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.