Bart Bear's Blog

There is a new statue in the city centre. The statue is called Big Swoop. It is a bit scary because it is of a giant magpie and for 3 or 4 months every year magpies are a bit of a menace. While the eggs are hatching and the chicks are growing to the stage they can leave the nest, some male magpies go into uber-protective mode. They become nature's dive bombers, screaming down behind unsuspecting people and small bears and sometimes causing bad accidents when the sudden unexpected swoosh and clack of beak makes riders fall off bicycles or people fall or collide with walls or trees. Sometimes they strike with their claws or beak and have put victims into hospital. Other than this worrying time, maggies are fine. They are one of Australia's best songbirds. They have a huge range of notes and sound great to this small bear. Magpies are found all around Australia and live quite happily in city trees and parks.

In other news, now that travel is on again, I needed a bigger suitcase. Mum found this one which looks just like the big ones the Oldies use. Just 8 weeks to wait and it will make its first trip - watch this space.
 

Labels: birds, Canberra

Last week was Canberra Week and there were lots of things happening to celebrate the founding of our city. We missed a lot of them because we were up at the Gold Coast, but there have been balloons in the air most mornings and lots of buildings have been lit up with moving images at night. The thing that I enjoyed most was the bubbles in the city. These were large inflated plastic bubbles with projectors inside that lit them with changing light. By day they looked pretty and at night they were spectacular. No chance of taking one home - believe me, I tried.

Labels: Canberra

At long last, COVID restrictions have been eased, state borders are open and airlines are almost back in full business. The first trip that we just had to make was a quick one up to the Gold Coast to meet family that we hadn't been able to see for over 6 years. My second-oldest brother, Tim (with his family), was on a posting to Ireland when overseas flights paused and when they finally were able to return home to Queensland their borders were closed to the rest of Australia. So it was great to see them again. The Gold Coast has grown a lot since we were last there, I will post some images soon. And guess what? This afternoon I heard the Oldies talking to a Virgin lady about a longer holiday soon. It is fantastic to get back into traveling, this small bear has a lot of the country (and hopefully the world) yet to see.

Labels: aircraft, family, Gold Coast