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!

A Grand Tale

When we became grandparents, five years ago, I began collecting soft toy critters from our local charity op shops, so that when the grandchildren were ready, the animals would be on hand.

Critters crawling everywhere (note Giraffe on left side of bottom line-up)!

Thus, any room or surface in our house can become a resting place for one or more of these critters (they do seem to roam around), and grandchildren Beren (5) and Kestrel (2) always ask for a few to play with when they come, Giraffe being a firm favourite.

Kestrel's favourite Giraffe (and favourite Dad)

However, recently their animal play escalated to monumental proportions, with every critter in sight being conscripted.

The children had dropped in for morning tea, but we quickly came to realise that although the morning tea was enjoyed,

   Morning tea,             plans and dreams,        mischief in the making

in Beren and Kestrel's eyes it was just preliminary preparation for the real business of the visit: the creation of - you guessed it - a zoo!

The lounge room was the chosen location for our zoo and initially chaos ensued. However, under the guidance of the zoo patron (moi!) it was soon decided to provide separate areas for critters needing similar conditions, e.g. desert, water loving, farm, tree climbing, etc., and soon the zoo keeper (Beren) and his helper (Kestrel) were happily finding suitable food for their charges, including grass for farm animals, gum leaves for koalas, honey for bears,  bamboo for pandas, and a lamb bone for the lion, who was especially hungry.

Let me show you our zoo animals.

Before too long we had our first visitors to the zoo, and our zoo keeper showed them around, at the same time checking that his animals were happy in their new environment.


He brought several to the zoo hospital for treatment, and I am happy to report that all recovered quickly, thanks to the care of the zoo patron, who is also a trained critter nurse.

Look what I found in the cupboard, Nana!

In the meantime, the enterprising zoo helper discovered that she could open the cupboard where the 'special' critters are kept, and proceeded to transport them to the zoo (I am grateful that the zoo staff are quite careful in their handling of all critters in their charge!).

POSTSCRIPT: 

Because the zoo was such a successful enterprise, a follow-up visit resulted in another zoo being built. This time, however, the zoo staff lost control of their animals, and an unsuspecting zoo visitor resting on a nearby park bench was totally buried beneath a zooful!

Poor unsuspecting zoo visitor buried alive

Thankfully, he was rescued, none the worse for his adventure, and seemed in no hurry to leave the zoo.

A Three Dog Night!

Critters a-twitter!

It was early evening, and outside Critter Cottage the birds were settling down for the night. However, inside the cottage Kayzy's Critters were all a-twitter - if non-feathered critters can twitter!  Always interested in what Nana was making, part of the fun for the critters was in trying to guess what her newest creation might be. As they strained to see what Nana Kayzy working on, the guesses flew freely.
 

Fur-Elise admires Randyll

"It must be a bear," announced Randyll the Rabbit, a recently creation of Nana's. "The feet are too small for a rabbit," and he surveyed his substantial bunny feet with satisfaction. Randyll was a very self-assured young buck, and his confidence in his own opinion was boosted by Fur-Elise's, who thought he was the cleverest bunny she had ever met!



"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that," responded Kenneth the Koala. "Mind you, being a marsupial and not a bear I am not an expert in beariness, but this critter-to-be appears to be developing a different sort of personality to that of a bear."

Babette and Kenneth

O'Shaughnessy and Lah-Fing

"To be sure, his head doesn't seem the right shape for a bear, you know," offered O'Shaughnessy, who didn't often bestir himself to contradict his fellow critters - but the temptation to put the young Randyll in his place was too strong to resist.

Shirley wishes for Wilbur's wisdom

The guesses and opinions continued to fly. "I wish Wilbur were here," said Shirley dreamily. "He would be sure to know what sort of critter it is that Nana Kayzy is making." There were groans across the room. Everyone knew that Wilbur could do no wrong in Shirley's eyes, but this was too much.

Come off it, Shirl!

"Come off it, Shirl!" cried Jo-Mo. "Why should Wilbur know any more than we do? He's a great mate, but . . ."

It's a dog!

Suddenly a high-pitched puppy cry of "I know, I know!" echoed by deeper doggy tones drowned out Jo-Mo's protest. Rosita (another recent addition to Nana Kayzy's fold) and Digger (famous for his treasure hunt with Dennis the Dancing Duck) then declared together, "It's a dog!" and Nana Kayzy looked up from her sewing, smiling her affirmation of their discovery.

It's a very doggy dog

 "How clever you are!" Nana said. "It is a dog, and a rather disreputable dog at that. I'm going to call him 'Ruff'." After this revelation Nana returned to her work, and before long it was clear to all that Ruff was indeed a dog -  a very doggy dog!

"Whoo-hoo!" cried Digger, "thanks, Nana! We dogs are in the minority here, so a third woofer is just what's needed."

Ruff salutes Rosita

Little Rosita didn't say anything else, but continued watching Nana as she put the finishing touches to Ruff.

Then, without warning, Ruff suddenly turned his head and saluted Rosita, making her  puppy cheeks blush to an even deeper shade of rose pink than normal.







Nana smiled to herself and thought, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

It's a three dog night!

Postscript: All the critters featured in this post are available for adoption. More information on each of them may be found on our For Adoption page or by emailing us at kayzyscritters@gmail.com 

Booff - Bear on a Mission

"Come here, Booff, and sit with me," said Nana Kayzy. "I've got something very special to tell you."
Booff, very eager to have some 'special' time with Nana, climbed up onto her knee and looked up at her expectantly.

"Booff, my dear, you are a very special bear. No other bear in the whole wide world is just like you - you are one-of-a-kind - and you were created for a special purpose."

Staring wide-eyed at Nana Kayzy, Booff wondered what his 'special purpose' could be. Perhaps he might have to leave Nana's hug, and travel to far away places to discover his special purpose. He shifted uneasily on Nana's knee. He was beginning to feel a little anxious.

Nana smiled at Booff, and said reassuringly, "Now, now, there is nothing to worry about, my Booff. You know that I always have your best interests in my heart and on my mind."

Because Booff really did know that what Nana said was true, he relaxed and again looked up at Nana, waiting to hear what she would say next.

"Yesterday a very special baby boy was born into our family, Booff. This precious baby is Daniel and Naomi's firstborn, and they have named him Jasper. Now Jasper is going to need a very special bear to take care of him, and I think you are that bear. But because this is such an importance mission you have to be sure that you want to take it on. It is a lifetime mission, and will take special gifts to be able to fulfil this special purpose."

Booff was overwhelmed that Nana would think that he had the gifts needed for this great mission, and his heart leaped with joy at the thought. "Oh, Nana Kayzy, do you really think I can do it?"

"I do indeed, dear Booff," replied Nana. "You are a gentle bear, with a kind and loving heart, and these are the special gifts you will need for your mission, should you choose to accept it."

"Then I accept my mission gladly, Nana!" cried Booff.

Later that day Nana Kayzy, Grandad, and Booff headed off in their car, invited by the new parents to meet Jasper.

Booff sat watching as the introductions were made, and when it was his turn he was presented to Naomi and Dan, with an explanation by Nana Kayzy that Booff had come to join their family and to help in caring for Jasper. If bears can blush, Booff did just that as Naomi took him in her arms and welcomed him into the new little family.

Later Nana Kayzy drew him aside and quietly encouraged him with gentle words of wisdom. 

She  hugged Booff one last time and then took him over to Jasper, who was asleep in his mother's arms.

After asking permission from Jasper's Mum and Dad, Booff moved closer, to acquaint himself more intimately with this tiny person he was to care for.

Then Nana and Grandad had the joy of nursing Jasper for the first time - and O what joy it was!








Jasper even smiled at Nana, making her joy complete.

All too soon it was time to say farewell, and to leave the little family to rest. So Booff waved goodbye, already missing Nana and Grandad, but knowing his special purpose and the love of his new family filled him with a sense of destiny, hope, and even a tinge of excitement.