~longwing

I am CRAP at keeping a diary, which is very annoying because it is so interesting here at the hawk farm. I wish I could write about everything I've learned. I've learned a LOT. But when I go to university and shut myself inside a box to study, I will forget it all.

It has been a hectic few weeks. The number of hawk chicks has rocketed. I am part of a team of 4 people on a roster for feeding the little smidges, and every time I go there I am greeted by the sound of "Heee! Heee!" You can't just stuff them full and hope for the best like their parents would. It is all done systematically with some very accurate digital scales, disinfectant, probiotic and all sorts of other things that smell nice.

Yesterday 4 of us (2 burly blokes and 2 midgets) castrated, de-tailed, tagged and clipped the hooves of 35 lambs. Then we did the feet and dags on a load of frustrated ewes and a couple of rams. It was quite fun but dirty. Then 3 of us went home and had a shower and the septic tank began to overflow.

In my house now (my lovely clean, cosy house) there are 2 interns. Both are boys and rearing and training 2 male interns is a lot harder than doing the same to hawks. They are rather headstrong at times. But it's actually a lot more fun than I had expected.

I have to go to university in September, which I was really looking forward to until I fell in love (on top of all the other things going on...). What an annoying thing! Love does not lift you up or let you breathe or any of the other silly things people say. It traps you and steals your life! In a way it is the most wonderful thing because it makes me feel...alive, and more awake than before. I can look at things in a different way. But it is also making me reluctant to leave here. I was reluctant before, because this is a wide open space where I am free to express myself and go places and do whatever I want. But now...there is another reason to feel bad about leaving.

Still, I can't let anything get in the way of the future I have planned for myself. At the moment I have a chance that I will make it to my secluded cottage with my hawks, my dogs and my research. I can't make him study at university...it is foolish to get close to someone when you are not in a secure, final place.

Anyway! Never mind. These are my woes which will soon be forgotten.