am I to judge? How much Carbon dioxide dit it take to get me here?

2010-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures of "our" nectarivorous bats at the station

Day off

2010-10-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today the four of us hiked to Pumpkin Hill (74 m, highest elevation on Utila), tried to find some freshwater caves along the beach (and didn´t) and managed to get a glimpse of the bat caves!

View from Pumpkin hill over the north (mainly uninhabited) side of the island

Entrance to the bat caves - it´s a bit of a climb!

Inside- it's pretty big but hard to fotograph (and squeeze into)

Saccopteryx bilineata, I´m pretty sure

hiking along the "beach" over the old coral reef, trying to find some freshwater caves

the long way home - this is Utilas main road, by the way.

P.s.: There´s a baby gecko running over the keyboard right now, a bit larger than a key :)

First pics

2010-09-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here they are, the first impressions from Utila, Honduras.
Maybe you get an impression of what I´m up to at the moment.

I like this tree and its bark

My Hibiscus cuttings. Done voluntarily. And they are thriving. Believe it or not. (I can´t either)

Bat at our hummingbirdfeeder - my guess: Glossophaga soricina ?

and the hummingbirds like the feeder too:

Juvenile Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) at Pumkin hill beach
Cnemidoporus lemniscatus at Pumpkin hill beach

Ctenosaura bakeri (Spiny tailed Iguana) hatchling on my hand
Terry, the stations dog, at the public beach in Utila town
Me, cutting hibiscus flowers and preparing Iguana Food

And the not so nice sides of this carribean island, still got to take a picture of the trash which is everywhere and spoils everything :

I´ve seen lots of dogs like this in Thailand and Greece, luckily here are only a few in that state, most are fine . And they are everywhere.
Private signs wherever you go...and dogs chasing after you if you chosse to ignore them

Greetings from Utila

2010-09-07T12:54:00.001-07:00

Hello from Utila, arrived at the Iguana station yesterday and am just about to settle in...guess I´m getting a bit (too ?) old fo this :).

2010-09-03T13:34:00.001-07:00

After some challenging weeks I´m off to my two months holiday on Sunday.
Please keep your fingers crossed that getting to Utila (4 flights in two days) will be as uneventful as possible - I´m getting old and am not feeling that adventurous anymore.
Did I ever? :)
Wish me luck for the travels, hope you´re doing fine!

Honduras

2010-08-16T21:48:00.001-07:00

Looks as if I´m off to Central America again :) .

Whoohoo!

2010-07-20T09:47:00.001-07:00

It´s (almost) official, I´ll be having a 7-8 week holiday this year, starting on September the 6th!

So, now I´m trying to find something worthwhile and affordable to do.
Does anybody know of any projects (preferably with animals) needing help? Asia or Madagascar would be great, but I´ll consider anywhere. I´m a 33 yr old german biologist with a lot of experience in animal care/zookeeping , also wildlife, esp. bats.
I don´t expect to paid and will cover my travel expenses, but free accomodation would be nice…
Please drop me a line if you know of anywhere or a place to ask.

So far I´ve worked as a Trainee for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (aka “Jersey Zoo”), for a monk seal project in Turkey, with sea turtles in Greece twice, Gibbons in Thailand, tropical research station in Australia (flying foxes), research on bats in Costa Rica and I´ve volunteered at local zoos and animal shelters – CV on request.

Recently I´ve also become interested in biological pest control, so if anyone knows of a place working on that ...

I´m on the telly

2010-07-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

at my workplace (at 1:24, that´s me at the sowing machine)

Just too hot

2010-07-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Zoo Ruesselsheim - spent a short vacation in Frankfurt with a friend

Trip to the Zoo Nordhorn with "Doglove Lingen"

2010-06-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

Zoo Nordhorn: www.tierpark-nordhorn.de/
Doglove Lingen: www.doglove-lingen.de/

Give me Five!

Luna

Jack and Agouti

Emma (Dogo Canario)

Porcupines!

Fee & Jack

Murphy, Jack Russel, and a german shepherd

Carla?

Aramis

Adventure Zoo Metelen

2010-06-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) offspring

Black and white ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata)
Endangered, like most endemic mammals from Madagascar

Spent my Saturday off in "Metelen Adventure Zoo" and was pleasantly surprised by the enclosures. After the bad press I had expected worse. Hope to post some more pics and info soonish.

From my mum´s garden

2010-05-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Lilac

Tulips

New Tele-lens

2010-04-01T02:57:00.002-07:00

Goldschakal - golden Jackal - Canis aureus - Zoo Rheine

Haussperling (Spatz) - Passer domesticus - sparrow

Peacock - Pfau -Pavo cristatus

Moorhen - Gallinula chloropus - Teichhuhn/Teichralle

I finally (after more than a year of thinking about it) got myself a new & good tele-lens. Haven´t really had the time to use it yet , these are my first photos.

Flowers

2010-02-19T04:39:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, after two years of working in a garden nursery I´m starting to take pictures of (non-native) Flowers :

Lavandula

Garajonay National Park - native Flora for a change

Bougainvillea

Osteospermum

Perlagonium peltatum

Euphorbia pulcherrima, Pointsettia, Gwiazda Betlejemska, Weihnachtsstern, Star of Bethlehem

After thousands of these at work it´s been really nice to see some of proper size on Gomera :).

For my niece:

back home

2010-02-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

First Impressions from La Gomera

Chorros de Epina - the springs of Epina

Very, very, very nice hike in the Garajonay National Park, the best day on Gomera. On the left you can see the Roque Agando.

Sunset at the Playa de Ingles, Valle Gran rey

Gomera

2010-02-14T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hola guys -

Greetings to everyone from the beautiful island of Gomera.
I`m having a really nice & short (10 day) holiday and a necessary break from my every-day life.
Well, today it`s been raining and stormy and I`m a bit worried about going home by ferry on Wednesday...keep your fingers crossed,please. The weather forecast doesn´t look promising.

And I guess whale (= Dolphin) watching won`t happen tomorrow, which is a pity.

Other than that life has been good to me on Gomera!
I did a lot of hiking and rediscovered the joy of fotography. It really does make a change to have time on my hands and not the nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I should be doing something more sensible than lying on my stomach for 10 minutes, trying to get the picture of this flower just right.

And the island is just beautiful and I must admit I`m enjoying the luxury & freedom of having having my own flat (!), car (!) and having everything organized.
God, I guess I`m becoming old and spoiled, but it`s a nice change after all these backpacking holidays.
And I can alo give lifts to people (picked up some tourists today who were stuck at a mountain cause they missed their bus) instead of hitching, which is nice for a change.

D*** it just started raining and stroming outside again, I`m really getting worried about travelling back. In Germany this weather wouldn`t be a problem but here it means stones on the road, slippery, winding roads which sometimes happen to scare me even in bright sunshine ...*ommmm*

Due to some comments I`m also bit "worried" that people at work may have discovered this blog. Which wouldn`t be much of a problem but feels just a little bit weird cause I`m writing some rather private stuff here.
Hello to them if I`m right - believe it or not, there`s more to me than being a tomboy :).
See you next Monday...

On the other hand two very dear people have contacted me via this blog recently which has been a fantastic surprise - unfortunately I don`t have the email adress of one of them - "Timber" could you please forward it to me ?

6 times 12 hours

2010-01-10T04:54:00.000-08:00

plus about 6 times 40 minutes = 76 hours.
The time I spent at work this week.

Winter Wonderland :)

2010-01-03T01:32:00.000-08:00

2010-01-01T12:00:00.001-08:00

Due to some circumstances I haven´t had much spare time recently, and as I´ll work from 6 to 6 tomorrow that probably won´t change soon. I´m sorry if I haven´t been in contact with some of you, really woulfd have liked to make more phonecalls & write more emails - hope to catch up asap.

Happy new Year!

This is what happens...

2009-12-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

whenon tries to buy a Lidl-trainticket online :( :

browsing the archives

2009-11-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

Movement

2009-11-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Autumn

2009-10-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

just love this season :).

2009-10-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Noble Gundog

and cuddly pup

Piggybank

2009-10-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

A present I made for a friend and colleague for her 30th birthday.
The real present - the money - is of course inside the pig.

Escape

2009-10-03T00:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning I discovered a small (´bout 3 cm) , live (!) Lizard in a plastic bag of potting soil at work.
I knocked up a makeshift reptile tank from one of the fridgeboxes and took it home with me.
The plan was to put it in my old Gecko tank, which is waiting at my parents attic. As I left home at 5.30 yesterday morning and came back at 20.00 (took Heiko for a walk directly after work) I was too lazy to do anything but put the lizard in its container close to the heating and catch it a fruitfly.
This morning I realized that this was a mistake, the lizard´s gone.
"*** ! " :(

And a tipp if you´re living in germany and like C&A : this weekend their online shop charges no shipping costs.

Heiko

2009-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Two new flatmates

2009-08-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

One of them planned:
and one not:

Since Lola, my dsungarian hamster, died I´ve been wanting to get a successor. This morning I finally got round to driving to Osnabrueck´s animal shelter and had a look at their four dwarf hamsters. They
had been dumped with 4 more conspecifics in a cardboard box in may.
One of them kept screeching at me as soon as I came close to the cage. So I thought we might get along well and took her home with me :) .
Actually: she was obviously very stressed by the surroundings and I felt she had to get out of there. She is settling well into her new home, has explored the whole enclosure and has tested the wodent wheel extensively.
She´s also stopped screeching and came up to me inquisitively... so we´ll see if she´ll really turn out to be the "monster hamster" as she presented herself in the shelter.

In contrast, my second new flatmate wasn´t planned at all. This afternoon I got a call from the chairwoman of the animal protection society I´m a member of.
She told me she had been given a "white mouse" which turned out to be a baby rat. So the ritten is here for now and I´ll see what´ll become of it.

Needless to say I didn´t get round to doing any of the things I had planned for today...

Tara

2009-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

a friend´s kitten

Naked mole rats

2009-08-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

(Heterocephalus glaber) on display in the newish underground part of Osnabrück Zoo. These animals are fascinating, especially their social structure. Interested? Naked mole rats on "the life of mammals", BBC: Videolink.

Did you know there´s another "eusocial" mole rat beside the naked one? I didn´t either... the damaraland mole rat. (Cryptomis damarensis)

Do you want a mole rat for you home ?
You can have one! Sandras mole rat figurines.

Back home

2009-07-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Flights comparison at TripAdvisor

Last days

2009-07-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

in Krakow. I'm leaving on Saturday and am kind of looking forward to it, even if people are very nice here, the school's interesting and the city beautiful. Wrote a test today... arghhhh....tomorrow is the last day at school and we'll get the results then.
And it's 35 C again and I've really had enough of this heat to be honest, I find it really hard to sleep, too. And yes, i know I spent months in the tropics, but its different in a city. At least for me...I guess Im just a country bumpkin.
Did nothing special on the last days, wanted to go to Wielizka Saltmine but not enough people turned up for the trip. Hopefully I'll go to see Krakow zoo tomorrow, missed the bus today.
Work starts on Monday and I'm kind of looking forward to that, too :).

Oświęcim

2009-07-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

..is polish for 'Auschwitz '.
I spent the day there.
(Not) much more to write, still stunned and I guess it will take a long time to cope with the experience.
Glad I went though.

Dzien dobry from Krakows Central Square!

2009-07-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hurra, I've made it to Krakow, Poland !
Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe above the Rynek, 'Europes most beautiful central square'. Don't know about that but it is a very nice and lively square with an unbelievable number of historical buildings. As you might know I'm not much of a city fan but as fas as cities go Krakow is beautiful.
I'm staying in Boronowice, one of the suburbs, about 20 miuntes by tram from the centre. It's a really nice place to stay and I've got my own room with a desk, and cupboard and I can use the communal kitchen and it's clean :) and everyone is nice.
Everyone means my german landlady and her polish boyfriend who'll only be there til friday, another polish girl and two italian guys of whom I've only met one so far.
I like to stay in the suburb because it feels more "real" , no tourists around there.

The polish course (absoulte beginner :() is from 9.30 to 13.00 and really intense. We are 5 within the group, 3 germans, one american and a french guy. So I get to practise english as well, hurra :)!
One shouldn't count ones chicken before they are hatched but so far I'm glad I've come here.

There are only two problems:
1. it's really hot! Too hot! Summer! Packed the wrong clothes!
2. There's too much to do, too many things on offer. I've made the concious decision to take it easy though - I'm here on holiday and I want to stroll around, get a feel of the place, relax.
Don't really want a tight schedule besides the course. On sunday I'll be off to Zakopane in the mountains and on saturdaz there is a choice of going to Auschwitz concentration camp. I haven't really decided if I'm going, don't know if I'm prepared for that right now.

That's all for now, I'll go down and slowly head towards "home" :).

They´ve hatched!

2009-07-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

and I´ve had such a good time today! Took my new Mountainbike and Heiko and cycled through the Pine Forest to the canal. Went for a swim, Heiko was highly irritated when I was in the water with him :), rode along the canal and back through the woods and fields.

60 cm...

2009-07-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

...from where I now sit, a green finch (Carduelis chloris) built her nest in the vine growing along the wall.

I also found two nests of Wagtails (had to look that up, too: Bachstelze, Motacilla alba *) at work this week while tidying up the greenhouses.
It´s rather sad to throw them away but there´s nothing else to do, there´s no chance of survival.
Probably better now, before the eggs hatch.

* Did you know there are two subspecies, the Nominatspezies (whatever that is in english) M. alba alba with a gray back and M. alba yarrellii with a black back (Source)?
Embarrassingly, I didn´t.

It´s rather nice to have a quiet weekend at home once in a while.
I took Heiko for a two hour walk along the canal yesterday evening.
We live within walking distance from the River Ems, farmland, Pine-forest and the Dortmund- Ems canal (well, 1.5 km) .

Did I mention that I really like this place?
Yes?
Well, I´ll keep mentioning it ;).

Größere Kartenansicht

I´d love to show more photos but it´s too risky to take my camera along when boisterous Heiko is around.

Next Sunday I´m off to Poland and I just realized that I´m going to miss the finch-chicks! Damn.

Quótes & thoughts on a friday evening

2009-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Oscar Wilde once said that one's real life is often the life one does not lead. Well, fucking right on, Oscar. [...] The life I was leading didn't let me be, I don't know… be who I thought I was.
[... ]
And maybe everyone feels that way, but that's no reason to stick with it.

From "A long way down" by Nick Hornby.
I really like this book and can also recommend the audio version.
And no, I´m not feeling depressed and I´m not whingeing or wallowing in self-pity *.
I just feel that Mr. Wilde has a point sometimes.

* Well, granted, maybe a bit. But once in a while I have to to get it out of my system, and then it´s ok again :).
A very different quote by another favorite author of mine leaps into my mind almost immediately:
"People often tell me that they wish they had lived a life like mine. I say : "Well, why didn't you? All you had to do was to live it."
This one I like even better, it´s by Gerald Durrell, who´s been a major influence in my life. Life just doesn´t seem to be as simple as that. You may try and fail. But at least you´ve tried. (Soooo many quotes on that topic. Look ´em up yourself!)

And now I´ll try to summon my energy and take my landlords dog Heiko for a walk and enjoy the beautiful farmland and river and woods around my home. And as it´s quoting time today: "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
Robert Brault
Luckily "One day" has come to me a while ago.

More Quotations by (and about) Gerald Durrell:

You can get too scientific about animals. They weren't designed to fit into computer programmes.

Many people think that conservation is just saving fluffy animals- what they don't realize is that conservation is war to prevent the human race from committing suicide.
When we realize that we ourselves maybe one of the species which will go extinct- we are after all just another animal- then we will do something about it. If we want something badly enough, we generally get it. That's when the chemistry changes. What we must realize now is how badly we should want it.

For future generations, their only means of experiencing this natural splendour (the tropical rainforest) maybe by reading about it and, while they read, damning us for not having preserved their heritage.

They`re mad. But they are the people who are saving these animals. You have to be obsessed to work in conservation. We all are. Look at Gerry: You might think he's a nice bloke. He's witty and charming, and given a couple of second she would have your grandmother eating out of his hand. But believe me, the man's a nutter. He's obsessed with saving animals. If you were in a firing line alongside a lemur, you'd get it straight between the eyes.

P.s.: Spellchecker doesn´t know the words "fucking" and "nutter". Seems to be a politically correct dictioniary...us-american?

Surprise!

2009-06-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

Someone I got to meet in Costa Rica at La Selva biological station, while I worked on a project with nectarivorous bats, just posted this picture on her facebook account.
I painted it during "art night" - an evening when a bunch of people - all of them natural scientists - got together to draw.
And drink, of course.
Some americans tried to explain the rules of baseball to me that evening...without any success.
Sometimes its good to be reminded what a strange and beautiful world this can be - the unexpected memories, resurfacing all of a sudden put a smile on my face.

Ouch!

2009-06-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

1. I remitted 80 Euro for the polish course and mistyped the recipient - everything else like the account numer, iban and swift No. were correct. The bank charged a fee of 50 Euro for sending the money- well, what´s left of it -back.

2. Just happenend:

Stairs in Rothenburg

2009-06-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

out of the can

I´ve got a nephew!!!

2009-06-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hurra, since yesterday I´m aunt twice :)!

One of my pic´s is amongst the best 100 in a photo contest : Click
Nothing to be too proud of, considered that really good Macro-photographers won´t enter their valuable photos into such contests. But one is grateful for small achievements.

Poland

2009-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just booked my flights - I´m off to Krakow next month, on a two week language course in polish.

Bargain hunting

2009-06-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

can be fun :).

Got this Mountainbike for 5.50 € at e-bay yesterday evening and took it home with me en route on the way back from my parents house - so I didn´t even have any extra transport costs.
I want(ed) to use it at the garden nursery where I work. I really need a bike there and my first one has been ruined by the people who "borrowed" it, and the one I´ve got there now is a bit to good for the rough life a bike has to lead there.
The only "problem" is that I now really feel like using my new aquisition in the woods next to my house :
And that I´ve got no idea how to fix a rack for all the stuff I need to carry through the greenhouses.

Bautz & Rusty

2009-05-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

a Jack Russel & a Magyar Vizsla bitch. Together with Heiko & their owner, a friend & colleague of mine, the five of us took a nice walk along the river Ems today.

It´s spring!

2009-05-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

Life is like a dandelion - when the time has come everyone has to fly on their own.

Hurra!
My favorite season!

Well, it was until I started working in a garden centre. For now spring means work. And work.
And even more work. But at least this year the kind of work I´m doing is a bit more to my liking, even if it´s really (physically) arduous most of the time.

I´ve only worked from 6 til 11.30 today and it almost feels like a day off.
I´d really like to go and see my family now, especially my niece Jonna, but they´re all on holiday together at the moment. Hope the weather cooperates and they´re enjoying their stay at the seaside.

Object(s) of desire

2009-02-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

There are three things I " like" to spend money on: Travel, Animals and Photography.

Right now I really want a new telephoto lens.
I have got one , a Tamron 100-300 mm, but since it fell down in Kopenhagen zoo when the strap of my backpack severed it doesn´t work properly anymore.
And I never really liked it.

If I´d hit the jackpot I´d go for a Canon EF 400mm 2.8 L IS USM which costs about 7000 Euro .
And a 300 mm, and a 600 mm...

Since that´s completely out of the question in the real world I´m now trying to make my mind up what I really "need" * and can afford.
(* Honestly? Does one really NEED a Telelens? )

I´ve managed to reduce the choice to two lenses and am now trying to decide between a
1. Canon EF 100-300mm 4.5-5.6 USM (o.k., sensible, more or less affordable, about 250 Euro ) and a 2. Canon EF 70-300mm 4-5.6 IS USM (Object of desire, not sensible, about 450 Euro. I´ve been scanning the 2nd-hand market for weeks).

This really isn´t of any interest to you?
Isn´t it me who keeps quoting that "A technically perfect photograph can be the world’s most boring picture." (Andreas Feininger)?

I know, I know, and the time I spent on lookjing for equipment I should really spend on photography, cause at the moment I´m not really content with my photos.
But I still had to get it off my chest :).

And to add at least something that might be of interest to you - if you´re into photography- there´s a site with "Photoquotes" on the net.

Green

2009-01-25T03:46:00.000-08:00

fotocommunity

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Heiko loves snow

I wonder what happened- saw this dead deer in the frozen river Ems today:

2008-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

A real Treat :)!

2008-11-30T01:58:00.000-08:00

Since yesterday I´m the proud owner of a "Fahrausweis für Flurförderzeuge" aka "Staplerschein", a license for handling forklifters.

New Vocabulary

2008-11-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

	ENGLISCH	DEUTSCH

Unmittelbare Treffer
	coccyx [anat.]	das Steißbein wiss.: Os coccygis
	tailbone also: tail bone [anat.]	das Steißbein wiss.: Os coccygis

I fell on my bum yesterday and am out of action.
Luckily nothing´s broken but you´d be suprised how much that particular part of your body can hurt.

isbjoern

2008-10-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

Architecture

2008-10-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

in Copenhagen.

The building on the right ist my hostel.

Building site by night
Gibbon enclosure, Copenhagen zoo
Either this enclosure was originally build for another species (Turtles perhaps?), I´m completely missing the point why this should be a good home for arboreal, brachiating apes - or its one of the examples for Gerald Durrells that architects are the most dangerous animals in a zoo.

Norman Fosters elephant house in copenhagen zoo: more Information

Sign at the Guildhall-square
floating homesphoto exhibit
bridge

Weekend

2008-10-25T01:16:00.000-07:00

And I´m off, chakka, chakka! :)

Maybe I´ll get round to sorting some of my photos - but I doubt it somehow.

At least & last: this is the view from the hostel- room on the 9th floor in Copenhagen.
To the right you can see the city-hall and the weird "tower" on the left is one of the Tivolis´ fun rides.

Btw. : Did you know the polish word for "weekend"?
I bet you did.
It´s "weekend".
And "Feierabend" is "fajrant" which may look different but sounds extremely similar.
(Don´t you believe me? Check.)
Unfortunately the rest of this language is not as easy to remember, I´m taking a course at the moment and there´ll be a test on Tuesday.

P.s.: Godd wishes and a "Get well soon!" to Sandra from Pixels Park !

Greetings from Copenhagen !

2008-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, yes - I´m on holiday :)!
Only from Wednesday till Saturday but it feels good to do at least a bit of travelling again.

Playing with Photo Impact

2008-09-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

also known as Procrastination.

Original (reduced in size)
Humboldt-Penguin, Spheniscus humboldti, Naturzoo Rheine

Summer is leaving

2008-09-20T01:52:00.000-07:00

Autumn is coming

Another Froggie

2008-08-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

Zoo Nuernberg

Embarrassingly enough I can´t remember the species (I guess Dendrobates x) and am too tired to search for ist.

Update: I guess it´s Epipedobates tricolor (Dreistreifen-Baumsteiger, Phantasmal Poison Frog).

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

2008-08-23T02:01:00.000-07:00

is an incredibly beautiful, medieval town - impressive even for an "Phililstine" (= "Kulturbanause") like me.
The pigeon - yes, you can always depend on me finding animal motifs even in the most unlikely spots - is sitting on the St. Georgs Brunnen, situated on the marketsquare.
It´s been a very nice trip, maybe more photographic Impressions will follow.
Off work until wednesday.

My Shoe-tic

2008-08-16T23:05:00.001-07:00

is of a slightly different kind than the one you´ll see on american TV series.
I´m into PROPER shoes with steel-caps and so on :).

Off on holiday: I´ll be using my ebay ticket today - tot ziens!

Travelling by Train in Germany

2008-08-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

In case you´re planning a trip with the "deutsche Bahn", this offer might interest you : for 66 Euro (+2.50 for shipping) you can buy 2 Tickets for german-wide travelling until the 31.10.08 on ebay : Ticket-auction
Just bought one and hope this time I´ll get the chance to use it...didn´t work with my last "Tschibo-Ticket" which I had to resell for little money.

Sad discovery

2008-07-13T02:51:00.001-07:00

Found a dead barn owl in the attic above my appartment today. I haven´t heard any noises, wish I could have "saved" it, owls are such gorgeous (and useful, esp. here on a farm) birds.

Murphy & Lara

2008-07-13T00:29:00.001-07:00

I´ve been absolutely terrible at writing e-mails and generally keeping in contact recently :(.

Bssss....

2008-06-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Bee, leaving its hive in Emsbürens Heimathof. Just testing the new cam.Stop taking Fotos!
(Rainbow Lorikeet, Allfarblori, Trichoglossus haematodus in an Aviary at Emsflower)
Saw these guys wild in Australia...

Trommelzaaier - Zaaimaschine
at Emsflower

18232 - too much input

2008-06-22T03:40:00.000-07:00

I´m trying to sort through (always thaught it was "to sort out") my photos of the last year. ..no Chance.

Natrix natrix

2008-06-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

Grass Snake - Ringelnatter
Taken in Bremerhaven, "Zoo am Meer"

Information on this species in german
Information on this species in english (Arkive)

Holidays !

2008-06-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

I´m on holiday this week and on the first week of July.
Tomorrow I´ll take a short trip northwards, to the coast to visit a friend.
(BTW: Invitations welcome...:) )
And I´ve ordered a new camera today (guess...) and am soooooooooooooooo doubtful whether that was a good decision, I´ve been terribly nervous all day.

Just in case you´ve got too much money: Canon is promoting a cashback action at the moment: http://canon2008promotions.onlinerebates.com/

Listening to...

2008-06-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

...Jason Mraz.
Funny: Geek in the Pink
and Wordplay

Just for fun

2008-06-08T01:45:00.000-07:00

The JCB* song by Nizlopi

*for the german-speakers who -like me- don´t know what a JCB is: JCB is a company, "one of the leading manufacturers of digging and earthmoving equipment".

I love LEO :).

BTW, I also like listening to Jason Mraz at the moment, esp. "The remedy".
The "I´m yours" video (Youtube) reminds me a lot of my working holidays in Thailand, Greece, Turkey, Australia and Costa Rica.
I don´t think there´s a really good Translation for "Fernweh" (Leo says Wanderlust / itchy feet), "Fernweh is a longing, an aching for the faraway, the painful longing to be faraway".

Interested in Nature Photography?

2008-06-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

As a subscriber and keen reader of the "BBC Wildlife Magazine" I particularly enjoyed the "masterclasses" on photography.
These are also available online: http://www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com/masterclasses.asp

Just spotted them on the website where I was originally looking for ideas on what to do on the "volunteer day", where the animal-protection club I´m a member of will present itself.
If anyone has got suggestions, `specially for kid-activities : please let me know!
I thought about preparing insect hotels, rodent hideaways or dog-cookies, but I´m afraid that would be too time-consuming.

Year of the frog !

2008-05-31T00:22:00.000-07:00

Though I´m anything but an amphibian-expert I have encountered so many fascinating species and individuals on travels, in zoos and at home, that it makes me extremely sad to see that they´re disappearing at frightening speed.
(The reasons being rather interesting, from a scientific point of view).
I took the above picture of the famous red-eyed treefrog during a night in "the swamp" at the biological Staion "La Selva" in Costa Rica.
Nowadays I sometimes catch frogs between the flower-pots in the greenhouses and try to relocate them to better places - life changes but some patterns remain :).
(I even caught a newt the other day, my highlight of the week)

Click here if you´re interested in Frogs :

Frogs matter. Jump in!

And once again I realize that this world appears tob be rather small : the photo on the linked site was taken by Richard Gibson. Who was my boss while I worked at the herpetology department in Jersey Zoo/the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust...

An interesting site for the german-speakers: http://www.kaulquappe.de/

Effects of Artificial Roosts for Frugivorous Bats on Seed Dispersal in a Neotropical Forest Pasture Mosaic

2008-05-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Very Interesting Publication about bats by my "ex-boss" Detlev Kelm (IZW, Costa Rica) in "Conservation Biology" - Congratulations !

DETLEV H. KELM, KERSTIN R. WIESNER, OTTO von HELVERSEN (2008)
Effects of Artificial Roosts for Frugivorous Bats on Seed Dispersal in a Neotropical Forest Pasture Mosaic
doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00925.x
Link to Abstract

Wie Fledermäuse tropische Wälder aufforsten

Naturenews: Artificial bat roosts could re-seed the tropics

Days off...

2008-05-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

lifted my spirits!
Hurra !