The Natural Beauties of Eastern Victoria

Over the course of the next few weeks, I am going to describe some of the places we will be visiting while we are in Australia.  But first let me describe the Eastern Victoria area in depth, as this was the area assigned to me for our prerequisite "learning about Australia" class.

Eastern Victoria is home of the largest inland lake system, among many other natural beauties, such as wildlife parks, the Alpine National Park, and the 90 Mile Beach.  Many of Australia's best cool season vineyards are within the Eastern Victoria boundaries. The most prominent wines coming from this area include sparkling wines, Chardonnays, and Pinot Noirs.  The picture below is a vineyard in the Yarra Valley, located in Eastern Victoria.

For the animal lovers, Phillip Island is the most attractive place to visit.  A natural tradition happening every time of the year will show tourists the penguin parade.  At sunset, penguins come along the Summerland Beach and preen themselves or take care of their young chicks.  There is also a koala colony on Phillip Island! Here's a photo I found taken on Phillip Island in July 2007:

http://journals.worldnomads.com/stowaway/photo/1715/116454/Australia/Phillip-island-Penguin-Parade

I'm not sure that we will be able to visit all of the natural beauties of Eastern Victoria on this trip.  If I ever get the chance to go back to Australia  on my own time, I know that Phillip Island will be a must for me to see!!


Good night mates, 
~Kaycie

Spring Fever

Well, as most of you know tomorrow is the first day of Spring!! I can't wait... last week was WAYYY too nice, especially for us to still be at work/in school.  The first day of spring makes me think of so many things: spring break!, pretty flowers, beautiful weather, and OUR SALE!

Yikes.. our annual production sale is April 7th which is less than 3 weeks away now.  Yesterday the crew spent all day cleaning pens, painting pens, sweeping floors, and going through calves in an attempt to begin the "get ready" process.  It seems like we are always running around last minute trying to get the little things done, hopefully this year will be different! This year is our 5th annual sale, and with cattle prices being how they are, we are hoping for the best one yet! I'll be sure to keep you posted as to how it goes. 

Today, I got exciting news about the internship I will have this summer at JBS Corporate Office in Greeley, CO.  I will be an intern with the Beef Sales Division, with my manager being the director of Natural Beef Sales.  This is such an awesome opportunity! Working in the sales field for an international company, the number one meat processor in the world!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

 I will be posting more information soon about where exactly we are going to in Australia!

Much love,
~Kaycie

Weekend Shenanigans

Well, it is finally Friday, friends! I can't wait to get this weekend started!! Some of my closest friends will be up here all weekend, for the annual festivities in a local business district (Aggieville), and I'm so very excited!!

Last night, we started the weekend a little early with activities at our apartment and then over to a friend's house. Tonight, we will begin the weekend off right, by helping our meats judging coach celebrate the end to his Master's program at K-State.  I went to watch him defend his thesis this morning, and he did great.  Tomorrow will begin early with breakfast and the fun will continue until dark, I'm sure!
 

I hope you all have a fun, safe "holiday" weekend (if you're in Manhattan). Here's something to look forward too..... 70's and beautiful is the forecast for next week!! Wahoo!!!!

Happy Friday!!
~Kaycie

Cattle, Ag, and Sports

For those of you that don't know me well, let me explain my life in a nutshell.  I have many passions, but what mainly drives me are cattle, agriculture in general, and sports! I have been around Gelbvieh cattle since I was 9, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Agriculture is the driving force of the nation/world, so it's pretty obvious why I strive to learn everything there is to know about ag.  By the way, it's Kansas Ag Week, so be sure to thank a farmer today! =)

 I have grown up playing sports, not because my parents made me, but because I wanted to.  Being the tom-boy I am, I used to play football with the guys after we got out of elementary school, and a pick-up game of basketball wasn't too bad either.  Now, I'm not saying I know everything there is to know about sports, especially football, but I know a fair amount.  Well today in class, my professor mentioned being from Indiana and how he's been keeping up with the latest news of the football team there.  He sarcastically mentioned that Peyton hasn't done anything for the team, and that he should get booted.  The class, of course, giggled in unison, because basically everyone (or at least I thought so) knows about Peyton Manning being released from the Colts. He went on to say, "if you don't know Peyton Manning, then get out".  The girls in front of me seriously didn't know him! WHAT?!?!?! I still can't fully believe it, but I guess I have to get used to it...not everyone has their TV set to ESPN 24/7/365 like we do at our place. My only hope is that he goes to the Cowboys and replaces Romo?? I love him to death, but jeesh he just can't ever seem to get the job done.

For all of you that still don't know who I'm talking about, I've provided a picture and a link.

Here's a link to Manning's Release


Now, that I'm off my rant, I guess I better get busy. I've got to study for my Feeding test and Genetics test, right after we go to a celebration dinner for my roommate.  Sarah Jane is going to be in Texas for her Master's program!! Congrats SJ!!

Much love, mates.
~Kaycie

Breaking the Ice

Hey guys!

This is my first ever blog, so please bear with me!! Getting this darn thing set up was a chore in itself, the basic settings wouldn't work, uploading a picture wasn't even an option, and to top it all off we were on a time limit. I'm sure it gets easier, but for now I'm going to have to take it step by step.  Let me explain the basic use for this blog.. I'm going to AUSTRALIA!! Jealous? Well, you should be!! I'm super stoked about it!!  About 20 students and staff from Kansas State University are taking a trip to Australia to specifically see agriculture in a different area of the world, along with experiencing the culture in the Land Down Under. We will be keeping everyone back in the States updated with daily activities via our own personal blogs.  The trip is from May 21 to June 1, so we all still have a little bit of time to get used to this way of communicating with our family.  Until I leave on the 21st, I plan on using the blog to keep everyone in the know about life at K-State and all of the shenanigans happening in my world!!

For now, all I have to look forward to are two tests on Thursday, an online quiz, a sales presentation, and, of course, a weekend filled with friends and Fake Patty's Day!!!!!!  I'm going to have to pace myself on Saturday, because drinking too many stubbies (Australian for beer) will definitely not end well!

Best wishes until next time, mates.
~Kaycie