I don't like vertebrates

Well, my fish have a swim bladder infection and it looks like my experiment is going belly up...literally! I haven't given up on it yet, but I lost 17 fish in a week. It'll only get worse I'm sure, so I'll probably be pulling the plug on it this week. I won't have enough time to repeat before I leave for Australia and I want to make sure I get all the tanks and equipment disinfected before using any of it again. I'm a bit depressed about it cause it's a lot of wasted work, but I keep thinking "I'm going to Australia!" and I have lots of other things to focus on and get accomplished. Maybe I can get 2 of my thesis/dissertation chapters written in the mean time.

But I've been doing a few things to balance out the stress. I went to a wonderful acoustic concert in a beautiful church on Friday night. Kiwi pop singers and the main one, Boh Runga, was fantastic! Saturday was the Spring Food Festival to get folks out for Internat'l Climate Change day. We learned some seasonal cooking with asparagus, got lots of free plants & a free eco light bulb, listened to live music, etc. Then went to Jen's for dinner...we made venison, garlic mashed potoatoes, cali, brocli & aspargus with a sauce we just learned how to make at the festival. Yesterday was yard work - I fixed a terrace that washed out from all the rain during the winter, moved some plants, ripped some out, weeded and Anson weeded, trimmed & mowed so it's not embarrassing to show someone around anymore. Then met some labmates at the pub to play darts...first time since I've moved to NZ! I've missed it! Today is Labour Day but I'm at work...lots to do before my holiday!