Bart Bear's Blog

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

A year ago most of the east coast forests and ranges of New South Wales were burning. The roads that we use to travel to our favourite places on the south coast were impassable with fires raging all around them and the towns we most visit. Then COVID hit and travel was forbidden or unwise. So last week we finally had the chance to spend 2 days driving down to Batemans Bay and Mollymook (and back home of course). The forests along the roads are still recovering. Australian trees have evolved to cope with bushfires. Some of them actually need fire to germinate their seeds, so after bushfires you see a burst of these plants, mostly shrubs and wattles. Eucalypts have a different strategy. Under their bark they have loads of what the botanists call epicormic buds. These sprout as soon as growing conditions are right and the burnt tree is covered with what looks like a fuzz of leaves. Eventually normal growth of branches resumes. Most of the trees near the roads we travelled were still in this "fuzzy" stage. Some of the taller trees were almost back to normal. The small, dark plants in the clearer undergrowth are examples of some of the oldest plants on Earth; they are Buddawangs, cycads that date back to dinosaur times. Workmen are still clearing dead trees and repairing damaged roadwork. Let's hope that we now have many summers free of bushfires.
 

Labels: Bateman's Bay, Mollymook, New South Wales, south coast, trees

"La haina" is Hawaiian for "cruel Sun". Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845. The town is much older, being the royal capital of Maui for centuries before being conquered by Kamehameha the Great in 1795. The oldest European buildings date back to the 1820s. A few of the early buildings remain and can be seen along Front Street, along with examples of American Colonial architecture. During the 19th century, whaling fleets used the town as a place to restock provisions and give crews shore leave. The whalers often caused riot and mayhem, fighting with the Hawaiians and missionaries. In 1831 a fort was built to protect the town and to act as a gaol for rioters. The fort was built of coral blocks enclosing about an acre. It had 47 cannons of various sizes. The cannons were never fired in anger, being used only as saluting guns on royal occasions. The fort was demolished in 1854, but a small memorial was built on the site in 1964. I always assume signs only apply to people, not small bears. Small bears will climb anything and Lahaina has a couple of fantastic trees. Largest is a huge Banyan in the town square. It was planted in 1873 and is the largest banyan in the USA. Tourists, locals, musicians and small bears find shade here during the heat of the day. The Oldies found 2 places on Front Street that they really liked. If you like pineapple, the Maui Gold shop sells the sweetest pineapple they ever tasted, you can even get pineapple whip (ice cream); you really have to try this if you visit Lahaina. Then they found a bar/cafe called Kimo's. Mum's name is Kim so of course they had to have lunch here. It was the best lunch place they found in the whole 3 Hawaiian islands we visited. Lunching on a waterfront lanai, sipping cocktails, nibbling on fish and chips (striped marlin, would you believe) and watching the ships, boats and boards in the harbour and the turtles feeding in the sea just below the table is a lunchtime we will never forget. We want to go back......

Labels: buildings, Hawaii, trees

Labels: birds, Canberra, trees

Labels: cruising, Tasmania, trees

This is a part of Canberra which was burned out by the firestorm of 18 January 2003. It used to be a pine forest, but now it is being turned into lots of small forests in what is called the National Arboretum Canberra. The plan is for 100 forests of rare and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world. Besides being a nice place to visit, it will help save rare trees and generate seed banks for other arboretums (OK, arboreta if you must be pedantic). It may not look like much at present because all the trees are small, but in years to come it will be a beautiful place, especially in autumn when the deciduous trees have coloured leaves. Click on the photo to make it bigger and you will see some of the plantings and the Visitors Centre. Some of the things you can see, even before the trees grow, are a great collection of Bonsai and Penjing, and a lot of sculptures. Now as far as small bears are concerned sculptures are no good if you can't climb on them. Well, the one in the bottom photo is a beauty. It is a wedge-tailed eagle and its nest, made from old tools and bits of old farm machinery. Unlike some sculptures around Canberra, it actually looks like what it is supposed to be and it is also a great place for small bears to climb.

Labels: Canberra, climbing, gardens, trees

These trees zipping past the window of our cabin on the Indian-Pacific are actually nearly all of the trees you see on your way across the Nullarbor Plain. They are at what remains of the tiny town of Forrest, half way across the flat, dry, treeless Nullarbor. They were planted to give a bit of shade to the town back in the days when Forrest was a vital stop on the Trans-Australian Railway and on the air route from Perf to Adelaide. There are only a few houses left there now and the only people living there are two guys that look after the airfield and occasional railway maintenance crews. The airfield is still important as it is the only one on the Nullarbor that can take big jets. Scruffy and I really liked our trip across the Nullarbor. It is a very different place to where we live, and there is not much like it anywhere else in the world. You learn all sorts of things when you travel. Everybody should do it.

Labels: South Australia, train, trees, Western Australia

If you think that Scruffy and I look a bit peeved and disappointed here, it is because we are faced with an impossible task, one that small bears just cannot do. We found this old tree stump in the garden at Captain Cook's Cottage and decided to see if we could work out how old it was when the tree was cut down. According to Dad you do this by counting the number of rings of wood from the centre to the edge. Trees grow one ring every year. Well, this stump shows lots of rings and it should have been easy but we hit a fatal flaw with the process. Neither of us can remember more than 5 unless we have something to count on and small bears like us don't have fingers and toes!! So all I can tell you for sure is that this is a stump that is older than 5, probably older than Scruffy or me and maybe even older than Dad. Mind you, Mum is glad that I don't have fingers because that way drivers who annoy us think I am just waving to them.

Labels: Captain Cook, Melbourne, trees, Victoria

I like trees. They are great to climb, to hide in, and to escape from crabs. One of the biggest ones I have seen so far is a big Morton Bay Fig tree on Norfolk Island. Scruffy and I went there with Mum and Dad last Christmas. The tree is so big that us bears look tiny in it.This photo shows you just how big the roots are. They are called buttress roots because they look like castle walls. Dad calls them "butt rest" roots because they are just right for him to sit on. Scruff and I preferred to sit on the rock.

Labels: crabs, Norfolk Island, trees