Dodo Au Go-Go

This is an old, crumpled, dried out, crunchy frangipani leaf. It's currently in my kitchen and I'm not allowed to throw it out. I've tried a couple of times, but LittleOne spotted it, rescued it and chastised me. Most severely. Both times. Why can't I throw it out? Well, you see, it goes back to the rainbomb floods, which I wrote about here . Before we realised the water coming in downstairs, we were having a normal rainy Saturday. LittleOne was transfixed by this little snail who, like its friends, had ventured out to the rainy parts of the deck to eat, groove, sing and to do whatever it is that snails do in the rain. LittleOne was quite delighted by this snail. They are quite small, with shells that aren't much bigger than the nail on a forefinger. They're small, fragile and rather cute.  LittleOne has stern, standing instructions to not touch snails and most other creatures (lest we accidentally hurt them or they bite us). But LittleOn

Thursday, 16 September 2021, was apparently #PloverAppreciationDay. And never have I appreciated a day or an animal more. Screenshot from @wireswildliferescue's Instagram. Plovers are lovely, long-legged Australian birds which can fly, but which choose to nest on the ground. During August and September, a certain plover family have been a regular backdrop in our daily lives, and I may have become midly obsessed with them. Here's how (and why).  In mid-August, while taking my LittleOne and Indi-girl for our usual evening walk, we walked past the nearby primary school grounds, which includes a lovely green oval. Some people use the oval to play cricket or football with their kids, or go jogging, or walk their dogs - the usual sorts of things people use big green spaces for. As we walked past the oval, I realised there were two plover on the oval cackling their warning cries. We weren't close to them and in fact, Indi was far away enough to have not even registered