A New Chapter

The sound of champagne bottles popping their corks has been somewhat foreign in my life ...but not this week.  As of December 15th, this blogger completed her 5th degree - a three-year BSc.ABC.  That translates to:

Certified Professional Animal Behavior Consultant !!!

The thesis was accepted, and received the evaluation comment of being a "dedicated and outstanding project."   It was only the sound of popping corks that brought me out of my stunned (and unusual) state of silence.  

 

Five women came together 3 years ago ...each with different histories and backgrounds, each with different dreams and goals. Mette will begin her work with horses on her new farm.  Tina, will continue enhancing the relationships between dogs and their owners, and wants to become involved with training rats for the African bomb deactivation program. Ayoe, will focus on improving the lives of felines -in shelters, in homes, or anywhere else that cats who need her help can be found. Liv will head for an unknown tropical  location, in search of marine mammal work -and as for myself, my sights are set on wildlife training and conservation efforts -wherever that may take me.

Five glasses were raised last night as we came together for the last time, and while we have now set off on our separate ways, I have no doubt that we will continue to be the voices of encouragement, support, ideas, and possibilities for each other for a very, very long time to come.

So, for my amazing colleagues, take one last piece of cake for the road:

We'll need it for the job search!

My thanks to Liv, Ayoe, Tina, Mette, Bettina, Gita, Maiken, 

Marnie, Samantha, Dustin, and my mother (the humans)...

 Winkin', Blinkin', Nod, and Tail-Up-Straight (the thesis animals)...

&

 Wilma, Gunnar, Benjamin, Destiny, Bessie, Totte, Penny, Bryan, 

and numerous other animals that have taught me more than any book ever could ...

A special "thanks" to Brandy, Patches, Sniffles, Nacho, Mud, Minnie, Laddie and Taffy -they are the reasons "why."

Lessons Learned:

Following one's dreams can be as easy as breathing, 

or the hardest thing you ever might try to do.

But, what a moment- 

when an artist's image 

suddenly comes to life.

The Gentle Giants

There's something very peaceful about watching a giraffe simply stroll about.  It's almost as if someone has set the world on 'slow motion.'  I felt the same hypnotic fascination some years ago while watching the palm trees bending and swaying with the wind in Hawaii.  But credit must be given here to the giraffe, as he is able to trigger the same endorphin-like state in my mind ~without the help of a pina colada.

I will be attending the International Giraffe Symposium this year in San Francisco -not that I've ever worked with a giraffe, but I am curious to see and meet the people who have developed training techniques for an animals who tower 18 feet over them.  One interesting fact I obtained from the San Diego Zoo was that their giraffes' favorite preference is to work for pieces of red onion.  I can only imagine the boxes of tissues I'd go through every day at the food preparation station!

None the less, off I will go to San Francisco in February -to observe, to network, to listen and to learn, as I enter for the first time into their gentle, slow-motion world. 

Lessons learned:

Keep your pockets filled with red onions, 

and don't look down when training a giraffe

Into the Heart of Sweden

It was a typical late afternoon in November, where the clouds leave no space between the ground and the sky.  But it wasn't the limited visibility, or the damp chill in the air that formed my lasting 'first' image of Dalarna ...it was the 24 hour silence that exists in the high country of central Sweden.

The houses are woodsy and welcoming -whether they be large ...

or small.

The artistry and detail of even the most functional of things caught my eye, 

as well as my reflection

Small tea lights were everywhere -helping to offset winter's long hours of darkness,

and the intoxicating aroma of birch wood fires,

and afternoon coffee brewing proved to be just the appetizers ...

for the saffron bullar and pepperkakor waiting inside.

While hiking on trails in Dalarna, If you're lucky, you may pass by a doorway such as this ~

where carvings deep in the metal hinges convey thoughts known only to the Viking hand that carved them over 1,000 years ago.

In the heart of Sweden, even the modern-day graffiti commands respect. (circa 1793)

Any trail, in any direction will take you through untouched, ancient forests ~

where one can still taste the sweetness of natural spring water.

Lesson learned:

I wonder if the marks we leave will ever communicate 

such a sense of wonder and connection?