Juniper’s World Journal – Page 11

So Tall Now

My eldest son is so tall now. Yet, in him I will always see the tiny tot, looking up at me, asking ‘Are we there yet?’

Yet, I look up at him now! He is surrounded by green lights of the rainforest. I can see all the music in him around him, just for a moment.

We went walking through a butterfly rainforest at Tully Gorge recently. Everyone else was at the BBQ, getting it ready for the 23rd anniversary of me and David and so my eldest came with his photography mad Mum. I found the Licuala, which is such an emblem of the Cassowary Coast.

This was a plant I didn’t know before living here, but now will forever be in my vocabulary and metaphorical reach.

licuala tully gorge — Licuala Tully Gorge – by June Perkins

Yet, the most butterflies we saw were back near the BBQ, while our walk turned up mostly licuala plants (as above) and greenery with sunbursts.

I trust manual focus and my telescopic lens for butterfly pics. Even though they can be flighty, if they are busy eating, they almost forget a photographer is lurking.

butterfly flight2 — Butterfly Flight – By June Perkins

butterfly landing4 — Butterfly Landing – By June Perkins

Looking up to a Butterfly Landing — Butterfly Landing 2 – By June Perkins

Even though the water was tempting we didn’t go swimming as there were crocodile signs up, very unusual to see that in this commonly rafted river. I was happy because I photographed the butterflies.

The children enjoyed their sausages, steak, salad and chocolates.

My hubby did a grand cooking job.

We met a family from Mackay camping at the Falls, and somehow shared cyclone stories with them – and all of us wondered about people in the bush fire affected areas in Tasmania.

The rain sprinkled, and the sun began to go down.

My eldest son, didn’t once ask, ‘When are we leaving?’ which often teenagers longing for their friends and computer screens tend to do. Instead he was in the moment, with us his family; listening to cyclone stories, in the greening rain, laughing with his siblings and noticing things like toy gorillas hidden in the hills.

(Account of our January 6th Visit to Tully Gorge, for Anniversary BBQ)

Finding Butterflies & Letting go of Clutter

There’s nothing like finding butterflies. A recent walk at Tully Gorge led to some opportunities to capture them on camera and remember their beauty. The occasion was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary.

I’d never have a chance with a net, nor would I want to capture them and place them in a display case. I like seeing them in their natural habitat.

New Year’s goals? Well actually my new year is March 21st, but I am working on my list to be ready by then and there’s nothing like starting now, in the present to reach some of those goals.

Today one of my goals, decluttering, led to the family putting together five bags of clothes, linen and toys and taking it to charity for others. It felt good to let go and send that stuff out to be used by others.

I hope the toys find loving new owners, and enjoy their new adventures.

Little Things . . .

May you have a happy 2013, and set some awesome goals and fulfil them. One of my goals for this year is to make poetry posters like the above, and others are to produce inspiring short films, publish at least one book and finish some promised print on demand books, as well as earn a living that will help my family.

Wishing you all the best for 2013! Keep dreaming and always remember to value the little things in life. Lots of little things add up to something significant.

Walking in the Rainforest

Our first trip back to the Licuala Rainforest after Cyclone Yasi was full of greenery!

We just did the short children’s walk, partly due to the heat and because youngest had left his shoes behind (so easy to do in Queensland) and we’d bought him thongs for the walk.

It was encouraging to see so many healthy licuala palm leaves.

I enjoyed abstracting the leaves.

And looking for sunbursts.

The children loved their outing, and want to walk further next time, maybe beginning much earlier in the day, and with suitable footwear.

Youngest took his thongs off back near the car as they were a bit big.

We all enjoyed our walk back in the glorious green.

Operation Bath Time for the Guinea Pig Crew

hiding in the towels - Soot and Misty1 — hiding in the towels – Soot and Misty1 – taken by my daughter

Mouse’s ‘A Story of a Tree’ and Michael Lloyd’s family ritual tales remind me that often family life is made up of small rituals that over time become richly significant.

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One of the small rituals of our family’s life is bath time for our champion guinea pig crew; champion because they survived Cyclone Yasi as calm as could be. Animals amaze me with their resilience.

Before bath time with – Soot, Calico, Chocolate and Misty – the children make them a warm, comfy and portable home – a plastic tub generously equipped with pet towels.

They lay out pet towels for afterwards – ready to dry and warm them.

Their cage is normally cleaned by the children not involved in the bathing, so they can return there when the whole operation is finished, newly washed, lovely to smell, and glossy. They rotate this less enjoyable task because it can get mighty smelly in the cage.

The children have made bath time a precision operation, littered with a huge number of comforting cuddles, as not all the guinea pigs like water. Misty needs the least amount of cuddles because he loves bath time. He still receives plenty!

Prebath - set up — Prebath – set up – June Perkins

There are three main stages to the bathing phase; stage one – place the crew in a box with carrots, their favourite food. There they wait to be washed.

Stage two – a patient child gives each one a dip in the low run bath (most often my daughter or our eldest), and then lastly one by one they go into the warming area to wait for their other guinea pig chums.

Once all the guinea pigs are together the children swaddle them for a while in towels to warm them, and then take the time to cuddle and chat with each one of them. They take great joy in the guinea pigs hiding in the towels.

Then there is a thorough clean of the bath – for the humans who must follow the guinea pigs to use it.

But Soot, Calico, Chocolate and Misty won’t make it back to their cage for a while, as now they are so clean they are especially enjoyable to play with.

One of my favourite memories from when we first had the guinea pigs is the children placing soft toys all around them. They discovered that the guinea pigs loved snuggling into bears. They’d run around in a circle if a ring of toys was put around them and ‘popcorn’, that is a little guinea pig jig.

They are not quite as playful as that now, but they are just as cute and interesting to observe.

It’s hard to imagine family life without the guinea pig crew – Soot, Calico, Chocolate and Misty.

after the bath pampering - Chocolate2 — After the bath pampering – Chocolate2 – June Perkins

If you liked this blog, you might enjoy reading these Family Ritual Stories featuring pets.

One of the Family – a dog that believes his place is in church but he also has a few religious arguments and creates a classic embarrassing moment for his family.

Woman’s Best Friend – a dachshund, with personality, who can never catch the pet cat, except in his dreams

Missing the Bus: A ritual – just what you need if you want to miss Sunday school, a loyal pet dog to walk with in all seasons.

For more on the Guinea Pigs check out their very own blog Adventures with Our Pets.

To submit your Family Ritual Story to this awesome project head over to ABC Open 500 Words.