A Bit of Local Flavor

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I’ve been busy this week with analyzing emergence counts, writing my abstract for the Australasian Bat Society Conference in April, and other such things. But before this weekend, when Chris and I are going to Warrnambool, Victoria to do a bat count at Starlight Cave (the only other maternity cave of Southern Bent-wing Bats), I wanted to write about my exciting escapades last weekend!

The fun of the weekend began on Friday night, when Chris and I went to the outdoor movie, “Puss in Boots,” at the Naracoorte Showgrounds. A bunch of families and teens gathered for the evening, and of course there was lots of yummy food and drink, like sausages, donuts, pancakes, hot chocolate, and the BEST chai lattes I’ve ever had (all of which Chris and I got over the course of the evening). Chris and I set up our blanket near the screen and waited until dark for the movie to start. Neither of us had seen the movie before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially loved the part when kitten Puss stepped out from behind his mother’s apron and gave his big, doe-eyed look, which received a collected “Aww” from all the girls in the crowd (I’m guilty too). The movie ended around 10:00pm, when we headed to the newly-opened McDonalds (or Maccas according to Aussies) for milkshakes. I discovered that strawberry might actually be my favorite flavor now!

On Saturday we headed into the Naracoorte town square for the Taste of the Limestone Coast Festival. The festival hosted many booths from local wineries, and of course the chai latte cart was back again! That made my third chai latte for the weekend. Chris and I walked around tasting wines (for $5 we each bought a glass so we could get all the free wine tastes we wanted) and ended up buying two bottles: a Riesling and a sparkling Pinot Gris. Now we have some wine for those special occasions when we have people over (a.k.a. pretty much never).

We left the festival at 3:30pm and went back to the park to volunteer for the “Opera in the Caves” concert. This is an annual event held in Blanche Cave that features young singers (they were in their 20s) from Opera Scholars Australia. Blanche Cave provides a fantastic setting for the performance, as the cathedral ceiling provides such fantastic sound quality that the singers need no amplification. Because the event is organized by the Young at Heart Holidays, Australian Air Holidays, and Seniors Coach Tours, most of the attendees were elderly. Chris and I helped guide them down the stairs into the cave before the event, which earned us free admission. The event was sold out (over 240 people attended) so we had to listen from the entrance stairs, but the sound from there was great and we had an awesome view of the candlelit cave and the stage. The performers sang pieces from classic operas like La Traviata and The Phantom of the Opera. Their voices were amazing and made me quite jealous of their singing talent. 

Beautiful dresses and killer heels. If anyone was going to fall down the stairs, it would be one of the girls in their heels, not one of the elderly attendees.

The beautifully lit cave and the singing group on stage.

After the opera, Chris and I went back into town for some groceries and to take some pictures of the Taste Festival (I had forgotten to while there). While taking pictures we got to witness the end result of the festival: drunken dancing and past-tipsy girls hooting and hollering in the streets (and remember, the drinking age here is 18). Looks like we missed out on the fun!

On Sunday afternoon we attended my very first horse race, complete with betting, fancy fascinators, and lots of alcohol. I donned my nature-themed outfit for the Fashions on the Field competition, and Chris provided moral support by dressing up in his nice suit pants and pinstripe vest.

 

Butterfly belt, bat fascinator, zebra striped purse, bat bracelet, and flower necklace and ring completed my nature theme.

It was a gorgeous day for being outside: partly cloudy, upper 70s, occasional slight breeze. The races were held at the Naracoorte Racecourse, which of course made walking around in heels (albeit quite thick and short heels) a challenge. But if other women could do it and look graceful and elegant, so could I! Our first stop was the Fashions on the Field table, where I registered for the Best Dressed competition and conned Chris into doing the Best Dressed Couple competition with me. We then set up our picnic blanket on the lawn and watched a few races before the fashion competitions began. Chris put a $2 bet on Tonto’s Pride, and I put a $2 bet each on Koban (because he was #3, my lucky number) and Peace An Quiet (because I liked the name). It really is fun to watch horse racing, especially when you have money in the outcome. Chris’s horse came in first, so he won $19. My horses came in second and third, but unfortunately I had stupidly bought “win only” bets and not “place” bets, or something like that. So I didn’t win anything. Bummer. But Chris was kind enough to buy me an ice cream and another of those delicious chai lattes (my fourth of the weekend!) with his winnings.

Go horses, go!

After the excitement of the racing, we gathered for the excitement of the fashion competition. The Best Dressed Couple heat was up first. Of course Chris and I had been the first to register, so we were the first ones called to the stage. When our names were called we walked hand-in-hand up on stage and took our positions. I was actually a bit nervous, and I know Chris was too! When we had registered we were one of only two couples that were going to compete, but by the competition time there were seven couples. Unfortunately we didn’t win, but we did have a great time. Well, at least I did!

Handsome Chris all decked out in his race day finest.

 The Best Dressed Couple competition. Chris and I are at the far end.

The Best Dressed competition was up next. I was #15, so at least I had some time to see what we were supposed to do once we took the stage. Again, I was a bit nervous, like I always get before any public appearance. When my name was called, I took the stage, walked down the runway to center stage, waited while the photographer took my picture, and continued walking to my spot. Of course I ended up at the end of the line again. Ugh. I was within a few meters of the judges, and I could hear them talking about each girl as she took the stage. “Ooh, that’s a nice outfit,” or “No, that’s too gaudy,” were some of the things they said. I tried to tune them out. When they announced the winners, I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t win. The winner was from Melbourne or Adelaide (some far away city) and had been in about four other Fashions on the Field competitions before. I hadn’t expected to win, but of course I was still a bit disappointed. But at least I had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed participating in a local event and getting all dressed up for the day! And now I have an awesome bat fascinator that I can wear with pride (although when I’m not sure).

At the far end of the line.

Watching the winner get her sash. You can see my cool bat fascinator too!

 

Terns, Brits, and Fashion

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity, and it’s only going to get busier! Last Saturday, Chris and I joined Cath for another Fairy Tern survey along the coast. If you remember, this was what I was doing when I fell and hurt my knee back in November, and it was in the same place. I hate to admit it, but I was a bit nervous thinking about the accident and hoping it wouldn’t happen again. Chris and I met Cath at the Canunda National Park station in Southend, South Australia at 10:00am. It was a PERFECT day for a hike along the coast: partly cloudy, about 80°F, with an occasional slight breeze. These surveys are run by the South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and each team gets a stretch of coast to survey. We got a beautiful 13km stretch along the coastal cliffs and deep blue ocean running beside the park. The route wasn’t difficult, but did have a few hills here and there, and plenty of loose sand to scramble up. We went by the little ditch in which I slipped and twisted my knee last time. I swear it was bigger before!

The infamous ditch that caused all my problems. It doesn’t look that bad in the picture, but it IS bigger in real life!

We saw a tern (but couldn’t identify it to species, as we only glimpsed it), and it was either a Fairy Tern (Sterna nereis nereis; an endangered species) or a Little Tern (Sterna albifrons sinensis). Yay for our good sighting! Cath promised $1 million to whoever saw the first wader, and luckily that was me with a Red-capped Plover (Charadrius ruficapillus). I doubt I will ever collect on Cath’s promise, but at least I got bragging rights. Along the way we also found patches of Muntries (Kunzea pomifera), a ground-hugging native plant of south east South Australia. The bushes have lovely berries on them that are sweet and slightly salty, kind of like salty strawberries. We collected a bag of them so I could take them home and make jam, although they are still sitting on my table and have probably gone bad by now...Cath also showed us a few more edible plants (real bushtucker!) including Pigface (Carpobrotus rossii), another native plant with very salty fleshy leaves.

 

A breathtaking view.

 

We stopped for lunch on a lovely sandy beach at our halfway point after 2 ½ hours of walking. Unfortunately we were also joined by a band of pesky biting flies, which took every opportunity to attempt to feed from our legs and arms. I shared my Fluffernutter sandwich with Cath, as she loves sweet and salty combinations and was absolutely amazed when I first introduced her to this sandwich a few weeks ago. For those of you who are not familiar with this wonderful culinary creation, a Fluffernutter is peanut butter (for this, regular peanut butter is best, not organic or natural) and marshmallow fluff/cream on bread (preferably white bread). One of the best food combinations ever! After lunch we strolled along the beach to look for more birds, and found a dead prion, a type of seabird. I had never heard of this type of bird, which is similar to a petrel. We’re not sure what it died from, as there were no obvious injuries.

 

The dead prion.

As we continued back, I couldn’t help but admire how blue the ocean was. At one point I was standing on a cliff overlooking a beachy alcove, when I saw what looked like a black garbage bag floating along the shoreline. Then I realized it was moving through the water along the beach. It was a stingray! There were two of them, and it was so neat to see them in the wild. Although not so neat to realize they really do swim right along the shoreline...

My stingray sighting!

Wombat hole. Still no actual wombat sighting...

And wombat poop. They have cubic poop. How cool!

All the crushed shells are there from when the coastal Aborigines used the area as a shelling area.

We finally made it back to the station around 4:45pm, and had a refreshing ice cream on the beach and a quick step into the water (the water is WAY too cold to swim in without a wetsuit, at least in my opinion!). My legs were sore, I had a horrible sunburn on the backs of my legs and also a horrible sock tan, and I felt like I could curl up right there on the beach and sleep for days, but it was an amazing day in an amazing part of South Australia.

Cath and I cooling our feet off in the frigid water after our long hike.

Despite my exhaustion, the weekend had only just begun. On Sunday, the BBC arrived to film their documentary about the influence of size on how animals survive and about the physics of life. They’ve filmed great white sharks, kangaroos, and another animal I can’t remember in Australia, and now they were here to film the bats in the park. Their main focus was on the fact that bats are small and therefore have a high metabolism, and that they also lose a lot of body heat due to their large surface area to volume ratio. The crew also wanted to talk about echolocation and torpor. They were filming two versions of the same documentary, one with the narrator (physicist Professor Brian Cox, who has worked at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland) talking to the camera, and one with interviews of a bat expert (in this case, Steve Bourne). On Sunday night the crew, which consisted of the actor/narrator, the script guy, two sound guys, two cameramen, and the safety officer (I think), set up red lights over the cave entrance to film the emergence. They also interviewed Steve about how Anabats (acoustic detectors that pick up bats’ echolocation calls) work and filmed my thermal imaging cameras at work (no, I was not in the shots). It was a very, very cold night (unusually so for February, which is supposed to be the hottest month of the year here) so the bats came out early and fast, probably because there are fewer insects out when it’s cold and the bats need as much time as possible to get enough food throughout the night. It was amazing to see the bats lit up red against the cave entrance, and to witness all the thought and detail that goes into making a documentary (or any film). At times the “actor,” Brian, acted like a typical actor (like when the script guy was fiddling with something and made a loud “click” while Brian was talking on camera, and Brian snapped, “Could we PLEASE not fiddle with things while I’m talking? It’s been a long day sitting in the car, I’m tired, and I want to get this done.”). Haha, I had to keep myself from laughing out loud at the silliness of it all.

Monday was another day of filming, and again I set up the thermal imaging camera for them to film. I also showed them some recorded video of inside the cave (taken by the infrared cameras), which they also filmed. It was another long night, but I’m glad I got to witness everything that goes into a film production. What a crazy job!

 

Two lights with red filters set up at the cave entrance.

Taking pictures of Brian Cox.

 The cameraman shooting the beginning of the emergence.

I love Brian in the background at the beginning saying, “Could we just have it quiet please. Please, could we have silence, complete silence for five minutes.” And I also love the big microphone that comes into the video.

Now Chris and I are preparing for another crazy weekend. Tonight (Friday) we’re going to the outdoor showing of the movie “Puss in Boots” at the Naracoorte Showgrounds. Then tomorrow we’re heading to the town square for the annual Taste of the Limestone Coast festival. The festival will feature local wineries, local food vendors, art groups, and musicians. In the evening we’re going to the Opera in the Caves, which is put on by an opera singing group and is hosted in the park inside Blanche Cave. Apparently the acoustics are great and the decorations are beautiful. Chris and I are going to volunteer to help the elderly patrons down the stairs into the cave, which will earn us two free seats at the opera. Then on Sunday we’re going to the Mini Jumbuk Naracoorte Cup horse race. There I will make my fashion debut for the Fashions on the Field fashion competition. I’ve decided that I want to participate as much as possible in local events, so I’m going to enter the fashion competition. I hate to admit but I am getting a little nervous, mostly because I don’t know what to expect. Of course I’m not expecting to win, but it will be a blast and I’ll be able to look back and say, “I did that!” I have a $20 blue dress from Target (on sale!), a red butterfly belt, some local jewelry with silver flowers, and a bat fascinator that I bought online on Etsy.com. I’m going with a nature theme to represent the park and the bats. Stay tuned for a recap of the weekend’s adventures!

That will be me up on stage this weekend. Bring it on!

 

Time to Get Fit!

Yesterday Chris and I went to a spin class at the local gym. I’ve wanted to do something active lately, as most of the day is spent sitting on the computer running bat counts, and at night we go sit outside and watch the bats. It’s definitely not the most active job! One of my New Year’s resolutions was to exercise a bit every day, so a few weeks ago Chris and I bought some small hand weights to use at home, and I recently bought a pair of ankle/wrist wrap-around weights to use on my legs. It’s been hard to get motivated to use them, especially when it’s just the two of us. So I decided to also look into fitness classes in town, as I am MUCH more motivated when it’s an actual class and there are other people present.

I found a spin class (on stationary bikes) at the Naracoorte Health and Fitness Centre, which Chris and I went to yesterday (well, more like I dragged him there). We adjusted our bikes and at 5:15pm the instructor came in and began the class. It lasted 45 minutes and the instructor called out directions throughout, like “Now 60 seconds of hard-out pumping, and then 30 seconds of standing!” There was also lots of “Come on, push harder! You can do it!” talk. It was very motivating and definitely made the sweat roll. During one particularly hard part Chris and I exchanged quiet “I love you’s”, which the instructor saw and commented, “That’s too cute you guys.” Haha, I never thought I’d be part of a “cute” couple! The 45 minutes went by quickly and by the end Chris and I were tired and sweaty. A good workout!

Next Tuesday I also start a 9-week “MegaDanz” class in town (this time on my own). It will combine Zumba with other fun dancing/exercise, which I know will be a blast. I miss going out dancing with my friends, and I miss the jazzercise class I took last year at school. Hopefully this will be a good outlet for me to dance and also get a good workout!

Overall, Chris’ and my workout plan is MegaDanz on Tuesdays for me, spin class together on Thursdays, and weight lifting together throughout the week at home. Let the fun begin!