Galah. Pottery. Car.

G'Day,
Yesterday I went to work at 6.30. I obviously looked at my calender/roster cross eyed. I was meant to start at 9.30. When I drove into the car park it was still dark, I saw a galah beside the tank stand and he looked up at me. I went over to have a look and he was sick and flew a few feet away where he stopped again, he was huddled up and had a wobbly head. One of the nursing sisters at work is a Wires carer, Ruthie, (wildlife rescuer) and she was on duty but was going home sick so she gave me a cage she keeps in the back of the car for such occasions . I caught the galah and put him inside in the warm. Ruthie forgot to ring another carer in town so after many phone calls I found them and by the time they came to get the galah to care for it, it was after 5 o'clock. She told me that there had been 9 poisoned galahs handed in to them over the last few days and only 4 had survived, this little bloke had the same symptoms. Poor little bloke, I hope he survives. He deserves to after waiting all day and being so sick. I don't know if the little darling who poisoned it were intending to poison galahs or something else like sparrows or English blackbirds which are ferals here and a nuisance. They probably put out poisoned grain and thoughtlessly didn't consider what else would take the baits. I will ring later and see what happened.
Galahs are native birds and very common but not really a pest. They are a pretty pink and grey with a grey crest on their heads. Also known as pink breasted cockatoo. They can be kept as pets and will become good talkers. We have one called cheeky. I don't trust him though, and won't go in the cage except to feed him as one minute he is loving you and climbing all over you being affectionate and the next minute without any provocation he will bite hard and not let go. The male ones are the same color as the females and males have black eyes while the females have reddish brown eyes. They are great to watch when they fly in a flock, they fly like little pilots in war planes, wheeling and doing acrobatics. They love to eat the bulbs from the weeds that grow along the footpaths and you see great mobs of them having a lovely time digging with muddy faces, together, heads down, bums up. I have some down the back yard and cheeky goes mad over them too when I dig some up for him. When I was in primary school we had the same weeds and we used to pull them up and eat the bulbs on the end of them too. The babies start of mostly grey with a dusty pink chest that gets darker with age. They follow their parents around and sit nearby doing this annoying repetitive wheezy screech until they get fed.
Pete has just gone for a job interview in Wagga. He has wanted to get out of working at the prison for quite a while now and get back into admin type work. If he doesn't get this one he has a few more leads to follow up, and has learned of some contacts he didn't know of before that now work in employment agencies, so here's hoping.
My little car is back in action and it did not cost me any extra. The box that had the wires in it that ran the distributor was full of water. It is going fine now. The mechanic filled it up with water when he cleaned down the engine. Anyway all's good.
I did a firing at the potter's club last Friday. Cone 9 down, 10 half way. I learned that the best copper reds come from the top of the kiln and not the bottom shelf. I also did some ash glaze tests and fired the two vases with De Boo's ash 111 glaze with 2. red iron and 4. rutile added. The glaze turned out beautiful but proved runny where thick. I now have a pot with a broken bottom and a shelf to grind. I knew ash glaze did that I just did not think. Oh well next time. I have the monthly exhibition at the club for July with another girl, Kasee. I have quite a few things made but not a lot. I made 5 smaller vases of the same wood texture design in raku clay, but they are not dry enough to do anything else with at the moment. We have the option of having an exhibition opening after the monthly meeting or going out together for dinner, I chose the later of course. Then I got a phone call to say do both so that is what I will be doing this Saturday.
I have also been looking in the puter at accommodation adverts for the Potter's club workshop next year. I found a place right in Fitzroy falls with 3 bush cabins that sound great. There is not much in Fitzroy falls except the national park, the waterfall and a tiny village. The cabins are hexagonal shaped and on the edge of the national park. We can self cater or I will arrange the meals sharing costs, no supermarket in town, and they have a pool which will be good in February heat. I will make a booking after getting approval at the next meeting. The potter who is giving the workshop, Neil Boughton, does raku lusters, great stuff. Fitzroy Falls is in the southern highlands of this state which is a trendy very expensive real estate type area. There are lots of great places to stay but not right in Fitzroy falls itself. The movie Babe was made nearby at Robertson.