Excursion to the Dolphin Research Institute

We had another excursion yesterday.  This time it was a really long drive away (2hrs) and an early start, but very much worth it.

The Dolphin Research Institute is located in Hastings, Victoria.   We signed up for the two sessions: Through the Eyes of a Whale, and Don't Pee in My Pool.

Through the Eyes of a Whale

Lots of enthusiastic discussion on different types of whales and their behaviours.  We heard the different whale songs, saw photos and videos of whales in the local area, as well as some wonderful TRUE stories about sitings that kept the children (and parents!) enthralled.

We had the opportunity to feel some teeth from a sperm whale.  The females' is considerably smaller than the males'.

Sperm whale teeth.

The male is the darker/heavier on the left, and female on the right.

Also passed around were some baleen plates, which were really quite heavy. Apparently, once a whale dies, all the baleen plates fall out quite readily.  This is also the part of the whale that was used when making corsets.

Whilst feeding, whales usually turn on their side; once they engulf the water with their food, they become very 'front heavy'.  We saw some footage of a whale feeding near the surface of the water, taking a huge gulp, which caused the chin area to expand as it would on a pelican's bill.   The throat grooves then slowly contract, as it sifts the sea water from it's meal.

A very heavy vertebrae from a humpback whale had been found on a local beach, which led into a discussion on whales' and dolphins' skeletal structure.  The dolphin's skull was used to show how the lower jaw was hollow, which is how the dolphin hears via vibrations.

 The hollow lower jaw of a dolphin.

This then led us to go into another room and explore what it's like being inside a humpback whale.

Inside the whale, the children sat along the centre to get a feel for how big one of the smallest whales are. They were told a true story about how a man had survived being swallowed by a sperm whale.  The story can be read at the Killer Whale Museum, in Eden NSW.


Don't Pee in My Pool

After a break for lunch, we were back to learn more about how pollution from our drains affects the marine plants and animals.  The children were taken to a nearby drain, where all the rainwater from the street works it's way down to the sea.  It was awful to see so much rubbish there!  Mangroves were growing, and some small fish and crabs swimming around in the shallows.

Finally, a game to let everyone burn off some energy before the trip home.  A game of tag was set up, with a long rope used to make a huge circle.  Three hula hoops served as 'seaweed' safe places, but had a limited safety time of 3 seconds before players (fish) had to move into 'open water' again.  Those who were 'it' were the hungry seal and dolphin, where soft toys were used.    The game was made more difficult once the seaweed safeplaces were removed.

 A great day out.  If you can get here to book a group session, I'd recommend it!!

Living an artisan life through a dvd

Sometimes it really pays to have a good browse on the library shelves. You never know what's been added to the collection!

Gourmet Farmer grabbed my attention. You know all those warnings about "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? Well, I judged this dvd rightly. Even the librarian told me that she'd heard it was an excellent watch. And it IS very interesting.

Matthew Evans decides to move from a prestigious job of Sydney's food critic to that of a farmer in Tasmania. He claims to know nothing about the goings on at a farm, and this proves true in the viewing. Just tonight (accidentally watching the second disc first!) we saw his first attempt at milking his newly acquired cow. By the end of it all he seems to have mastered the new skill okay to get by, working toward his goal of becoming a true artisan farmer.

ABC Shop sells the dvd. There's also a blog through the SBS site HERE.  The language is a little coarse, but other than that it's good family viewing.

CERES

The last couple of days have been unbearably hot here, but today we welcomed a cool day and overcast skies, hoping there just may be a little rain too. Whatever the outcome, we weren't going to be staying indoors. We were off to explore a permaculture garden called CERES.

Before entering, we were greeted with these lovely mosaics all on the entrance wall. 

At the cafe, the mosiac tables were further examples of their stunning work.

The children had a ball playing whilst we enjoyed a cuppa and chat.

Next time I'm going to spend a little longer looking at their gardens. Creative little rooms like this for individual community gardening were great.  I also have an old metal door frame like this, so I took this photo for inspiration.

By the creek:

Wednesday is organic market day, so next time we come I'll be better prepared, maybe even enquire about the seed swapping.

Enjoyed this read

Reading Choosing Eden was like reading some thoughts I've had over the years, and then following through with the experience of putting those thoughts into practice with lots of contagious zeal.

Adrienne begins her book with the realisation that crude oil isn't going to last forever.  Yes, we use crude oil for an awful lot of products. It's become the fuel of our society, changing how we do things in our daily lives, our expectations from needs and wants, the drive of the war in consumerism.

So many good points for pondering are brought up throughout the book, just as one would usually have a thought one day, but then it resurfaces again from another aspect on further occassions.  However, the first part of the book details a lot of discovery around the whole issue of crude oil.

Then we move into a phase where the decision to move out of suburbia and set up a self-sufficient lifestyle takes place.  Now here I really enjoyed her journey, because this is as far as hubby and I have ever been: educating ourselves and looking around for property.  However, we've not had the financial opportunity to physically relocate to a larger property.  Adrienne recommends some books that I'll be seeking out in our library as well as some I've already read.  This lady writes in a fashion that leaves me wanting to do more research and ask more questions.

Once they've found their new home, there is the enormous task of setting out their plans and then putting them into action.  Lovely relationships with neighbours are made, challenges overcome when seeking to apply permaculture vs traditional farming, and a whole new world of 'country living' opened up.

This book has been a very refreshing, easy-to-read book.  She won't give you ALL the answers, but if you pick up her many leads, you'll want to go and learn more.

Wednesday workmen

Our street has been very busy! Trucks, cranes, workmen ... they're upgrading the electricity wires and it's obviously not a simple little task.

Maestro grabbed the camera and took these photos this morning, but he couldn't get too close as there were wires everywhere along the footpath.



During the final 'hook up' stage tomorrow, we'll have no electricity from 9am until they finish (an estimated time of 5pm). It's made me realise how reliant we are on electricity now. The fridge/freezer needs to run a little cooler early tomorrow morning so the food won't spoil during the day. I'm interested to see how tomorrow will pan out, actually. Instead of having the occasional tv free week, perhaps we could try for 1/2 days of being electricity free .. ????

This photo taken on Thursday, when the electricity actually went off. The workers are in and out of people's front yards and the street full of these trucks.

When you try to live a simple life

When do you say 'enough!' when it comes to keeping up with the Jones'? When is the line drawn in the sand? Something is always pulling us toward advancement in some fashion, so how do you determine when to say 'STOP' so you can preserve family values and not encourage unwanted aires?

I've had a curiosity for the Amish way of life and their determination to preserve simplicity, wondering what lessons could be learnt and applied to our family life. The other night, my husband and I watched a documentary called The AMISH - A People of Preservation. It was most interesting and we really want to share it with friends to further discussion on certain values and ideas.

The Amish customs revolve around a rural lifestyle, without electricity and as little machinery as possible. Children work very closely with their parents; there is a special bonding in sharing all chores and a respect for work. They are also very aware of pride and look to teach and live with humility. If there was one thing which stood out above anything else, in respect to values we wish to encourage in our family, it's the relationship between children and parents. It, of course, is the result of the many working factors of the Amish culture.

So many things to question! Do we have too many distractions in our own home, pulling us apart?

I think there are times when we must simplify in order to come back together and share the time which binds us closely. So, less television and computer time. More time in the garden, reading, walking, and working together. Don't be afraid to give responsibilities and expect them to be done correctly. The days go by quickly enough, so childhood will soon be gone and whatever is planted now as our family foundations has certainly been magnified in importance yet again.

Reflections on the week

We've had quite a successful start to the homeschooling year. Maestro still likes to just 'get on with the job' and works through his books in a very orderly fashion. Mariposa alters her routine; one day beginning with Maths, another day Music or English. I'm especially pleased that her reading has gone up a level as she's beginning to become much more fluent. She told me her secret today: "If I sound the word out in my head, I can just say the word and then I read quicker!" YAY! She's getting it!

I've been catching myself out, wondering WHY my children have learnt so differently. Sometimes I've thought it's because I've not spent as much time with the younger as I did the elder. Firstborns always get lots of extra one on one time. But, in fact, they do learn so differently, and it's taken me time to realise what makes the lessons 'click'. I'm realising I need to ask the children, "How would you figure this out?" or "What made you think of using that (word, sentence .. ) ?" This is where I begin to really enjoy teaching, and I'm not teaching a class of 25 children anymore, they're MY CHILDREN!!

As we've been plodding along through the week, mindful of all the recent events with the bushfires and how that's affected friends, the focus has definitely been shifting from ticking off the list of work to be done. Instead we've really been focusing on talking about events, helping those we can, and trying to take better care of our animals and plants (the silverbeet is trying to make a comeback). The children are keen to become wildlife carers after seeing a flyer on the supermarket notice board, but after looking up some information, I don't think we'd be qualified enough to do this. However, we've heard they do need clean pillowcases, so we can still donate and help in some small way! Becoming a carer may be something to work towards after we get more training.

Sometime during next week, we'll be getting ready to organise restructuring the chicken coop. I've been sketching out a few plans and I asked Maestro to help measure it out today. The aim is to enclose it a bit more, into a cube shape, with a separate nesting box accessible from the outside. We'll keep the plumber's piping as the frame, so it'll stay light-weight, but I want to weather proof it some more (perhaps with plywood?) and discourage some cheeky crows and carrawongs from stealing our eggs. I'll keep you informed about our goings-ons in that department. :)

Another great idea I want to consider is making a homemade wind generator (thanks to Fliztea for letting me know about this!) I think this would be a great project for hubby and Maestro to work on together - and of course us girls will probably be just as keen to get involved too!

Seeing the week through

I feel sorry for those in SA as they have been suffering with this heatwave a lot longer than we have. Let's hope relief is soon on it's way.

In the meantime, I did take my own advice and put alfoil on the windows. It's made a difference already, but let's look at the long-term (end of the day) temperature. Last night it was 35degC in the house (after a high of 44degC outside) when we were putting ourselves to bed, with the children getting up intermittently to sit in a shallow bath we'd left for splashing ourselves down and wetting our hair.

I'm planning on some read-alouds again, view a dvd documentary (probably on Antarctica!), then we're doing art at a friend's this afternoon. Dinner has been very simple, and will probably be similar tonight, with salad, cold roast chicken, lentils and pita (pocket) bread. Lots of fresh melons, frozen bananas on a stick (need to make more, though, as Mariposa loves these!), oranges ... and the essential ice blocks!

So, yes we'll get through another hot day. :)

LOL! A friend has sent me this picture via email. PLEASE!!!! don't let this happen to you today!

Foil it!!

Okay, this is something like what my parents did to their house, so I know it works! With all these hot days ahead (41degC plus ALL WEEK!) all the help we can get to reduce temperatures in the house, that is also cost effective and environmentally safe, are most welcome.

On the radio, someone has called in with a suggestion to tape alfoil to the windows. Yes, it looks a bit sus' (hydroponics indoors), but it reflects the light and heat away from the house and can drop the inside temperatures around 15degC.

Now, why didn't I think of doing it earlier? There was a product you could buy from hardware stores to have something permanently on the windows, much like having the car windows tinted. Perhaps Bunnings has something, so next time I'm there I'll have a look-see.

Okay ... I found some links, c/- google:

http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/documents/pub/phtv_se_wi_bu_000524.hcsp

www.sungard.com.au/p_energy_conservation.html

In the meantime, I think alfoil would work just as well.