I wonder if they still do the Chunder Mile?

This is the first of three posts I will make about the trip back to my old student stomping ground when I returned today to suss out my Masters enrolment and supervision.

Campus.
The trees have grown. They have cafes. The lake looks cleaner.
These were the three most obvious differences I noticed .
It all looked very civilized. But it is November. I wonder, come March, if they'll be doing the Chunder Mile... (eat a cold pie, scull a jug, run a lap of the lake, eat a cold pie, scull a jug, run a lap of the lake... repeat until a 'mile' has been run. Stop to chunder as necessary - the ducks always seemed to like it...)

Photo courtesy of iPhone, Post-processing - Camera+

Gross Factor Alert #2

I am trying to stave off my fourth bout of Iritis, or Iridocyclitis, which can, and has twice for me, develop into Acute Anterior Uveitis. It's basically the inflammation of the eyeball. Can get very bad. Quite a sight for sore eyes (hehehe). And has previously appeared when I have felt stressed, which is why it's all a bit of a mystery as I am actually in quite a good state of mind!

Fortunately the last time I contracted it, the ophthalmologist had vision enough (badoom, CHING!) to give me a script for extra treatment, so I have been dropping the drops in - possibly over-zealously - and will hope for the best overnight.
Don't know what hurts more when it blows up, the eye or the specialist bills. Actually, maybe the treatment. The first time I had it, I had steroids deposited in my eye... via injection. Bleuck.
But staying in the positive frame of mind and telling myself I have caught it early... so it should be looking better in the morning (Oh STOP!)

Two ticks!

WARNING: SEVERE GROSS FACTOR ALERT!


Meet the New Zealand cattle tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis.


I discovered guest number one on the (same coloured) carpet this morning; would probably not have seen it had Hugo not sniffed at it. I freaked out at first because I know small dogs are easily killed by some tick varieties (eg paralysis tick). My subsequent research says that the cattle tick is the only one in NZ - phew. These guys match the pic on the internet.

Hugo had been itching over the last couple of days - I had already gotten the flea treatment out for dosing today (Thankfully it also does ticks). So I bathed him, 'felt him up' and brushed him and found nothing. Also gave the other 2 a going over; not that I'll ever see anything on Reilly.

The second one I discovered when vacuuming. I looked at Hugo again and can see he has been chewing on his back leg... How I missed a second one that size and colour on a little white leg is beyond me. However, I think I would have been more grossed out if I had found it still attached...

I do remember extracting them from my horse when I was growing up, but don't recall them being this engorged or feeling as sorry for the 'host' as I do as a small dog owner.

I have no idea where they may have been picked up - we have certainly not been around any cows lately.

So why photograph them? (I wish I had a  macro lens...)  Because I am morbidly fascinated by them. That said, I will NOT be popping them.