Visits and a vistor

The Safari hasn't been out safari-ing and Base Camp has been exceptionally quiet hence the recent lack of news.

However we are now able to report that wildlife has indeed been seen. While making a brew yesterday arvo a movement through the window caught our eye. Down under the gate was the biggest Frog we've seen for ages. It hopped across the yard and hid under the box of kindling wood by the back door. Go on give us a clue what had made it come out to play? It was sunny but cool and a fair old gale was blowing. Frogs don't normally venture forth in those conditions but there was no-one about in next door's garden which is where we assume it came from -weird or what.

 I'm sure you've all got your opinion's on the Badger cull and if you're keeping an eye on our twitter feed you'll probably realise that the safari isn't at all enamoured with the farce that it has become but here's a light-hearted take on a serious issue spawned by one of the most, if not THE most, ridiculous comments we've ever heard uttered by a politician.

We've offered ourselves as a mentor for A Focus on Nature as we believe it is important that the younger generation of naturalists get the benefit of us oldies experiences and we hope to encourage them in to spreading the world of natural history, the environment and ecology to the generation(s) following them.

We been paired with a dynamic and clever young naturalist/ecologist TP who has already impressed us with her studies on the social interactions of Wood Mice - maybe she can explain why they are eating our patio furniture stashed in the garage too - and here voluntary work in the rain forests of Indonesian Borneo helping the endangered Orang Utans and other threatened forest wildlife. To look in to the eyes of an Orang Utan is to look in to your own soul, it's hard to explain but they do seem to have an inner peace about them...that may not be the case as the ones we have seen have had a tragic life but it does seem that way there is something of a reflective mirror in there.

Keep an eye out for her blogs and keep up to date with her photography we're sure she's going to have plenty of interesting subjects to tell us about - her motto is Science for the non-scientist. So if you like a slice of pie, and who doesn't, keep the pickles and the cream handy because her revelations could be either sweet or savoury.

At some point in the near future we will be meeting up for a day of adventuring and chewing the non-bTB infested scientific cud...interesting times ahead...perhaps even a trip way way down south for the Safari.

Where to next? Not sure about the immediate future but those winds are looking interesting for the weekend and there is this season's Winter Thrushes Survey to start, we're already a week behind due to the op and adverse weather!

In the meantime let us know who's got you on the hop in your outback