from the field

Today I was driving through Western Australia, listening to Radio Netherlands interviewing a British man who had been a spy in the USSR during the cold war and a ex-KGB agent who had been a spy in the US. It was a very international experience! I had a good day in the field today. I only have 5 field days left so I am trying to wrap up my experiments. I have almost 100 austinensis flowers pollinated and collected. I am hoping that the pollinations were successful in most of those and I want to double that number before Thursday.

I am trying to organize the collection of material for a group doing RNA work as well. I have to freeze the plants in Liquid N and keep it on dry ice and the ship it to Hong Kong! This means I have to drive up to Bunbury, half way to Perth, to get the liquid N and dry ice from an industrial wholesaler (coming up with my own containers and I have no idea where I'm going to get a styrofoam box before Thursday). Shipping dry ice has its own problems, I need a declaration for the Australian government and 2 to 5 different documents for the Hong Kong gov't . I am going to do my best, but I have my doubts that this package will even make it. To top it off, people not from Australia keep telling me to use Fed-ex, as if Fed-ex exists in the middle of nowhere in WA!! When I asked, the DEC folks looked at me like I was nuts. No one is very appreciative of the effort this is taking.

I saw a Western Brush Wallaby on the road today and at my field site there were trumpeting swans! Leanna, the woman from The Netherlands was chased by a snake yesterday. It just kept coming at her and she had to retreat from it. Sometimes they can be very aggressive! I'm glad I haven't seen any at my fieldsites.

Stirling Range

We took a drive through Stirling Range National Park this afternoon, which is about 2 hour from Manjimup, through Rocky Gully and Mount Barker. The mountains rise suddenly out of the plains, which are mostly hay field and forest. Here are some images of the mountains, and an echnida we spied by the side of the road. I've also included a pic of a Western Brush Wallaby and a Kangaroo we saw on the drive home!

From the Albany Coast

On our recent trip to Albany, on the coast of the Southern Ocean, we walked down to the water and found this stingray swimming along the rocks. There was a couple fishing and it was attracted by the bait. They told us that they've seen rays as wide as their fishing boat out in the harbor. If you look closely, you can see this one's barb.

housemate

This eight legged beauty lives in our kitchen and bathroom (and possibly elsewhere!). We think he is a huntsman, but none of us our arachnologists. He does give me quite a turn when I go to the bathroom at night because he likes to hang out on the wall right next to the toilet. He looks bigger at 4 am than on film in the daylight.

Images from Rottnest Island

Quokkas

These adorable guys are Quokkas, a marsupial native to the southwest. Up to 12000 may live on Rottnest and they are very tame! They would come hopping up to investigate you. They live around Manjimup, as well, but they are much more difficult to see because they are not used to people.

Freo

Fremantle is a great place to spend the weekend. We are staying at the Australian backpackers right next to the train station and the harbor. Today we spent the day at Rottnest Island. Stay tune for some great pics! It is about a 2o minute ferry ride to 'Rotty', which was named for the large mammals (think raccoon size) that the dutch sailors thought were rats. Thus 'Rat's nest Island'. They are actually quakkas, a marsupial. They are quite tame and we got very close to the curious guys! We also saw some parrots and lots of water fowl. The island is only 11 km around, but we got very lost and spent a lot of time walking through the dunes. We finally found a beach and got some swimming and sun. I did some snorkeling and saw some incredible kelp and other algae. When I went in the store to buy the snorkle (I had taken my goggles) the clerk asked me where I was from. It turned out that he was from Memphis and had studied for a semester at UT. He listens to all the football games over the internet! It it such a small world.

Tomorrow we are heading off to see some of the historical sites, hopefully Old Fremantle Prison and the History Museum.

Rain rain rain

I haven't posted much lately becuase the rain has pretty much kept us out of the field. It has rained for two days straight. Yesterday we took a drive through the Karri forest to Nannup, but the little shop I wanted to visit was closed. It was nice to get out and see the countryside, though. We drove past the cherry orchards, the local vinyards and wineries, and the hay fields. The road from Nannup to Bridgetown follows the Blackwood river and some of the views are spectacular.

We went to Frying Pan Swamp this afternoon to check on the australis, and the water level was up at least an inch. It looks like it will be at least a few days until we can work with the plants there. That's good because we are taking a long weekend to go to Perth and pick Steve up at the airport. We are going to stay in Fremantle on Friday and Saturday nights and see the local sites. I'll be sure to put up some pictures of the trip!

I was listening to the radio yesterday and the station we get out here is holding a contest. The participants have to prank call a number to try to win entry to get some concert tickets, but the number they have to call is an American number! There is an entire afternoon radio show dedicated to asking Americans questions on the street (think Jay Leno) and making them sound stupid. I don't understand it! Americans are like Australians, some are smart, some are dumb, some are up on current affairs, some aren't. Why is it more fun to make fun of Americans? I told Annie that if I was secretary of state I would address this issue!! :)

Images from the field

Props to Annie for some of these pics! The photo a the bottom is T. bibracteata in fruit. The other pics are of Terry and me in the field, my intrepid field companion Annie in the Melaleuca forest and of our field site at Frying Pan Swamp. The plant in the middle left is Drosera, the sundew, one of many carnivorous plants that grow in WA. The flowering pink plant in the top right, and also visible in bottom left is Utricularia, another carnivorous plant. This plant is in the same genus as the BIO 112 class uses in their microaquarium! There is so much of it, it makes the entire swamp look like it has a pink carpet.

Friday

It was so rainy on Thursday that Annie and I did not go out into the field. It practically poured all day long and the day ended with a thunderstorm. That meant that today was are first real day of fieldwork. We started at Branchinella Lake, where there is a large population of T. austinensis and we collected plants of all ages for any developmental study I might do. It was a bit overcast and fairly cool. Branchinella is a beautiful site because it is several hundred meters off the main road via a track and then a 500 m hike or so from the track to the lake. The bush is comprised mostly of Xanthorrhoea (tree grass), Cycad (Zamia), and Melalueca trees, as well as tons of herbaceous plants. It is quite secluded and last year I often saw parrots and emu, as well as lots of kangaroo tracks. Today there were few animals out and about, however. We did see a kangaroo and a Western Brush wallaby from the road. As long as they don't hop right out in front of the car, I love seeing them.

After working at BL, we went over to Kulunilup Swamp, which is where I did almost all my work last year. This year it is a nightmare. The water is almost all gone, and that that isn't is covered with algae and Ruppia. I can't find any submerged plants which throws out practically all my plans and I am scrambling to make new ones. We did cover some plants which appeared to be closed buds for pollinations, but we'll have to see what they are doing tomorrow.

Annie and practically got attacked by flies at KS. They are horrible and swarm all over your face and head. Annie is going to try to sew us up some netted hats. I'll have to put up some pictures of that!

Mammal spotlighting

Last night I had the opportunity to go mammal spotlighting again. I was much better this time than the first, I had the brush-tailed possum search image. It was a beautiful night in the bush, pitch black and very little wind. We drove north of Manjimup and traveled a 10k transect and saw 15 brush tailed possums, a woylie, and a few roos. It is hard to describe the eucalyptus forest at night. The canopy is almost all Marri trees (Corymbia calophylla), which can grow to 60 m. These trees are not that big, but every once an awhile you see a massive tree. The sap is red, so the trees almost look like they are bleeding if there is a wound in the trunk. There are also tons of Banskia (my personal fav!) and Hakea.

Arrival

I have arrived in Western Australia and it is so good to be back! The weather is perfect so far and I have high hopes for my season. The water level has peaked and drawdown has begun, so hopefully my plants will be young and reproductive! Tomorrow Terry, Annie and I are going out to see the populations of Trithuria and we will decide which sites will be the best. Tonight I am setting up the lab space and getting as organized as possible.

Our flight was long, but uneventful. We figured that the trip from my apartment in Knoxville to our motel in Perth took 34 hours of travel time. We flew from Knoxville to Dallas to LAX to Syndey to Perth. We stayed overnight in Perth and did some errands in the city, including driving into the city centre on Sunday morning. Parking was an absolute nightmare, but we managed. Driving on the left is like riding a bicycle, it is pretty easy to get back into the habit. We drove up to Manjimup on Sunday afternoon and settled into Kingston House. There are two young women from Germany staying in the house, as well as a couple from The Netherlands and a women from Perth. It is pretty full, but people are coming and going all the time.

testing again

My second post is a test!

A first step

I am posting this message in order to learn the lay of the land!