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 . . .

Duffy Tries It On

Duffy looked out of the window at the pouring rain and sighed. He was only small – well, 27cm tall to be exact – but in that newly created head of his were big ideas for even bigger adventures.

“But why can't I go outside, Nana?” he pleaded. “I'll be careful not to get wet.”

“And how will you do that, Duffy? It's bucketing down out there, and even though you are a very clever young bear, I don't think you're clever enough to avoid getting wet in all that rain.”

Duffy sighed again, but continued staring out at the rain, deep in thought.

Nana Kayzy smiled. She had finished sewing Duffy a week or two back, but felt that he needed some airbrushing to highlight his happy face. Now, airbrushing is still a challenge to her, so, fearful of spoiling Duffy in her attempts to finesse him, she put him 'on hold'. However,  a quick refresher lesson and pep talk by friend Kay Schulz (Kay's Kids), two days before had given Nana the courage to tackle Duffy's airbrushing (thanks, Kay). So there he was, ready to face the world, and Nana was very pleased with the dear little fellow.*

Duffy

In tandem with Duffy, Nana had been working on Babette too (see next post). Babette had given Nana all sorts of trouble in her making, necessitating modifications to her design 'on the run'. But now also finished, Babette looked up at Nana with wide-eyed cuteness, and Nana's heart melted.

Babette

Each time she completes a bear Nana sees it as a gift from the great Father Creator of all things, and this always gives her a thrill. Don't misunderstand – her critters are far from perfect, and Nana still has much to learn about bear making. However, as she works on each bear a little miracle occurs as its unique charm and character gradually appears – and of course Nana just loves them anyway, so that's a blessing in itself.

While Nana mused on these matters, she was rummaging in a box containing teddy bear clothing and 'stuff', trying to find a dress that she knew would suit Babette, if she could only locate it in that box!

At the window Duffy suddenly came to life - that is, he stopped staring out at the rain, turned around, and saw that box.  

He leapt away from the window and in a flash jumped into the box and was quickly enveloped by its contents, in his enthusiastic search for buried treasure. 

Moments later, though, he emerged triumphant from the mound of clothing.

“Look what I've found, Nana! It's a Drizabone! This'll keep me dry in the rain, and there's a hat too – can I pleeeeze try them on, Nana dearest?”

Nana laughed at the little fellow's antics, but gladly assisted Duffy to try on the raincoat and hat. They fitted perfectly. “How about that?” said Nana, “They could have been made especially for you!”

“I can go outside now, can't I, Nana?”

“Yes, now you may go outside, Duffy. Go, and have a lovely time in that lovely rain.” Nana called it 'lovely rain' because it too was a gift. Critter Cottage does not have mains water, so rain is celebrated because it replenishes the rainwater tanks which supply the cottage with the precious liquid.

 Duffy happily made his way out into the cold, rainy wonderful outside world, and later could be seen splashing around in a puddle, in his bare bear feet [photographer couldn't 'bear' to photograph this]. Just wait till Nana catches that scallywag!
*Final Note on Duffy: He is now available for adoption, and his vital statistics may be found on my For Adoption page.

A warm welcome to a new follower of our blog, Carol. I'm sure you will also enjoy a visit to her lovely blog, Sweet Bessie Bears and Bakes.

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SPECIAL NOTICE FOR ADELAIDE FRIENDS:
On Saturday, August 4th,
Kay Schulz and I will be trading
at the Adelaide Doll, Bear & Collectable Fair,
in the Grand Chifley Hotel, 208 South Terrace, Adelaide.

PLEASE COME AND SAY HELLO