Bart Bear's Blog

 

The Canberra weather has been cold and wet so we haven't been at the zoo for a while, but yesterday we made a special visit to see and photograph two of the new baby animals. My favourite critters are giraffes and zebras and new ones of both were born in the last month. The new giraffe, called Mkali (Swahili for Bright) is already standing proud and acting like she owns the enclosure. The parents are keeping a close eye on her. The zebra herd also has a new member, Ndefu (Long) just three weeks old. Mother zebra is keeping him close and not letting other members of the herd get close enough to bother him. If you look closely at the last image you will spot the latest member of the herd, yes, visiting small bears can join.

Labels: animals, Canberra, zoo

The great thing about having zoo membership is that you don't have to see all of it in one visit. That's important when you are there with two Oldies in tow, they usually run out of energy fairly quickly. However, on our second visit last week they managed to do the longest trail in the zoo, round past the large African animals, some smaller cuties and some big cats. We saw one of the keepers cuddling a Cheetah, getting it ready to meet some visitors. The Tigers were always just moving away from where we were trying to photograph them, so this one going back into his den is the best one we could get. Zebras were moving around, but the White Rhinos were dozing. The best "horns" of the day were definitely the antlers on this Wapiti. Lemurs were hunting food and Meerkats, as usual, had sentries on duty while the rest of their family were busy digging and feeding. My favourites are the Giraffes. There was a new baby in the enclosure, but it never turned around to a good spot for a photo. The male was different, he came right up to the fence to see me. There are several places around the zoo where you can rest for a while in pretty picnic spots, very useful when the Oldies need a break.

Labels: animals, Canberra, zoo

Last Sunday the Oldies were welcomed as the 199th and 200th members of the Canberra Jazz Club. The club meets in the Jamison Southern Cross Club once every month. We arrived early and sampled the club menu before the music started; food and drink both OK by this small bear. I was not sure if I would like jazz so I kept a low profile for the first few numbers. The band was called John Smith's Little Big Band, based in Wollongong. All of the musicians were very good, John on guitar was excellent. The two that I thought were absolutely brilliant were the lady playing trumpet and the man playing slide trombone. I always thought trombone was a dull sort of instrument, but this guy made it sing. Guess what! I like jazz, at least the type this band played, and I look forward to hearing lots more.
 

Labels: Canberra

Yay!!! After 2 years when our flower festivals were closed due to the dreaded virus, they are back. The big one is Floriade, in Commonwealth Park, but I prefer the one at Tulip Tops, just over the border into NSW. Because there is a small entry fee to the garden the crowds are smaller. This means that the Oldies can get photos without having to wait for gaps in the people traffic. Another big advantage is that the garden is flat so my ageing Oldies find it much easier to walk around. As well as flowers there are lots of trees in blossom. I like to smell the blossoms but have to be wary of the hordes of bees that are busy harvesting the pollen. There is a cafe with good snacks and free tea and coffee. And yes, there are lots of trees for small bears to climb.

Labels: Canberra, climbing, gardens

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

There has been a great exhibition at the National Museum here in Canberra. It is a collection of ancient Greek artifacts, mainly from their colonies scattered around the Mediterranean rather than from Greece itself. The entry to the museum has been upgraded since I was there last. The paths are lined with native shrubs and the main path from the car park has an inclined wall of mirrors to confuse people like Dad. Actually, I was surprised to see just how many Greek cities there were, all around the Med. No wonder the Romans considered them a threat to their expansion. This is one of the best presented exhibitions I have seen, the lighting is just right to allow clear view of both the exhibits and the captions. The exhibits ranged from large statues to tiny jewellery, but the thing I liked best was the armour. The guy that it belonged to was tiny compared to people today. Naturally, there was a shop so I found a new friend, a duck with an Olympic wreath - I call him Quackimedes.  From Canberra the exhibition goes to Perth and then back to Britain.

Labels: Canberra, museum

Where does the time go? It's over a week since Christmas and my substitute author (Dad) hasn't got away from his hobby desk to update the blog for me. A quick poke with a sharp pencil has got him back to the keyboard. Well, the first thing I did on Christmas Eve was to get a goodies plate ready for Santa and Rudolph. Now I know that reindeer don't eat carrots, but tradition has to be followed. The plate is always empty on Christmas morning anyhow. Then we went over to Bro Trent's place to watch the carols on his ginormous TV, eat pizza, drink wine and swap presents. Of course there were presents and a sizable bit of cash under my tree in the morning. One of the new things I found this Christmas (actually Mum found them) is marzipan fruit. I was not sure that this was suitable small bear food, but one bite and all doubt disappeared - this is wonderful fodder. We met up with many friends, including my favourite, Unka Patrick, who makes me interesting holiday shirts. Actually, the strangest thing about Christmas is the way that the Oldies dress strangely and act even stranger. Christmas is a great time at our house.
 

Labels: Canberra, Christmas

This new shop has opened, just in time for Christmas. It's a genuine LEGO shop. I got my first look at it last week and was both fascinated and slightly disappointed. Fascinated by the great display models but disappointed by the fact that there were no kits in the price range that this small bear could afford, mostly just kits of the display models. In fact the best range of kits was in the toy section of a department store in the same shopping complex. Hopefully the LEGO shop will get a bigger range in time for the Christmas sales. Over to you Santa....
 

Labels: Canberra, Christmas

A month since the last post! I blame Dad. The last part of my birthday celebrations was a session at my favourite winery with the Oldies and Unka Chris. I have been to lots of wineries around Australia but Shaw at Murrumbateman is the best of the lot in the opinion of this small bear. Nothing better than great wine, great cheese and great friends. One of my friends, Aunt Judy, crocheted this small buddy for me, I named him Bluey. Then next week the craft shop that Mum and I get lots of our supplies from was actually able to come into Canberra for a few days. Borders are slowly opening and interstate travel is possible again, so maybe big craft shows will happen again. I think supplies, so does Mum, but Dad mumbles about bank balances; sometimes I think he just doesn't get the vibe.

Labels: Canberra, card making

If you search Lake George in my blog, you will see photos of it in many stages between empty and full. The lake is about 25 km long and 10 km wide and is very shallow (particularly when it is almost empty). I have never seen it full, but my grandad once told me that it was actually full enough to splash across the highway that runs along the western side; the Oldies confirm that it was totally full back in the early 1990s. Because it has no rivers or creeks flowing into it, it only fills when we have lots of rain. When there is no rain the water evaporates away. The deepest it ever gets is about 4.5 metres in the south-east section. Over the years it has seen speedboats, ultra-light aircraft, sheep and cows using it, depending on how full/empty it is. That's one of our wind farms that you can see on the far shore. I hope I get to see it full again, it has been mostly empty all the times I have driven past it.
 

Labels: Canberra

For the second year in a row Canberra's flower festival, Floriade, has had to be cancelled. Lots of the plantings have been taken out to suburban centres but there are lots of large flower beds still in Commonwealth Park where Floriade is usually held. The big difference is that the festival displays, stalls and rides are not here. Many Canberrans are making use of the fine days we are having and walking and picknicking in the park, making sure that outdoor COVID rules are being followed. I love tiptoeing through the tulips and hiding in the hyacinths, in fact I just love flowers. And yes, that squirtey thing in the first image is the Captain Cook Jet.

Labels: Canberra, gardens

We are still in lockdown here in Canberra but can get out for a couple of hours for exercise. Today is the first calm, warm, sunny day for ages so we headed out for a walk near the lake. Of course we had to wear masks; it makes the Oldies look like escapees from a bad movie set but I look cute. Lots of people were walking or riding on the paths but everybody was being COVID sensible. The trees are full of blossom at present. That means that small bears have to be careful of bees when we get our climbing exercise. The sqirtey thing in the pictures is the Captain Cook Memorial Jet which commemorates the bicentenary of his first sighting of the Australian coast. I like it because when the wind blows the other way it squirts onto cars going across Commonwealth Avenue bridge. Meanwhile, on those miserable days when the weather was foul, Dad and I built stacks of card model lighthouses. Most of them are of UK lights, but there 4 Aussie ones in there as well. Here's to more days like today.
 

Labels: Canberra, Captain Cook, card models, climbing, lighthouse, trees

 

Labels: birds, buildings, Canberra

 

Labels: Canberra, ceremony, military

 

Labels: aircraft, airshow, balloons, Canberra

One sort of compensating thing about having the chance of travel severely restricted - there is a lot more time for craft. We have looked at several possible trips, but each time we are ready to go interstate the borders shut again so craft is a sanity-saver. Mum and I have made dozens of cards since my last post. Here are 4 of my favourites. The top 2 remind me of the Oldies' snorkelling trips. They actually saw some giant jellyfish near one of the Barrier Reef islands. Seahorses are much harder to find because they hide among the seaweed and stay still while snorkellers are nearby. The bottom 2 celebrate special people. They are Charlie Chaplin, who my grandfathers liked, and Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist that Mum likes a lot. Now I have to go to the other side of the room and see what Mum is working on next. She will no doubt need my help.

Labels: Canberra, cards

Last week we had a look at an exhibition about Australia in the space age. Personally, I thought that lots of stuff that should have been in the exhibition is left out. It does a good job with the early stages where the Woomera rocket range was new, testing British and American rockets. On November 29, 1967, Australia became the third country to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. The WRESAT made measurements of the upper atmosphere and weather. It made 642 orbits before it burned up on re-entry on January 10, 1968. However, there is no mention of the work in the 1980s when Australian experiments flew on the Shuttle missions, and we almost had our own telescope in orbit. I know about that because Dad was one of the Stromlo Observatory staff involved in the Starlab project. The tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek, Orroral Valley and Tidbinbilla get a good wrap for their efforts supporting the Apollo and later space missions, but no mention is there of the fact that the vital telex communication link was actually in the very building where the exhibition is at present. I know about that because Mum's father was the boss of the communications staff involved. There is lots of stuff about the sci-fi stories and TV programs featuring Australian sites, and about space-inspired fashion, so it's worth a visit if you are interested in that stuff. The big news now is that finally Australia has its own Space Agency. It took a long while to get here, but the Australia-wide combine of industry and universities is up and running. I am a recognized supporter of the Agency, I have one of their badges to prove it.
 

Labels: Canberra, space

Dad and I usually build aircraft, ships and military vehicles from plastic kits and lighthouses or even the occasional building from card. We felt like making something different so when we found the template for this dragon on the web we just had to make it. 17 sheets of A4 card and lots of cutting and glueing this critter was complete.The result is something that I will not let him give away to any of the grandkids. This dragon is MINE. Now we really should (according to Mum) make a Chinese dragon to keep this European one company. I have found a template for it so Dad has no way out.....

Labels: animals, Canberra, models

People all around the world are wearing masks when they are away from home, in the attempt to avoid catching or spreading the dreaded COVID. I have been feeling left out and slightly abandoned. I had no mask and the Oldies just may be wrong when they claim that small bears are immune to the virus. My Aunty Noellen has fixed that. She made me these two Bart-size masks. One celebrates my favourite science, astronomy, and the other one celebrates my favourite place, Hawaii. I can now travel out with the Oldies in complete safety. Thank you Aunty Noellen, the masks are great.

Isn't it strange how my fur looks different colours in different light. I really am the colour in the first image. The pale colour in the second one is just the light, not because I am scared of catching COVID.

Labels: Canberra, friends