Kenneth the Koala Leaves Home

Those who follow my blog will remember the tale of Kenneth the Koala (told in 3 parts).

 

Since then Kenneth has delighted many of his (and my) friends with his antics.

I knew sooner or later Kenneth would leave home, as happens with most children, but as his mother I hoped it would be later rather than sooner, because I loved seeing his happy face around the place.

A few days ago my friend Fay phoned me to ask if I could make her a koala. I knew it would be some time before I could do this, and Kenneth, hearing the conversation, pricked up his already big ears and cried "Pick me, pick me!" Kenneth, my big and brave Koala, was well and truly ready to leave home.

So, the next day Kenneth and I visited Fay, who of course fell in love with Kenneth straight away and had to have him, so the adoption took place.

It was with a little sadness that I released my Kenneth into the care of one of my oldest and dearest friends, but I knew they belonged together, and this made me glad.


Kenneth of course, with the exuberance of youth, immediately began exploring his new home, and in the garden some blue ducks greeted him and made him welcome.










Fay then took him inside her home to meet her family of bears. It was delightful to greet quite a few of my critters again, including Zachary (in red striped T-shirt), my first original design, Sing Song, my first panda, and little Oliver (tartan bow).

Then Webster (the biggest bear I've made) called out to be introduced, and Kenneth immediately made himself at home on Webster's lap! Sitting comfortably there, Kenneth smiled up at me and said, "Thank you for bringing me here, Nana - I love you - see you soon!" So I left him in good hands (paws), and went off with Fay for a coffee and a catch-up.

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Although I miss Kenneth he is very happy and having lots of fun with his new family, and there will be plenty of opportunity for hugs when I call in for coffee with Fay. As a matter of fact, I feel like a coffee right now - see you next time.

Furgle Faces Fear and Finds a Friend

Furgle the Fearless

Some years ago, I created a small bear called “Furgle” as a gift for Bev, a good friend.

In the fullness of time Furgle went to live with Bev, where he was made welcome by all, especially the bears already living there, and quickly became one of the family.

Furgle's new family

Every now and then I receive pictures of his activities from Bev, and they say every picture tells a story, so today I thought I would share a little of Furgle's story thus far.

I think the red beads will go well with the almonds, I mean the silver beads.

Furgle enjoys beading with friends, offering helpful advice and keeping as close to the yummy snacks as possible.

Galloping home for dinner

Furgle also dreams of rescuing damsels in distress astride his mighty steed and doing deeds of derring do, but likes to be home in time for dinner.

You're not scary, little goats.

Recently Furgle was startled by a rather intimidating picture on the wall above the mantelpiece, but the small ceramic goats on the mantelpiece weren't scary at all. After awhile, and remembering his dreams of derring do, Furgle felt brave enough to tackle the real thing - Bev's pet goats in the back yard. 

You are BIG!

The real thing was even larger than the picture on the wall, and at first Furgle was worried. 

Up close and personal

However, after formal introductions were made, and it was established that both parties came in peace, Furgle was allowed to get 'up close and personal', and was then invited to lunch. Thankfully he had brought his own picnic lunch, because the goats' hay did not look very appetising to the young bear. On the other hand, Millie the goat was quite interested in Furgle's lunch!

What's in your lunch, Furgle?

Keeping an eye on Millie

So Furgle ate his lunch quickly and kept a firm eye on Millie.

Bev tells me that Millie and Furgle have become great friends, and meet regularly for play dates.  Now, though, Furgle prefers to eat his lunch at home before visiting Millie.

I hear that Furgle is planning an overseas adventure with Bev soon, so I will keep you posted.

Close Encounters of the Echidna Kind

Koala in the gum tree near our back door

An abundance of wildlife surrounds us at home. At any time we may see koalas or kangaroos passing by or hanging around, and possums are constant nocturnal visitors.

Ring-tail possum on our verandah

Bird-life abounds also. Parrots, magpies, currawongs, finches, pardalotes, honeyeaters and tiny wrens are regulars in our garden, and high overhead huge wedge-tail eagles often pass through, soaring on the updrafts, along the western side of 'our' valley.

Delightful wildlife surprises await us each day, but none more delightful or unexpected than the spiky little character who decided to grace us with his/her presence for the first time last week, and then again yesterday - an echidna! I will call him Spike.

 

First Encounter

Mission accomplished

Upon returning home late last Tuesday afternoon, I was greeted by two excited grandchildren and one grinning husband, and was escorted into the garden. They pointed to a spiky ball, digging furiously in the soil. Spike the Echidna was valiantly digging to protect his soft underbelly by burying himself so that only his spikes showed,

Let me out of here!

They had first noticed the echidna waddling along our open verandah, and Martin rescued Spike just before he became entangled in some 'stuff' on the verandah.

Beren and Spike

Escape!

The dig-in begins

Martin released Spike onto the grass, and he immediately took off at high speed, ending up underneath a shrub, where he began digging his way to safety.  He stayed there until later that evening, before moving on to hide-outs unknown.

 

Yesterday's Amazing Encounter

While out and about yesterday I received an SMS from Martin, telling me that Spike had reappeared on the verandah again. He (Martin) was in a hurry to answer the phone when he saw Spike, and then needed to get back to the shed quickly, so he raced out of the back door,  jumped over Spike and kept going, forgetting all about him.

I returned home later in the afternoon, and headed indoors with my purchases. On entering the kitchen I heard what sounded like the faint whining of a dog, but couldn't work out where it was coming from. The sound was fainter near the back door, but seemed clearer when I moved toward the kitchen bench. A small step ladder stands at the end of the bench, and I glanced down at it as I approached. To my utter surprise, there, on the floor and under the ladder, was Spike! He was vainly trying to dig himself into the bench, and was whining pitifully, poor darling!

Spike - underneath the step-ladder

I quickly called out to Martin (in the shed), who came to rescue Spike. We deduced that Spike must have wandered in through the back door which Martin had left open in his hurry to get to the shed.

You may notice that Spike looks rather cobwebby. I think he must have found his way underneath some cupboards during his indoor internment, thus exposing my poor under-cupboard housekeeping.

Leave me alone!

It's OK, little fella!

What an amazing little creature!

After taking these pictures, we took Spike out into the fading light of the early evening, and set him free underneath an inviting tree. He immediately began digging himself in, none the worse for his adventure. I'll keep you posted, should he return again!

Ah, freedom at last!

If you want to know more about these amazing Australian mammals, visit http://www.australian-wildlife.com/Echidna-information.html

Ruff to the Rescue

A couple of days after my last post, we (Martin, Ruff and I) left the cold southern State of South Australia and flew to balmy and beautiful Far North Queensland, tourist destination for many Australian and overseas visitors during the winter months.

Ruff enjoyed his flight, looking out the window, sharing his science magazine with Martin, but doing the crossword sudoku puzzles in the inflight magazine was the highlight of his journey to Cairns.

On arrival, we hired a car and headed for Clifton Beach, north of Cairns, to Bunbury North, the home of our friends Noel and Kirsten and their critters, the Bunbury Bunch.

We were all excited, and Ruff especially so. He wasn't just on holiday - he had come to stay!

Meanwhile, at Bunbury North, the critters were excited too, and gathered to await the arrival of their visitors.

What a celebration we had as we reconnected with our friends, and were reunited with the little critters I had made and Noel and Kirsten had adopted! They (the critters) were very happy in their tropical home, but it was lovely to give each of them a big Nana Kayzy hug again.

However, I did notice Bearen Bear's wistful look as he watched his fellow critters with their special friends. This confirmed Ruff's and my rescue plan: Ruff was to be Bearen's sidekick in his adventures, his faithful doggy companion.

So it was with great joy that at the appointed time we introduced Ruff and Bearen to each other, and they immediately became best buddies.

I am sure that soon we will be reading of their exploits in a new book. I can see them now, heading off into the sunset together, Bearen riding a motorbike with Ruff sitting next to him in the side-car, barking happily at everyone they meet, and ready to rescue Bearen at a moment's notice, should his services be required.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that there is already a book about the adventures of Bearen, Bruce, Twinkle and other Bunbury critters - Bearen Bear and the Bunbury Tales  
by Kirsten Due.

It is a beautiful children's story book, available through Amazon and other booksellers, or the publisher, Oil Lamp Books.

Long time no see

Hello again - long time no see!

It's been 7 weeks since my last post, and during that time my mental ability to focus on blogging deserted me. It seems that I cannot multitask as well as I used to. Anyway, to ease back into blogging mode I will share some events of those 7 weeks with you, mostly with pictures  (with a little explanation if needed):

Shed building and other challenges

First day on the job

For some months we've been having an American barn style shed installed, a process fraught with problems. (Thankfully these now almost resolved.)

Barn building - a slow work in progress

At the same time, our bore pump stopped working,

Bore pump blues

Solar sorrows

Septic stinks

the solar installation declared defective and turned off,

and septic tank needed pumping out.  Life is full of interesting challenges!

A Beary Busy Time:
(1) Adelaide Hills Doll and Bear Show

Two Kays - a formidable duo!

Annette Henderson - Dreamweaver Bears

Linda Benson - Benson Bears

Susan Leigh - Bearleigh Bears

Susan Howarth - Whimsical Bears & Lena Burghardt - KP Bears

Val Potter - Bear With Me Bears

Valma & Geoff Bolton - Teddy Bits

(2) 3-day workshop with Linda Benson (Benson Bears), Australian bear artist extraordinaire!

Happy in our work - Day 1

Linda - our excellent teacher

Smiles of success!

Birthday fun

Cheers!

Dessert - La bombe!

So yummy!

See you next time, sooner rather than later, I hope!