Last weekend, we took another trip down south — this time much shorter, but still lots of fun. We went exploring a Karri forest, visited a wildlife park and climbed some huge rocks.
Not siblings... Just friends. These are three of the many rescued joeys at the wildlife park.
RJ: I want some medicine too!
Dad: What’s that RJ? Medicine?
RJ: Yeah. I want some deer medicine too.
Dad: Do you mean… venison?
RJ: YEAH!
January was a really busy month! With the kids on summer holidays, we had lots of activities during the week and on the weekends. While down south we also did a bit of fishing, life-size animatronic dinosaurs came to town, we caught up with some friends and grandparents, and lots of wildlife around our house stopped in to say ‘Hello!’
A total of 5 very small fish caught over two nights -- the kids rated it a massive success!
(RJ has adopted a cockroach that he found outside. It was suspiciously easy to catch… This morning, over breakfast…)
RJ: I don’t think Roachy is sleeping. He just falls over a lot.
LR: He hasn’t fallen over. He’s dead.
RJ: No! He’s moving! See?
LR: I don’t think he’s feeling very good. Cockroaches aren’t meant to do that.
Dad: Hey guys… Yesterday, when I was spraying the outdoor area for redbacks, he might have gotten some of the spider poison on him. I don’t think it’s very good for cockroaches either.
RJ: (nearly in tears) BUT YOU SHOULDN’T DO THAT! YOU SHOULD JUST SPRAY THE SPIDERS.
LR: He’s dying. He’s going to die RJ. We should let him go.
RJ: No! We can’t do that. Roachy can’t walk very well. Something might eat him.
Dad: We can’t keep him, RJ. He’s like all our wild animal pets, we have to let them go after a while. They just aren’t happy inside.
LR: What if we put him in the front yard?
RJ: No. He can’t hide. See? His legs don’t work properly. It wont be safe for him.
Dad: Can we put some mulch or something in the box with him? He’ll be happier then.
RJ: Yes! We CAN do that. And then we can make him some medicine, so he’ll get better.
Australia Day (January 26th) is a national holiday, similar to the 4th of July in the states, with the major (tragic) difference being that we can’t buy explosive devices at the shop just around the corner. We tend to go to the beach, eat a lot of barbequed food, and in most towns and cities there are big fireworks displays.
RJ getting his snack on, just before we head out the door.
(RJ tells us all about another one of those creatures that only he seems to know about)
Feelay spiders are really good. They’re the friendly ones. They are bigger than your head and dig burrows and tunnels. They can jump a long way.
Some things eat them, but they have a secret weapon on their side… A hunter’s lair. Lizards eat them, but only after they have been cooked in a fire so they are safe to eat.
One day, a big forest fire came and burned everything until it was black and grey, then the fire went out…
THEN the lizard ate all the spiders.
LR: Look at the picture on the dog shampoo bottle. The dog is washing itself like it’s a human. It even has human hands!
Mum: That’s called anthropomorphising. When you make an animal seem like a human… Like by making it talk or making it look like it’s having a bubble bath.
RJ: Yeah… Because it has a robot inside it to make it move.
(LR and mum look at him in puzzlement)
RJ: Like at the museum. The dinosaurs in the exhibition move because they’re anthropomorphitronic.
(mum and LR still confused)
Mum: (has a sudden thought) Do you mean the animatronic dinosaurs?
RJ: Yeah… Animatronic. They move like people.
For those of you that haven’t visited Australia, RJ would like to introduce you to one of the spiders that are commonly found in the area. This is a Huntsman spider, and they often get larger than this (last week we spotted one trying to wander off with the dog).
We kept him in the kitchen with us for a few hours, but relocated him to the veggie patch, where he can do a great job hunting down pests. Despite what RJ says, they do not actually eat fruit.
(in the car)
RJ: I’m putting a spell on you daddy. Now you’re small and I’ve put you in a tiny little cage like a bird.Dad: Whoah. Can I climb out?
RJ: No. The bars are too close together.
Dad: I try my block magic, so your spell doesn’t get to me.
RJ: I have magic that stops block magic from working. You’re still stuck in the cage.
Dad: I call my friend, the good witch, and she casts a spell to get me out of the cage.
RJ: That wont work.
Dad: Why not?
RJ: Because I’ve left some icecream on the floor and she eats it up instead of helping you.
Dad: Rats… I’ve got some tools in my pocket and I cut a hole in the bottom of the cage and get out! Now I’m little and running and hiding in the room.
RJ: Now you step in the icecream mess and it’s all slippery and you fall over.
Dad: But I wipe off my shoes and run away and hide again!
RJ: I call my friend, the bad witch with a big nose, and she sniffs and sniffs and finds you. Now you’re in the cage again.
Dad: I climb back out the hole that I made. Ha ha! I’m running around again!
RJ: I get some super strong tape and glue and fix up the hole and we catch you and put you back in!
Dad: Can I poke through the tape?
RJ: No. It’s too strong.
Dad: Okay… umm… I use my super strong powers to bend the bars on the cage open and climb out!
RJ: We catch you and put you back. Then we put your cage inside another one that is extra strong. You can’t get out now.
Dad: I start whistling a song to call my elephant friend and he comes and gets me out!
RJ: I put a magic spell on him too. Now he’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: I whistle for my bear friend!
RJ: More magic! He’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: I whistle for my dinosaur friend!
RJ: More magic! He’s little and I’m putting him in a cage without a daddy in it.
Dad: Is there any way out of this cage?
RJ: No. Try whistling for a lion.
Dad: Uhh, okay… I whistle for my lion friend!
RJ: Magic! He’s little too and in a new cage… Try a crocodile.
Dad: Okay… I whistle for my crocodile frie…
RJ: Magic! He’s little! Try a kangaroo.
Dad: Wont you just make him little too?
RJ: Yes!
Dad: Will he get me out of the cage?
RJ: No. But I need a kangaroo for my collection.
Dad: You’ve got quite a lot of animals now.
RJ: Yes. I’m starting a zoo.
Lots of great things happened in November, here’s the run down: Summer is slowly arriving with only one or two hot days here and there, RJ and Dad see some airplanes take off, RJ goes to some birthday parties, Mum catches LR at camp for a day, Dad and RJ hit the beach, someone got older, and LR’s year one class visits a wildlife preserve.
Make sure you follow the “Continue Reading” link to get the whole story!
Time for a quick icecream break on a hot summer day.
