SNOW!

5 hours wandering the depths of the Edinburgh! Half the time I had no idea where I was...bundled up to my nose which wasn't really necessary, it wasn't all that cold. I started off in King George's park. Then down to German Christmas Market and Princes Street. I managed to find the castle all by myself, walked up the Playfair steps.



















Unfortunately, the castle was closed because of the ice/snow. Got some fantastic pictures at the top!






















Walked all the way down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace and park. My toes were nice and warm until I mistook a giant mushy puddle for solid ground. Poor wet, chilly toes.
























I did stoop low...I got McDonald's. I was trying to avoid it but that Happy Meal hit the spot!! Back to Holyrood and Arthur's seat. I hiked up the hill next to Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat seemed to daunting after walking so much. Gorgeous view from the top as the sun was setting.I managed to not slip and die the entire day!!

I dreaming of a white....thanksgiving?

Despite the fact that I wasn't home to eat delicious food with my family, my Thanksgiving was fantastic!!!

It was venture time because it SNOWED!!! Started snowing on Friday evening as I was walking out of Tesco's. I giggled like a little girl the entire way home! Anywho, I headed down to the Farmer's Market to scope it out. It was a quaint little thing. I ran into Cristina and her brother, Miguel! We went shopping on the Royal Mile. Yay, souvenir shopping!!!

Melissa was kind enough not only to invite us for potluck Thanksgiving but also cook the turkeys. Of course, I made the much loved and wholly consumed Heideman mashed potatoes. Green bean casserole, rolls, turkeys, corn, peas, 8 different pies, fantabulous! All of the smart corner people were there too, including the Canadians despite the fact their Thanksgiving was end of October.



Lots of drinking, story telling and eating. These people are the some of the best I've ever met. By the end of 5 years, we'll be able to finish each others' sentences. Creepy...

Got Milk?

(While perusing my posts, I found this draft all alone waiting to be published. I think it is too good to not reveal to the public so I hope you enjoy!)



I got shat on today...

thankfully, I was wearing a lovely bonnet to protect my head from the inevitable. The poo comes from being in the Langhill milking parlour.

The parlour is a 28-28 herring bone. Herring bone refers to the cow's positions in the stall at a 45 degree angle. 28-28 means that all 28 cows can be milked at the same time rather than a 28-14 where one cluster is switched between two cows.

Diana and I were hoping to see our cows. Luckily, I remembered my girl's number, 331. Sure enough she was the first cow in!! I was so excited to see her and her freeze-branded arse. The milk maid let me milk her for an example to the others. I didn't fail horribly and it was fun!

So the goal for today's mission was to avoid poo projectiles. Kind of a difficult feat when you're in a limited space with 10 other students but somehow I managed to avoid flying debris and splatter zones...at least from what I could tell. The cows all have a microchip collar that identifies the ID number of the cow, any current udder problems, her expected milk yield, and so on. We learned how to use the machines and checked to see if the cow has a teat that we shouldn't draw out milk due to being under antibiotic treatment for whatever reason. You really don't want to mix milk with antibiotics into the big milk holding tank. It could cause all sorts of health problems for the consumer plus you won't be able to make cheese. So the process of milking is as follows: you clean the teats, snap on the suction cups, and when they automatically come off you spray the teats with iodine to prevent mastitis infection. Sounds easy? Well..yea in a way it is if you know what you're doing. I kind of knew what I was doing but the sheer size of the heifer can be quite daunting when you're at eye level to her rack.

The hardest part of milking was applying the suction cups. Two will go on perfectly. While you're getting the next two situated, the line will kink and the cups will lose suction. Then, you have to start all over!

Because the cows inhale their concentrates, they get antsy. When they get antsy, they start dancing around like a two-year old with a full bladder. Why? Because they do ALL THE TIME! Due to their extreme elimination, it's like a war zone in the pit--shit is literally flying. In times like these, it's helpful (and sanitary) to keep your mouth shut! When I heard the sounds of wet goo plopping on the floor, I performed a maneuver similar to bomb's duck and cover. Unfortunately, I did receive some poo-ey shrapnel. But my fellow students/victims took over my post until I was clean enough to resume action.

If I could get over smelling like poo everyday, I would be an awesome dairy farmer but alas, I prefer to be minty fresh!

A practical in which they let me handle a hacksaw...

Today, Dr. Jaws had us performing a hemimandibular-ectomy, also known as removing half half the lower jaw. Pretty brutal stuff! Less delicate than our first 2 dissections...literally, we carved off muscles of the head.

At A&M, the cadaver head was cut in half with a bandsaw! Crazy, but a great view of the inside the dog's head. However, at dick vet, they do things a little differently...no bandsaw :( but a hacksaw was employed! Probably a good thing, the youngins were not expected to handle power tools. Haha! Anywho, the two halves of the mandible join at the front of the mouth forming the mandibular symphasis. After carving out the muscles, I had to saw through this ossification (bony joint) then remove the jaw. Underneath the jawline, the muscles of the tongue are clearly visible. And I had no idea what they were!! It was nice to have think and learn something new.

How much is that Doggy in the window??

In light of the subject of this post, it seems a little macabre.

I feel like a real vet student again as the uni handed us our doggie cadavers! Oddly enough, we started with the head. A very delicate area with lots of superficial nerves and veins which makes me wonder why the professors have chosen to start us here. Other than the rabbit dissection, the youngins have yet to skillfully wield a scalpel. Like the cutaneous trunci, the muscles of facial expression lay directly next to the skin. I'm ecstatic that I have to learn them. Hopefully one day as an animal behaviorist, I can integrate them into understanding and reading expressions.

All the dogs are quite large. The smallest is a border collie but most were greyhounds. Of course, my group ended up with the largest, a 40 kilo mastiff mix. On top of the bulkier and fatter dogs being hardest to remove the muscles from skin, my dog was all squished and folds of skin everywhere! Luckily, Gregor and I have done this before and Dr. Dog congratulated us on a dissection well done!

Our histology practicals have started up hence the lovely picture above. The labs seem a little unorganized, sigh. We have online flashcards to show us what we are supposed to see but no one guides the class. This whole self-teaching business is getting on my nerves. Oh well, hands-on is better than lectures.

Human Ragdolls

If sheep wrangling was fun, then cow wrestling was madness!

To start these cows were dry cows, they have nothing better to do than eat and be our subjects. Unfortunately, they were the same ones used by the other groups. Smart cows had caught on to the "being restrained" bit.

The first act was quite easy...haltering the cows. There are two ways to put on a halter. One rope has a fixed nose piece that pulls under the chin. It's a little tricky to untangle but easy-on. Next was a simple slip halter--the lovely picture on the right.


Second on the agenda was checking teeth. First, put an arm around its muzzle. Second, put thumb in corner of cow's mouth and observe. The second part of the teeth-checking endeavour is to grab its tongue...yep, grab the COW'S tongue. I think it feels like a sea cucumber without the slime. Cows have papilla in their mouth that try to eat your hand.

One cow kept her nose to glued to the ground and refused to move. When a 700 kg animal says no, it means no! As I attempted to help restrain the evil cow, I was squished between the crush and its head.

Finally, we had to put gags between the cow's teeth...this was not going to happen. The Langhill guys tried to show us, hence the lovely picture below! The gag is a metal brace to keep the cow's mouth open so one can stick their hand the ruminant's mouth. It's like the cow's dentist from hell. As soon as the metal touches their teeth, the cow proceeds to flip out. Of course, my group got stuck with the demo cow first. She did not cooperate, neither did the cow after that or the one after that or--you get the point. I managed to get tossed around a fair bit and slowly drenched in cow spit from my head to toes. Thank god for waterproofs, although my hand was caked in drool. Eventually, I did get the gag in. I had to put the plastic one, hold it there while shoving the other one between it's teeth...the boys had a heck of a time with the big girl on the end. She was huge and extremely pissed. One of them was lifted off the ground!

Well, I'm gonna be sore tomorrow...especially since rugby was a blast!

Are we there yet?

Last day of our roadtrip and it was onward to Aberdeen. As usual, another 2 hour drive to get there. I think I would like Aberdeen better as a city than Edinburgh. The streets are wider and let in more sunlight. Better shopping...I miss Austin, sigh. However, not as much green and I like green (again, Austin has spoiled me). I did enjoy the mall is pretty swanky though. Upscale deli/eateries and they have a dish/leftover system where the people compost the leftovers and clean up after you. Ok, that makes me sound lazy but it's quite different than the states.




Cristina detoured to the tourist route. The highway follows the coastline getting some pretty awesome shots of sea. Our last photo opportunity brought us to an awe-inspiring sunset on the North Sea. The North Sea is a definite take-no-prisoners guy.

Remember the scene in "The Little Mermaid" where Eric's ship gets shipwrecked? Yep, good. It was exactly like that!! Minus the fact that I wasn't an awesome mer-princess with long flowing hair and a voice that makes angels jealous...The angry North Sea!!

Made it back home completely exhausted, but I can't wait for another adventure!!

Woah, Nessie!!

Last night, the windows shook and the house felt like it was going to cave in...death had come for all of us. The high winds knocked over parts of the fencing and garden decorations at Rohan. Breakfast was fantastic, home-made bread, porridge (aka oatmeal) and jelly! Definitely, coming back here!!

We stopped at Fort Augustus, a little town on Loch Ness. There are ferries to the castle and the Caledonian Canal! Some cool ruins in the loch, pretty nifty.
While Diana and I were off to naive, pretty pictures of the locks on the loch, the others found nefarious goods...Whisky flavored condoms, McCondoms. You know, they make good whisky when things like this exist.

On her last trek, Cristina found a lovely beach on Loch Ness. Unfortunately, it was high tide so not much beach. The water is extremely black as you would expect to hide a giant creature and I stole a rock!! Now, I will always have a piece of the Loch Ness...muhahahaha.

On to the castle ruins on the loch!! To the left of Uruquat Castle, lies a large fault line. One can see the line running through the trees and the deep gouge in the ground.

Here's a little blurb:
"Once one of Scotland’s largest castles, Urquhart’s remains include a tower house that commands splendid views of the famous loch and Great Glen.

Urquhart witnessed considerable conflict throughout its 500 years as a medieval fortress and its history from the 13th to 17th centuries was particularly bloody. Following Edward I’s invasion, it fell into English hands and was then reclaimed and lost again. In the 14th century, it figured prominently in the Scots’ struggle for independence and came under the control of Robert the Bruce after he became King of Scots.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle and glen were frequently raided from the west by the ambitious MacDonald Lords of the Isles."

There is a lovely sign stating "Please Stay on the Path", but do we listen...NO! I successfully ventured off the path a full 2 feet. However, Cristina just got too excited about the trebuchet. She made it down one slope then WHOOSH!!! flat on her ass! Sprawled on the ground, it was hilarious.

The castle was all-in-all quite nice, including the attractive Australian. I failed so miserably...Rebecca spent ten minutes talking to the guy in an attempt to get me to talk to him. Of course, I preceeded to take pictures like nobody with an awesome accent was in the vicinity. Finally, Cristina took it upon herself to metaphorically smack me upside the head. Pathetic, I am! Anywho, we did make fake Nessies. I mean I could really imagine a large beastie hiding the depths!

SNOW!!! Our trek took us through the Cairngorm Mountains. It's the first time I've seen snow here! It was so cool, nice dusting on the mountain tops. Cristina and Kira had never seen snow before including driving in it! Her SUV is a manual so it drives better in the snow. The pit stop we made had SHEEP. Everyone scared them into the hills. It seemed to get extremely dark extremely quickly...more one lane roads with blind curves and "passing zones" galore!!

Another tiny town in the middle of nowhere...Fort Something. Luckily, we made it there just in time, as we were checking in, the owner said they had closed the roads! Cheers to not getting stranded!! We needed food...however, the hotel was the only place open to eat. The food was expensive and not very tasty. Quite unfortunate. Wait! I take that back! They had cheesecake and it WAS delicious.

We did enjoy drinks in the lounge with Kira. White Russian!! Very few places have Kahlua.

Into the Middle of Nowhere...

Last night, we had a few incidences with the towel heater and this morning, the evil thing had claimed one more victim this morning. I grabbed onto the rail while tripping over my own pants. My hand wasn't cold though!

With breakfast, the Onich provided handmade sugar cubes and columns of butter. Everything was tasty! Outside, the hotel had phenomenal views of the loch and pretty trees. There was frost on the ground too!!!




A little information about Eilean Donan Castle:

"The name Eilean Donan, or island of Donan, is most probably called after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. There are several churches dedicated to Donan in the area, and it is likely that he formed a small cell, or community on the island during the late 7th century.

The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite seperate "Sea Kingdom" of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or "birlinns" at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position."

The castle sits where three lochs (Alsh, Duich and Long) meet and their waters intermingle.

Because the castle is privately owned, it is open on the owner's discretion. Apparently, we missed the memo saying guided tours only. You're not allowed to wander aimlessly; however, the rooms on the tour are furnished. Well, we're too cool to wait around for guided tours and made our way to the castle grounds.


Why our self-guided tour is better:

-pits in the ground by which to reenact "300"
-dead baby sharks
-ability to run around like small children
-pretty birdies



A pretty little pit stop!



A desolate and scary jaunt to our night stay. The UK has more single lane roads than necessary. It's terrifying to be driving then suddenly, another car tries to zip by full speed! Cristina did an amazing job keeping her wits about her. We stopped at a look at point and boy was it windy! At one point, I nearly pushed over!!

When we arrived at our destination, it turned out to be a true bed and breakfast! A fairly new house in the middle of nowhere, the closest pub was 6 miles away and that too was all by itself. Great family and hilarious dog...big Rottie cross, Jorgo, that adored Kira. Because we had an easy day, it was nice to sit around and chill until food time!!


Cristina, using her amazing powers of navigation, got us safely to said pub. By far, the best pizza in Scotland!! Nice bartender but the locals kept giving us some very strange looks. The girls and I played a rousing game of pool. Rebecca soundly beat us all...I blame my lack of hand-eye coordination--I did spill my entire pint of Strongbow on the floor. I got to watch some proper UK tele and I found the most ridiculous game show!

FREEDOM!!!

After cramming 5 people plus bags and a dog into Cristina's car, we were on to the first stop on this amazing roadtrip--the William Wallace monument in Stirling City.

246 steps to the top! However, no one told me they would be spiral staircases of DEATH!

In the 1200s, William Wallace tried to rally a band to overtake the British and make Scotland independent. Now, his quarters are spread to the four corners of Scotland to remind the rebellious Scots to stand down. The monument holds a replica of his sword which by the size of it means Wallace must have stood 6 foot 6!

A gorgeous view from the top!

In order to see the glorious Doune Castle, we had to skip the Stirling Castle as driving at night is no fun.

By the time we drove to the lovely town of Doune, we starving thus beginning the cycle: drive, eat, drive, see a castle, drive, eat, sleep...stopped at a little Ma & Pop pub, Red Lion Inn, I stuck with a hamburger while the others got some brilliant Steak and Ale pie.

At Doune Castle, I signed up for Historical Scotland where you get free entrance to all the castles in Scotland (this will be very handy for the next 4 years). Got nifty audio devices that gave info about each room and...little tidbits about the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail!!! Yes, the infamous "I fart in your general direction" scene was filmed at Doune Castle. Along with the French insults, several of other scenes were filmed in the various rooms including the beloved Camelot dance routine.





The stairs in Doune Castle were even worse than the monument. The steps got smaller and steeper as I got higher. Luckily, Rebecca was willing to catch me if I started to fall to my certain death. Despite the evil stairs, we had a lovely photo shoot on the roof.



Then it was onward to our first B&B, Onich Hotel on Loch Linnhe. The drive was really desolate but pretty. Lots of dead grassy hills. Apparently, the government is trying to replant the forests that were destroyed during the Middle Ages. The landscape was kind of what I imagined Scotland to be. The hotel was a nice with a restaurant/pub and a gorgeous view. The food was pretty tasty and they let Kira in the pub! She was very happy to get so much attention. The food was pretty tasty and dessert was AMAZING!!

On time and on my way

Since I was unable to sell my AVS ticket, I decided to join in the the debauchery. Friday's night event was held in Potterrow which is the GIANT student union on campus. there were an enormous amount of people--Glasgow, Dublin, Liverpool, Nottingham, Bristol, Cambridge and London students everywhere!! It was chance to have fun and let the other unis rev up after travelling. Every vet school has a fancy-dress theme...ours was the Rocky Horror Picture Show. SOme of the costumes were spot-on! Unfortunately, most guys weren't secure enough in their sexuality to pull off everyone's favorite transvestite, Frank-N-Furter. It was nice to get out of the flat and dance the night away. Thankfully, I already packed for tomorrow's roadtrip!!!

Choices, choices, choices

Vet Choice is a lecture series done by professors at different vet schools. They came around to the univeristies to talk about opportunities for during and after veterinary school. Everything from food safety inspector to researcher. What really interested me was the Intercalated Degrees. The extra degree is a chance to explore a specific interest. It takes another year inbetween years 2 and 3. There are options to do a Bachelors or Masters degrees. It's pretty cool because some can be taken at other vet schools. I'm looking into Animal Behavior & Welfare or Wildlife Conservation. I need to do some more research because there are a few downsides: social and time. To take a year off then come back means a new group of students to integrate with. It's been hard enough missing the first 2 weeks and everybody knowing everyone else. On top of that, another year means 6 years away from Texas and family. Oh and more student loans to pay off.

SHEEP!!!

Above is a brilliant picture of me all decked out--waterproofs and steel-toed wellies. This lovely get-up is required for all the farm practicals. Very sexy!

A very exciting practical was in store for all of us!! Today, we worked on sheep handle. Checking teeth, sexing and casting(a how-to below) them.


HOW TO CAST SHEEP:
A brief explanation on sheep wrangling.
Farmers cast sheep to sex, check teeth, sheer or trim their feet.
1. Herd the sheep into one corner. Trying to catch a sheep by itself doesn't work, they are herd animals and tend to flip shit when alone.
2. Eye your sheep *channel your inner sheepdog* and walk swiftly toward it. At this point, the sheep start running around like chickens with their heads cut off. You must focus!!
3. Cup your hand underneath the sheep's chin and lift up. The other hand goes on the tail to prevent the sheep from backing up. It's quite handy to pin them against the wall.

In this position, you can check teeth and sex the lambs.

Up to a certain point, sheep can be aged by their teeth. The first set of teeth are milk teeth. Much like our baby teeth, these are small and similarily sized. At 1 year 3 months, the first adult teeth erupt. These are big, broad with a flat surface for grazing. Every 6 months, one more set erupts until the sheep is 2 years and 9months. In the end, the sheep have a total of 8 upper incisors and a thick dental pad.





4. Once in position, place your hand behind the rib cage.
5. Simultaneously, turn the head toward the stomach, lift up on the hip and step backwards. The sheep SHOULD lose its balance and land on its bum.

If you have completed step 5 incorrectly, continue to spin in circles while you are outsmarted by a 4 month old ruminant.

However, a correctly completed step 5 will result in a correctly cast sheep that is fairly comfortable and relaxed.



MORE INFO:
The lambs we flipped range from 35 to 50 kilos (77 to 110 lbs). At 5 months old, these babies literally are my-size. The lambs are either future breeding ewe or fat lambs to be sold at market. There was a big cull ewe--that's an ewe, for whatever reason, is no longer a useful breeder--that I unsuccessfully tried to flip. Her weight was guesstimated to be in the 70 kilo range.

We spent the rest of the time condition scoring, weighing, catching(but not casting) full grown sheep. In one of the groups, a HUGE ram was in with the ewes. He stood 6 inches taller and outweighed the girls by 15 kilos. Despite his size, he was easily handled as long as he had his harem with him.

For a pictorial guide to casting, please check out: http://woolshed1.blogspot.com/2009/01/sheep-farm-husbandry-sheep-behaviour.html

Would you like that scrambled, poached or fried??

I am finishing up my Embryology lectures which makes me sad. The subject is confusing making it very intriguing.

Today's tutorial couldn't have been any better. One of the academics puts together the most informative and well-constructed practicals. To wrap up all we learned about embryos, the practical had us view 3D slides. They are an entirely different cup of tea. Very hard to draw and decide what one is looking at. On top viewing microscope slides, I got to dissect a fertilized chicken egg! As the picture shows, the top of the shell was tweezed away to reveal the inner air pocket. My subject was right underneath the membrane. The chick embryo rights itself with gravity because in the nest the top of the egg is the warmest closest to the hen. If I can figure out how to post a video, I recorded the heart beating. A little red spec moving back and forth in the clear embryo. Even at that tiny, the blood is flowing. The embryo had to be cut out of the membrane and off of the yolk. I moved it to formlin to set the cells, unfortunately this kills the poor chick. He was a good teacher.

On the right is a picture of the entire embryo with the vascular ring. The microscopes were not high powered to view intense detail but I could judge the age and see the larger structures. It was amazing!

Happy Halloween!

After weeks without, I finally got to eat some Mexican food. And boy was it amazing!! The girls and I headed to a place just up the road called Mezz. They have all sorts of "American" food...fajitas, enchiladas, Caesar salads, BLTs!! They have wonderful 2 for 1 deals on food and cocktails! I ate so much food so quickly and loved every minute. I am definitely going back!


I wanted to go out as I haven't been in a while and it was Halloween. Tonight was the Teviot Haunted House at main campus. The EUSA, Edinburgh University Students' Association, is in charge of entertaining all the students. They put on live music, dances, comedy shows etc. Sami decided to join me and we prepared to go out. Due to limited funds and creativity, I pieced together a stereotypical yet wonderful pirate costume compete with eye patch!! On my way to the city center, I saw a group of little kids all dressed up. It was really nice, made it feel a little like home. However, when the UK kids trick-or-treat, they have to do a skit, joke or dance and in return, they do get candy but usually some money. We stood in line for the haunted house for a while before someone told us it was a no-go. Apparently, you had to buy tickets in advance because it sells out every year...wish I would have known about it sooner. Sounded like fun.

We did wander around the city to all of typical vet school stops. Not many were out, being a Sunday night and all, however, a few were dressed up.