Shuffling

Driving... 

It's all 'smooth sailing' until 

something walks on to the road and stops traffic.

And that, brings me to the echidna...

Echidna – what kind of word is that, anyway?

The echidna is covered in

hollow spines.

photo credit

They have tiny eyes and poor eyesight.

They’re easy enough to catch though –

if you ever stumble across one in the wild.

They shuffle along...

...oblivious to the dangers

around them.

They’re not totally defenseless!

Once startled, their long claws 

might dig into the ground.

They hold on with such incredible strength

that it is almost impossible

to pull them out of the ground...

Not to mention working around their spines.

If the echidna cannot dig into the ground

they will roll into a ball.

Their softer belly will be protected

by a ball of spines.

photo credit

Dingoes, goannas and other predators

have to suffer a mouthful of spines

before reaching the echidna’s flesh.

A dingo with a mouth full of sores

caused by echidna spines

soon learns to leave the echidna alone!

And their tongue....

100 times a minute

that tongue sticks out.

It’s sticky so ants, termites 

and small bugs stick to it.

Back inside the mouth it goes,

covered in delicious echidna food!

There are no teeth in the echidna’s mouth

but hard palettes crush the insects.

I love that they have hairs

 among their many spines.

I love that they can live in the snow

and in the hottest parts of Australia.

I love that you can stumble

on them out in the bush.

I love their shuffle.

I love their colours.

I love that cars will slow

to almost a stop

when an echidna

is crossing a suburban road.

Thorny Devil

It’s Reptile Awareness Day.

I was stuck for a while…

deciding which reptile to focus on…

and then, I decided

on the Thorny Devil.

 

 

It’s such a cool little lizard!

I watched one once,

dancing from one foot to the other

to ease the burning

of the red hot soil of outback Australia.

(Perhaps it was just looking for food,

water or a mate…) I

t was only small –

but they can grow up to 20 cm. 

(Females are bigger than males.)

Thorny Devils can live for 20 years. 

They have to be pretty good hiders

to avoid being eaten that long!

But then, why would an animal

want to eat it,

when this lizard

is covered in hard spikes?

(Birds and goannas will give it a go!)

The Thorny Devil is coloured to help it

 blend in with the sandy soils,

rocky landscape of red, red dirt.

They are lighter coloured

in the warmer weather

and darker during the cooler months.

The thorns along their body

trap and direct water

to their mouth…

a clever thing

for a desert animal to do!

When it rains,

its capillaries open up

and suck in the water

as it lands on its body!

Cool!

The Thorny Devil can eat

thousands of ants on a hungry day.

 

 

John Edward Gray was the first

person to write about the Thorny Devil

– way back in 1841.

Pictures from here and here.

 

Felted Heads

September 15^th is Felt Hat Day.

This one is easy to celebrate…

wear a hat,

but not just any hat – a felt hat!

In the early to mid 1900’s

all the cool people were wearing hats

 and the material used

to make hats was… yep, felt!

So, today…

to be one of the cool people,

all you need to do

is wear a felt hat!

Don’t have a felt hat??!

Well, luckily…

today is also

“Make a Hat Day”!!

You can celebrate

two crazy days at once!

(Felt is cloth made from matting,

condensing and pressing fibres.

Felt is not woven.

Cool fact –

felt is one of the oldest

known forms of fabric!)

 

 

Being Aussie, I should spend

today wearing an Aussie felt hat…

 an  Akubra! 

The trade name Akubra

has been commonly used since 1912.

 Our soldiers who fought

in World War One proudly wore

 Slouch hats – felt hats…

Akubras.

For 130 years,

Aussies have been wearing Akubras

– fur felt hats.

With today being Felt Hat Day,

we all need to find an Akubra

 to wear for the day!

 

 

What a Devil!

Could this be one of

Australia’s cute

and cuddly creatures? 

The Tasmanian Devil 

Hardly 

The Tassie Devil has

a devil of a temper!

It’s screams send chills

 down your back. 

It’s the world’s largest

meat loving carnivore. 

It’s size varies according

to its environment,

but they are thick,

stocky things!

Their fur is black

and some Devils have

white markings on their

chest and rump.

Males tend to weigh

up to 12kg.

They are about 30cm tall.

When the babies are born,

they attach themselves

to one of four teats

inside the pouch,

and there they stay

for about four months.

 By then, they are big enough

to start to explore

outside of their mother’s pouch.

The Tassie Devil is a scavenger

 and will eat anything

it can find, including

dead carcasses, wallabies,

small mammals, birds, reptiles,

amphibians and insects…

anything!

Their amazingly strong jaws

and teeth let them

crunch their way through

 skin, flesh and bones. 

Delicious!

The Tasmanian Devil

lives for about 8 years.

Something cool – or smelly:

when the devil is stressed,

it produces a strong stink.

If it wants to challenge

another devil,

it makes a sneezing noise.

 

Today is the birthday of Taz,

 the cartoon version

of our Tasmanian Devils.

He debuted in 1954.

 Information

Photos from here,

 here and here.

Mabo

Mabo Day

 The man himself…

Eddie Koiki Mabo (1936-1992)

Eddie was born on Mer Island,

in the North of Australia.

He was a Torres Strait Islander.

He was brought up immersed

in his culture,

but his life was regulated

by the government of Queensland.

His behaviour saw him exiled

and sent from the island.

He worked on pearling boats

and then for the Townsville railway.

He was the spokesperson

for the Torres Strait Islander

railway gangs and mixed with

 Australian trade union officials.

A few years and a few jobs later,

he took up a post

at the Townsville University.

Working as a gardener,

he often had time to sit

in on lectures.

Using the library there,

he read a lot of books,

especially those written

about his people and his culture

– written by white people. 

Having a chat over lunch

with university professors,

 Mabo was speaking about his land,

his Island, Mer Island.

The professors realised that

Mabo believed that he owned

the land on the island…

they set out to explain to him

that he did not own the land. 

 The land was Terra Nullis

- No Man’s Land –

so named on the arrival of the

first white men to Australia.

Naturally, Mabo was shocked

and angered.

 And so, the Mabo story

really begins…

He wanted his land.

In 1981, a Land Rights Conference

was held and Mabo spoke.

A lawyer suggested he may

have a case he could win.

Over ten years,

the case was fought,

reaching the

High Court of Australia.

 In 1992, Eddie Koiki Mabo

 died of cancer.

Five months later,

his case was won.

Native Title existed

and it was up to the

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders

to decide who owned the land.

Three years

after Mabo was buried,

 traditional mourning time

was over and Eddie’s

Mer Island people gathered. 

 His people “stole” his body

and took him home,

 to Mer Island,

where he was buried

in a traditional ceremony

 fit for a king. 

This special ceremony had

not been seen on the island

for 80 years.

Today marks the day

that Eddie,

though dead,

won his case.

Information from here.  

Photos from here and here.

Hugable Aussies

Hug an Australian Day

Love it!

Origins? 

The Kiwis started this...

That smaller island

to the side of us...

the ones we love to hate

but will defend like a brother... 

And they created

 Hug An Australian Day?

  What? 

 Why?  

It was all about the Rugby. 

 The Aussie team,

the Wallabies

were playing the Russian team

in NZ. 

Apparently, a few Kiwis

 were overly excited

about cheering for the Russians

and not the Aussies...

In stepped the local mayor,

 Aldo Miccio. 

He knew that lots of Aussies

 like to holiday in New Zealand...

He knew that there

would be about 10 000 Aussies

 in the area to watch

the Rugby

and he wanted the Aussies

 to feel welcome...

So, the mayor declared

today to be

Hug An Aussie Day. 

(We’re still allowed

to tease each other,

so long as we remember

that it’s all in fun....)

Hugs are fun!

(And these are all Aussies!)

Information from here.

Photo from here, here,

 here and here.