Bart Bear's Blog

I guess that I don't have to say much about this picture. It shows a small bear just before his Mum finds him digging into the special choccies that have just been put out for visitors. The following few minutes don't need explaining as I know you wouldn't believe Mum could be so mean. After all, why should guests get the best of everything? In my opinion family, especially the small bear members, should get first go at goodies like this.

Labels: family, trouble

Last Sunday afternoon we had very important visitors. They were Dad's youngest son Rick, his wife Karen, their children Josh and Lauren, and Karen's parents Jan and Owen. We invited them across for a special afternoon tea because Josh's 3rd birthday is this week. Naturally, Mum needed lots of help from me to get things ready. I like helping with cooking, especially when the things being cooked are yummy. Whisking eggs and cream together was one of my jobs this time, and I managed to do it without splattering much of the kitchen. The mix went into mini-quiches, and another mix went into a scrumptious peach slice thingy. By the time the visitors arrived I had the table loaded with biccies, choccies, scones, jam, whipped cream, and cheese and crackers (for the oldies) as well as the results of the baking spree. Nobody went away hungry.... In fact they went away with doggie-bags. Presents? Of course Josh left with presents. Now if only the Oldies do my next birthday tea as well as we did this one.

Labels: Canberra, family

In the parking area near the Lake George zebras, near the sign that tells you all about Lake George, there is another sign that has overseas tourists walking on tippy-toes. It is written in yellow paint on the footpath and it says "Beware of Snakes". Now us Aussie bears don't need to be told that. We are always careful when we are in snake country. Actually, all of Australia is snake country so we are always on the lookout for snakes. I don't mind snakes. They are usually more scared of us than we are of them, and they are kind of beautiful in their own way. Mind you, not everybody feels the same way; one of my uncles is terrified of the critters and won't believe me when I tell him that a lot more snakes have been hurt by people than the other way around. Anyhow, I have the perfect solution to crossing wet, grassy places where snakes may be hiding. I get Dad to carry me. No snake would be game to tackle him (I hope). If you look closely you can see some of the rotors of the windfarm on the hills on the other side of the lakebed, but absolutely no sign of terrified snakes.

Labels: animals, Canberra, windfarm

This is not what you expect to see in a paddock near Canberra. Driving into town along the highway from Sydney, as you pass one of the rest areas near Lake George, there is a group of four zebras apparently roaming free on the dry lake bed. Definitely worth stopping for a look. Well, these are not real live zebbies. They are actually sculptures that are so lifelike that nobody believes it until they wait for hours to see if the critters move. The zebbies were made by a sculptor that had been on safari in Africa and missed all the critters when he came back home, so he made these ones as a reminder. Maybe he will make other critters as well. I hope he does. There is only one possible problem I can see. Decades ago Lake George was full of water and there were yachts and speedboats using it. It has been dry for years, but with the rain that we are finally getting the water is starting to come back. You can see puddles of it all around the zebbies. What will happen if the lake fills up again? By the way, can you see me on the post? There is a reason I am up off the ground and this time it is not crabs.

Labels: animals, Canberra, crabs

The strangest colour I've ever seen a cow wearing is the blue-grey one of Norfolk Blue cows. They got this colour because all sorts of cows were let run around loose on the island and their genes got all mixed up and some calves were born with this bluish coat. My friends Robin and Jap now have a breeding herd of blue cows at their farm on Norfolk Island and they let us meet up with some of their cows. This one with the twisted horn is called Blue Boy and he is friends with anyone who will feed him. He isn't fussy about what he eats either. Stale bread or bananas are his favourites. He was the first cow that Mum had ever fed and she was a bit nervous about it. I wasn't. I am just standing behind her so that I am out of the way of the photographer, not because it is just that bit closer to the fence.

Labels: animals, Norfolk Island

Oh, the indignity of it all. I have had to have a bath again. I hate baths. They are a gross misuse of water and I totally fail to see how someone (Mum) who won't let me get wet with water in its natural state (river, lake, ocean, puddle, etc) can insist on putting me through such torture. Still, she reckoned that the time had come to remove the layer of dust, dirt and general grime that I had carefully built up over the last few months. Personally, I liked it, it was like an archeological strata with layers of dust from Norfolk Is, Hamilton Is, Newcastle, Sydney and lots of other places, not to mention the bits of yucky make-up Mum smears me with when she hugs me. So it had to come off. First a damp swab with a dish-cloth and detergent. Then a blow-dry with Mum's hairdryer (I liked that). Then a dash of perfume because Mum said I still smelt of dust and mud. How did they get rid of the smell of perfume that had been applied too heavily, and get me really dry? They hung me out on the washing line in the Sun, all tucked up in a gauze bag! Actually, that was rather fun. The wind made the bag act like a swing and I could give cheek to the birds and lizards without them being able to see me. Anyhow, now I am clean enough and unsmelly enough for Mum and can get to work collecting the next layer of good clean healthy dirt.

Labels: family

I found this little model lighthouse on the footpath at Circular Quay during our last visit to Sydney. It looked really cute but had one big problem. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a door in it. Now what's the point of making something that is just the right size for a small bear cubby house and just using it for advertising? To make matters worse, it was so smooth that there was no way that I could even climb up to the balcony. And they even had the hide to put a sign on it that said "no climbing". Talk about making it tough for small bears. At least it lit up at night and it was another place where I could sit and watch the changing images on the Opera House, mind you it was a bit hard to concentrate because for some strange reason people walking past kept taking flash photos of me.

Labels: climbing, lighthouse, New South Wales, Sydney

The very first lighthouse in Australia was built on this site way back in 1818. It looked just like this newer one which started operating in 1883. The original one was built by order of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. The architect was Francis Greenway, a convict who designed many of Sydney's early buildings and was granted freedom because of his great work. Because the lighthouse was needed in a hurry, it was built from local sandstone. Greenway warned the governor that it would not last long and by 1881 bits were falling off and the building of the new lighthouse was started. It is built of much better materials, but looks just like the old one apart from having a bigger and better lamp room. The lighthouse is near the clifftop above Watson's Bay. It is a long walk and uphill all the way, so we caught a bus from Watson's Bay shops right to the front of the lighthouse. If you were really keen and fit, there is a great 5 km walk past Macquarie lighthouse along the top of cliffs from Watson's Bay to Dover Heights, but the Oldies claimed they were running short of time and used the bus instead.

Labels: lighthouse, New South Wales, Sydney