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 

There's still a Spring in my step

The paddocks near our house are beginning to change from green to a pale browny gold colour, as we near the end of Spring in the Adelaide Hills.

View of our paddocks browning off

Our garden is still looking lovely though, and a thrill runs through me as I wander around, taking in the sights and smells of our unruly but lush (at present) garden.

Roses, lavender, viburnum,  chrysathemum, geranium, plumbago, etc. etc.

Red Geraniums

Throughout Spring I've tried unsuccessfully to capture with my little digital camera the vibrancy of the new life all around me.

David Austin's Graham Thomas rose

Nevertheless these pictures still give a little glimpse of the prodigality of the season and its Creator.

Tequila Sunrise

Purple irises with Golden Celebration rose

Mystery rose (root stock from a dead Abraham Darby, I think)

Evelyn,  another David Austin rose

The Children's Rose

Mr Lincoln rose

Roses are my favourite flowers and our garden reflects this,

but everything living, growing thing has its own glory - even the weeds that share the garden beds with the plants we want there! 

Seduction rose accompanied by select weeds!

Jasmin bush covering a fire sprinkler

Apricot Nectar rose

Soon we will take on the challenge of keeping the garden alive through the warmer months, and I will dream of cooler weather again. But for now I will just drink in the beauty around me, and be thankful for today.

Another mystery rose

P.S. Guess who I found while I was wandering in the garden just now? Kelvin (I name all visiting koalas Kelvin) was grunting away in a tall gum tree just outside our house fence, so I just had to share him with you too. I am a blessed woman!

Kelvin poses for the camera

Kenneth the Koala - Part 3 (It's Big!)

In our last post you may have read of Kenneth's misadventure with Tusca the dog, and how it (and Tusca) shook the little koala's confidence considerably. Well, a few days passed by, and with Nana Kayzy's reassurances and numbers of kind and encouraging messages from sympathetic bear and human friends, Kenneth recovered his equilibrium quite well.

In fact, on the next scheduled bushwalk day, Nana Kayzy was surprised to find him waiting near her backpack when she came to collect it.

“Nana, I'm ready to try again,” Kenneth said (almost bravely). “I come from a line of big and brave koalas, so maybe it'll rub off on me if I just have a go!”

Nana Kayzy clapped her hands. “Bravo, Kenneth! 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends . . . ' no, maybe not. How about 'Onward, forward, shout aloud, Hosanna!'?” And so saying, she collected her backpack and Kenneth, and headed off to join Sharyn, Nyah and Tusca again – this time with a song in her heart and faith that all would be well.

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They tumbled out of the car at Evans Road. An early Spring shower followed by sunshine had freshened everything – grass, flowers, trees, and even the road sparkled and shone with new life. However, the first thing Kenneth noticed was an intoxicating smell. “Mmmm, what's that lovely smell, Nana?”

Nana tried to think like a koala, and as she did this her nostrils filled with the heady aroma of freshly washed gum leaves. “You're smelling the gum leaves, Kenneth – good, isn't it?”

“Ooh, yes,” replied Kenneth dreamily.

They were walking along the bush road, Kenneth in his safe backpack position, when he spied a very young gum tree on the edge of the road. Bubbling up inside him came that 'big' feeling again, and he cried, “I want to climb that tree!”

Everyone stopped in their tracks. Before he could change his mind, Nana Kayzy quickly lifted him on to the ground, and stood back to watch.

Without hesitation, Kenneth waddled up to the baby tree, savouring the delicious perfume of those inviting leaves, and went into action.

“Yay for Kenneth the brave!” cried Nana, so proud of her darling.

The tree may have been tiny, but the event was huge for Kenneth.

He had found his bigness in a big way, and that's not all! For the first time Kenneth tasted those delicious gum leaves straight from the tree – ah, bliss!

After this, nothing could stop Kenneth.

Further along the track he found a bigger tree and climbed that, sampling the delights of its leaves and the joy of conquering the dizzy heights of its branches, swinging upside down and laughing with the pleasure of it all. Kenneth had fully embraced the bigness of the gift of life itself.

The final joy of the day came when they reached the big rock that had caused such trouble on their last walk. Tusca trotted over to the rock, jumped up, and sat down, looking apologetically at Kenneth. Without a word, Kenneth made his way over to Tusca and climbed up on the rock. Then the two just sat together in companionable silence as if they'd been friends for years, resting and pondering beary and doggy things.

As if it was necessary to celebrate the occasion even further, the call of a yellow-tailed black cockatoo rang out in the bush, and this beautiful bird paused long enough for Nana to record his fleeting visit.

 

When she turned around to check on Kenneth, Nana saw him lying at Tusca's feet, relaxing in the warmth of the rock while Tusca sat guarding her new friend.

What a BIG day! The words of a poet from long ago came to Nana Kayzy as she smiled at the unlikely pair on the rock. “This is the day that the Lord has made – we will rejoice and be glad in it!”

Postscript

Kenneth is so brave and big now, he is ready for adoption.
If you are interested, please go to my For Adoption page.

Kenneth the Koala - Part 2

Kenneth awoke that morning and knew something was different. He had a 'big' feeling welling up in his furry tummy, and a tiny shiver of excitement went through him. When Nana Kayzy came down for breakfast she found Kenneth actually relaxing in a lounge chair by the window, and thought he definitely had a different look about him – an almost big and brave look.

“Hmmm,” she thought, “I think today is a good day to implement my plan.”

The brand new day outside was sparkling in the sunshine, a light breeze was blowing, and the bush seemed to beckon to both Nana and Kenneth.

“Kenneth,” said Nana Kayzy, “how would you like to explore the bush this morning?”

To her surprise, Kenneth answered without hesitation, “I would like to try that, Nana, but I don't know how.”

“That's all right, dear. We'll explore together – it's going to be such fun!”

After breakfast, Nana packed her backpack with jacket, water, and other necessities, and the two intrepid explorers stepped out into the sunshine, with Nana carrying Kenneth. The warmth of the sun caressed them and drew them on, and Kenneth felt his 'big' feeling growing. They were soon joined by Sharyn, her granddaughter Nyah, and Tusca the dog, and together they made their way by car to Evans Road, with Kenneth sitting on Nana's lap, staring wide-eyed out of the car window at the big, wide world whizzing by.

The group disembarked from the car at the appointed spot, and Kenneth, wondering what was coming, found himself being comfortably positioned in Nana Kayzy's backpack, lifted onto her back, and then they were off.

“Ooh, this is a lovely way to explore the bush, Nana!” cried Kenneth.

“Glad you like it, Kenneth. Keep your eyes peeled – this track has lots of lovely surprises in store.”

They had only gone 100 metres or so, when the little group came across a huge kangaroo grazing in the bush just off the road.

Nana grabbed her camera and managed to capture this magnificent animal digitally before he tired of his audience and 'boinged' away to find denser bush.

Continuing on, the explorers feasted their eyes on native flowers in full bloom, lining the side of the road.

“What next?” thought Kenneth, thoroughly enjoying this new experience, and feeling very big and brave in Nana's backpack.










Around a bend in the road they paused, and Nana lifted Kenneth out of the backpack and onto a large rock. Tusca, fascinated by this furry phenomenon, approached the rock and sat down next to Kenneth, sniffing him curiously.

What is this strange furry creature?

Then suddenly, Tusca - unable to resist temptation any longer - seized Kenneth in her mouth!

Temptation too great for a dog

Panic set in – Kenneth's newly found big and brave feeling was swamped by a huge wave of fear and dread, and he felt helpless and very small indeed. Sharyn and Nana Kayzy rushed to Kenneth's aid and retrieved him from Tusca's mouth.

Kenneth, trembling, needed immediate comfort and reassurance, and all three girls took it in turns to soothe his shattered nerves with big cuddles.

Sharyn

Nyah

Nana was particularly shaken by this close call for her beloved Kenneth, and decided he needed a little more time to recover from his trauma before proceeding with her plan to liberate Kenneth's inner 'bigness'.

 So, Nana Kayzy gently reinstalled Kenneth to his safe backpack position, and they continued on their way, Kenneth biting his paw nervously, all his newfound bigness and braveness forgotten.

To be continued . . .