Week 11

Week 11 was baking hot and Colin had the good sense to say we could wrap the top of our overalls round our waist; I spent the entire day cleaning out stables and enclosures.
First of all, Toby and I cleared out the pygmy goats' bedding - they are quite calm and let you get on with it, while they go and eat grass. I found that their straw had loads of bits in it, and the whole thing made me sneeze for ages. After we'd finished, we found Neil, to ask for a new task, and I mentioned that I thought I had a straw allergy. Not ideal when you're volunteering there, but perhaps there is a face mask for next time.
After our break, I was expecting Toby to come back and join me in the sheep paddock - the usual thing of clearing up the poop with a couple of short handled shovels. Not a bad job, but it gets so hot in the sun that I was tempted to join the sheep in the shady corner. Toby never appeared, and I learned later that he only does 2 hours in the morning - surely it is hardly worth coming  in for, but that is not to say that he doesn't work hard when he is there.
A baby blue tit had fallen out of its nest or tree, and was on the ground by the sheep pen. A visitor asked me about what to do with it, and I realised that as a worker, the public expects you to know what to do with all animals. I thought that you are supposed to leave baby birds  alone, so that their parent can come back to them. When humans touch them, I believe it can put them off. Anyway, I later saw a man lift it up and throw it back into the tree, which seemed to work, so what do I know.
More stables followed, with Ariane and I cleaning out the mouflon hut - luckily the ram is next door, and we got to see the 2 lambs, who are growing fast and a gorgeous caramel colour.
Later that day, we went to investigate what Alex was doing with Colin and the others. They were preparing a small hut near the ibis, for the promised new arrivals of giant tortoises and mouse lemurs. Apparently the latter are nocturnal, so it is debatable how much of them the public will see...