“I'm not sure if I should extend my sympathy to plants. I might be in danger of sympathy burnout”

Er yeayus Bronwyn, with all that huge amount of sympathy going towards a few onshore asylum seekers and none left for refugees that we help via our offshore programs or international aid efforts, I can see that you wouldn’t have any left for mere plants! (:>)

“Do you cut them or stick pins into them?

I cut most of my specimens. They are mostly twigs from shrubs or trees, thus doing the plant no real harm. But for herby things, grasses, sedges, etc, I take whole plants.

“Do you drown them in chemical solution or just let them wither and die?”

I just let them wither and die….while flattened within a press kit! Gee I really am a monster when I think about all the thousands of little plants that I’ve murdered over the years ( :>(

Hwaww, getting out there in the wilds and doing that sort of basic botanical specimen and data collection has been a great way to chill out….even if it is stinkin hot in the tropical summer wet season. But alas, I might have to give it all up! I don’t know if I could live with myself if I kept doing it!!

Dear Pelly,

Your writing a book has aroused my curiousity...
Is it too personal, or can you tell us a bit
more about it?

I've almost finished a collection of short
stories myself, that's why I'm curious about
yours.

As a child I loved to listen to stories. Storytelling,
reading, and writing, have been part of my life for
as long as I can remember. My love of literature
determined the path of my undergraduate studies, and
in my choice of librarianship as a career, which I've
practiced in Sydney, Los Angeles, and Melbourne.
I've been working on my book for a few years now.

Anyway, if you don't want to share, I'll understand.

Wargaming is currently my favourite chill-out activity. Geeks, toy soldiers, strategy and beer: a winning combination.

I'm easing myself back into muay thai. I had a year off and gained weight, so I'm enjoying an easier training schedule than when I was fighting. I hope for at least one more bout before I'm 40, but time (and motivation) will tell.

And, of course, the internet! My life would be poorer without The Onion, Crikey, and Arts & Letters Daily.

Thanks for your kind words CJ. The cats are a sticking point for many I know. They are both too old to be of any danger to wildlife and are very much home bodies. Both cats were RSPCA rescues and at the time cats were the obvious choice for us as we were often not at home and dogs had become a bit of a problem in our neighbourhood. The oldest cat has always been a bit skittish as she started life as a kitten in a drain and was rescued during a downpour, but we fear never quite got over her traumatic start to life.

Both cats act a bit like dogs, they follow us around the garden and even start to follow us down the street when we go for a walk, but eventually give up and go home only to greet us at the driveway when we return.

If we are outside the cats have to be with us and often just sit near where I am weeding or planting as though 'on guard'. It is rather odd but they are very much part of the family.

Foxy
Well done on the short stories. I have written some and even sent some off over the years to short story competitions. You should have a go at entering some of them. I only ever had one published in a university paper many years ago.

My story is fiction within a national security background but no more than that I will say just yet. I will send you a free copy if it ever makes it to the printers? :)

CJ
I love ducks and wish we had your space for a flock. (Can you have a flock of ducks? I know geese are a gaggle) :).

Hi pelican - ducks are indeed amusing and cool. We currently have three: Dick the Drake, and his consorts Blanche (a white duck) and Lame Duck, who broke her leg while she was a duckling. They have an enviable life mooching around the garden, eating grass, grubs and windfall fruit, or swimming in our dam. Their future is brighter than most ducks, since my partner is a vegetarian who would never countenance any of them ending up in the pot. Currently, Lame Duck is sitting on half a dozen eggs, so hopefully we'll have more in a month or so.

According to WikiAnswers, there are several collective nouns for duck:

<< brace of ducks (brace applies to birds, in general)

flock of ducks (flock applies to birds on the ground, in general)

flight of ducks (flight applies to birds in the air, in general)

badelynge or badling of ducks (applies to ducks on the ground)

paddling of ducks (applies to ducks in the water)

raft of ducks (applies to ducks in the water)

team of ducks (applies to ducks in the water)

flush of ducks >>

Ours can't fly, so they're either a paddling when they're on the dam, or a badling when they're roaming around. "Badling" seems to fit, since they often misbehave when it's time to come in for the night.

Have a great day :)

Well pluck a duck!!

Now I know why CJ is such an old goose!

More duck tails…er…tales….

A piddling of ducks (ducks in a sewage pond)

A dinner of ducks (ducks in the cooking pot)

A daggle of ducks (as per a gaggle of geese. A mob of silly looking daggy ducks mooching around CJ’s dam!)

A dribble of ducks (ducks that have consumed some of CJ’s gas pellets, are dribbling profusely and about to keel over dead!)

A ceej of ducks (rebellious ducks that have decided that they’ve had enough of the silly old human leaving gas pellets and poison lying around and are going to mount a siege and take over the dam and environs, followed by the property, the country and then world domination!!)