Crumpled Home » snakes

Perils of the playground

Luke — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:07:18 +0000

(while eating dinner)

Dad: So what happened to you guys at school today?

(silence)

Dad: Really! Something must have happened!

(crickets chirping)

RJ: Well! You are totally not going to believe this.

RJ: (puts down his fork and becomes quite dramatic and intense)

Today, we were playing at lunch time. There were four of us, me, L. and the other guys and we went back by the Sheddies. You know where they’re doing the building? Past there, past the edge of the concrete.

(pauses)

We decided to dig a hole. A big hole.

(motions digging with his hands)

We started digging. It got deep. Really deep.

(excitedly) We kept on digging and digging, deeper and deeper. We were digging like crazy, making this huge hole!

We kept digging and all of a sudden there was a flash along the bottom of the hole! WHOAH! SCALES. We saw SCALES!

(suddenly stops)

Do you know what it was?

Can you guess?

Dad: No idea… A fish?

RJ: (glares at Dad)

(channelling Steve Irwin) It was a SNAKE, it was in the bottom of the hole and it was a big one! (holding up hands showing the size) We couldn’t believe it!

Dad: Wow! A snake? At your school?

RJ: I know. It was REALLY exciting.

Dad: So… Did you tell someone? Perhaps a teacher?

RJ: No. We didn’t want everyone to freak out. It would just ruin their day…

RJ: Anyway, that’s not what you do when you see a snake. You just, “Say G’day, and walk away.” and that’s exactly what we did.

October 2011, Photo Wrap-Up

Luke — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:07:50 +0000

In October, we drove south to Eagle Bay with some friends for a few days, and north to Gingin for a weekend with Grammy and Poppa. RJ had his first t-ball game and… his team won! In the middle of all of this (and the Royal Show AND Halloween) we somehow found the time to visit Scitech with some friends to see some of their new exhibits. Wow! We need a break!

We took a trip down to Eagle Bay and had a great time in the water. It's a lot easier to do now that the weather's warming up!

We climbed to the top of Sugarloaf Rock where we stopped and watched the ocean attempt to smash it down. The waves were HUGE.

While the other two girls were at horse riding, we set off on a hike around the bay.

Eventually we could see the ominous "Dragon Mouth Cave". Perhaps we'll go inside next time.

While the other two enjoyed breakfast and reading in bed, he just sat there, staring.

Grammy helped RJ and LR make their own dolls. RJ made Bear Grylls, complete with snake and sports watch, while LR made Cleopatra, complete with snake but no watch.

RJ had his first T-Ball game. WHAM! A great hit RJ! Drop the bat first and run! No, not over there! To first base!

... and he leaps into first base. He's safe!

We spotted this elegantly dressed lady on her way to work.

Off to Scitech, where LR is trapped in an underwater bubble.

RJ constructs his own fog tornado... His next version will be bigger, much bigger... MWAAAHAAHAAA.

Off to Gingin for the weekend! Mom and Scarlet enjoy the sunshine, but not the flies.

Poppa shows off his new phone cover... Angry birds! The kids loved it!

You da man, RJ! No! You da man, Dad!

There are certain dangers you must be aware of when letting Dad operate the fork lift.

This year we netted some of the fruit trees, in an attempt to stop the parrots from eating our delicious peaches. There were, however, some complications.

The latest version of the flying fox got even longer and faster, especially when RJ started pulling.

Time for sleep! Goodnight!

Winemaking and The Museum of the Universes of Science

Luke — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 03:07:26 +0000

On the weekend, we all drove up to Gingin to help with the second stage of winemaking. The first stage, picking the grapes and first pressing, was already done a couple of weeks ago; it was time for the second pressing and getting the wine into vats for fermentation. We also spent time working on LR’s latest project, “The Museum of the Universes of Science” — a showcase for all the amazing animals, bones, plants and rocks that we discover up there.

Obviously, winemaking is a very serious business!

LR and Poppa drain the wine from the grapes, to get them ready for the second pressing.

PULL, LR PULL!!!! LR works the press, getting every last drop out of the grapes.

Time to clear the press. Mom, Grammy and RJ take the pressed skins and seeds to fertilize the garden.

Although the wine grapes had already been pressed, we went over to the orchard to see what other fruit was ready for picking. We found a huge number of table grapes ready to pick, as well as some native limes. Sadly, birds had eaten most of the olives!

RJ waits for a ride on the gate at the goat-proof fence to the orchard and vineyard.

LR and Grammy pick table grapes from the vines. The wine grapes were all picked two weeks ago, nothing left there now except raisins!

LR is ready to carry the harvest back to the house.

RJ’s continuing fascination with hats led the kids to making hat stands out of some styrofoam heads that Grammy had sitting around. Grammy has all the great stuff you need for art projects.

LR, RJ and Mom work on making some hat stands for the kids.

RJ admires his finished product, complete with 'evil guy' moustache.

Throughout the weekend, preparations were made for LR’s grand museum project. A set of science-oriented colouring in pages were done up for kids who visit the museum, including some dot-to-dots and letter pages from RJ. Future plans include a science art gallery and a geology department.

LR had a fantastic plan to create our own museum. After a lot of thinking, she decided to name it "The Museum of the Universes of Science." She was in charge of doing the labels and signs.

While LR made labels, RJ went to work arranging the collections. The kangaroo vertebrae had their own section.

LR works on some more labels as Mom looks on.

RJ carefully lays out the ribs. He eventually had a matched set for the left and right sides of the body.

After building the sign and pushing it into the ground (with a tractor!), RJ and LR welcome everyone to the new museum.

LR shows the reptile shelf, complete with a mulga and a western brown snake.

LR shows off some of the finer specimens to the museum's first visitors, Poppa and Grammy.

As the sun set, the kangaroos lined up again at the water trough. It's been a long, dry year and they can't wait for the rains to start again.

Dora, you have a LOT to answer for!

Luke — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:07:35 +0000

(in the car, on the way to school)

RJ: Minty eyeballs… It’s a terrible sickness.

Dad: It does sound terrible.

RJ: Our cousins have it. P, M and their whole family, Aunty B and Uncle T.

Dad: What!? Where did they catch it from?

RJ: From Dora at Dora’s house. Dora went in the Poisonous Jungle and got sick. Then they caught it from her.

Dad: Is there a cure? Can they get medicine or something?

RJ: The only way to get better from minty eyeballs is to drink the nectar from a flower that grows from the tallest tree in the Tiger Snake Jungle.

Dad: We’d better plan a mission to find it.

RJ: There’s no way. There are too many tiger snakes…

RJ: They’re going to die, I presume.

Do you know where the children are?

Luke — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:07:13 +0000

(while eating breakfast)

LR & RJ: (singing) Five little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away…
Mother duck said, ‘Quack, quack, quack, quack,’
But only four little ducks came back…

LR & RJ: Four little ducks went…

LR & RJ: Three little ducks…

LR & RJ: Two little…

LR & RJ: One…

LR & RJ: No little ducks went out one day,
Over the hills and far away…
Mother duck said, ‘Quack, quack, quack, quack,’
But only a fat little snake came back…

LR: It was listening for the quacking noises.

RJ: And it ate ALL of them, even the mother.

Are you ready for RJ 2.0?

Luke — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:17:28 +0000

(over breakfast)

RJ: The doctor chopped my head off one day. Want to know why?

Dad: Sure. Why’d he do that?

RJ: I was bumping into everything and falling over too much. They chopped it off so they could look at my brain.

Dad: Was everything okay in there?

RJ: No. They had to put in a new one. I don’t bump into things now…

RJ: … It’s also better at remembering to put shoes on when I go outside and watching out for snakes.

Zoo Animals and Fairies

Luke — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:40:28 +0000

While mum was away, dad kept the kids busy and tried to completely wear them out during the day. On Saturday, we went to the zoo. On Sunday, we went to a Wild Fairyland Festival.

We’ll be going back to the zoo again sometime.

LR goes for a close-up of a snake.

At 5 metres long (16feet), he's not a giant, but he is still impressively large.

RJ and LR get face to face with the salt-water croc.

LR takes a moment to record some observations while RJ wolfs down a sandwich.

RJ and LR stop for a moment to let Trisha get past.

They're quick, but dad's pretty fast with the shutter.

Gotcha!

The kids thought this kangaroo needed some exercise.

LR was careful to take pictures of each animal.

The wildflowers are still blooming everywhere.

On Sunday, we went to the Fairy Festival. Just look at the delight on the kids’ faces! They eventually cheered up, but it took most of the day.

Her face painted, LR is ready to have her nails done!

We tortured LR by leaving her in the middle of a tent full of fairy-obsessed 4-7 year old girls. How could we be so cruel?

On the other hand, the Drippy the Dragon puppet show was a huge hit.

RJ was pleased to have cake provided for him.

See? Sparkly nails AND face paint!

A fairy delivers some magic dust to LR so she can make a wish.

Maybe it’s a garter snake?

Luke — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:41:18 +0000

RJ: There’s a snake in the backyard.

Mum: I don’t think so.

RJ: Yes. It’s in the grass. I can see it.

Mum: It would be very bad if we had a snake in a backyard.

RJ: It’s a caecilian.

Mum: No, it’s not. It’s just a ribbon.

RJ: Just be careful, okay?