Bears, Birds, Binjour, Brisbane – and a Bushy’s Breakfast

I started the year with my annual visit to Brisbane for poetry workshops with the Year 7 students at St John’s Anglican College. This is the fourth year I’ve presented, so it really feels like I’m coming back home, recognising so many faces around the school.

Then I had two non-consecutive days closer to my childhood home, at Binjour State School, hunting the Binjour Bear. Or rather, helping kids hunt for the stories that they’ll tell about the Binjour Bear. These two days were drawing from one of my favourite classroom activities (something I began in my first year of teaching!) – writing a collaborative story, and illustrating it with multimedia collage. Here we are with some of their writing and artwork, on the hunt for the bear.

In between the Binjour school visits I attended a crafty morning with local ladies – where I did an impromptu reading of ‘The Bird in the Herd’, assisted by the bird marionette puppet that I had made a number of years ago. (I thought a group of crafty ladies would enjoy that, especially since I didn’t have any craft projects with me to work on.) While the ladies were then busily ‘crafting’, I then wrote this poem … Which went over about as well as their delicious morning tea!

This week an instagram post by Fiona Smyth reminded me of a childhood memory, that became one of my earlier bush poems.

My dad (a farm boy born and bred) served on the board of KR Darling Downs for a number of years. It was perfect, because they met monthly in Toowoomba – where I was studying for my teaching degree.👩‍🎓 (A looong time ago – that feels like yesterday!🥹) On one occasion when my mum and (younger!) sister accompanied him, we all met up for breakfast. And it goes like this…

The Bushy’s Breakfast

The bushy was in from the country
to meet with the company board.
Five-Star the luxurious motel,
and room with a view he scored.

Now breakfast was served in the rest’rant,
‘Continental – please help yourself, Sir.’
Then assigning the fam’ly a table,
the maître d’ left them confer.

Quite chuffed, the man faced his companions.
He’d dined out before once or twice.
‘Come help yourselves, girls, at the servery…
Those pastry things sure do look nice!’

With tongs, he chose one for his own plate –
though fumbling and juggling in strife.
Then, eager to share his experience,
served one to his daughters and wife.

When seated, in some expectation,
they eagerly sampled their bread…
Expecting sweet, fluffy confection,
bit pungent, dry cardboard instead!

The bushy was brought up with manners,
so knew what he then had to do.
He swallowed that foul flavoured mouthful –
and bit off a new chunk to chew!

His elder, too, swallowed her portion,
renouncing the rest, with distrust …
The missus discretely ejected,
and youngest one spat with disgust.

A friendly, young waitress soon hovered,
to switch dirty dishes with clean,
but horror washed over her features
’pon viewing the whole breakfast scene.

‘My goodness! Those buns weren’t for eating…’
the girl with some urgency said.
‘The pastries were just for display –
We actually varnished the bread!’

A maelstrom of feelings erupted;
discomfort, amusement, disquiet…
Relief – for the girls who’d rejected
their buns after one little bite!

The Bushy digested the chaos,
while pondering his miserable fate…
His manners had come to the fore –
with naught but some crumbs on his plate!

Rose is hosting Poetry Friday this week at Imagine the Possibilities. Be careful what you say about the bushy, as I can’t guarantee he won’t be seeing your comments.🤭 (I’m sure we’ll all get another good laugh from it!🤣)

Curlew Question

In a recent blog post, Ruth was talking about the American Birding Association’s Bird of the Year for 2025 – the common loon. She mentioned that it’s the spooky sound effect often heard in movies (I’d always thought it was a wolf!) – and at the time I was reminded of our bush stone-curlew – often simply referred to as the curlew.

Curlews are common in rural areas, and in cities. They have a distinctive blood-curdling scream that strikes fear into your heart. (Especially if you’re home alone in the Australian bush – and it starts shrieking up close!) You’d swear someone was being attacked. Which is why it’s sometimes called the murder bird…

Hard to believe that this rather cutesy big-eyed bird terrorises young children. Click to hear Jane at the Wood Wide Web share more about the curlew – and to hear that spooky call.

Now, go visit Laura Purdie Salas, who is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday – and also celebrating not one, but TWO sweet, new board books. I’m so thrilled for you, Laura. Congratulations!

Recipe for a Friendship – a Trimeric

The trimeric is a wonderful form of poetry to explore an idea; to build on a flow of words, something like a wave surge in an ocean. They’re almost like an essay in poetry format – without the conclusion.

This is one I wrote inspired by a dear friend’s recent move.

Whilst initially written for Kate, I see so many cherished friendships in this poem – including my beautiful Poetry Friday friends! (Seeing so many of you face-to-face in Baltimore in 2019 is still a sweet memory.)

Golden Glow of Poetry Friday Friendships

The trimeric is a fabulous format for classroom use – for summarising a text, or idea, or just for creativity of expression. They don’t have to be developed from a quote, or scripture. But I love that they can be, because that really makes you dig around and think. You can read more of my trimerics here.

You’ll find more creativity and thinking from my Poetry Friday friends at The Opposite of Indifference. Thanks for hosting us this week, Tabatha! (I was thinking of my time with you as I prepped this post.) Next week you’ll find the crew at bookseedstudio, with Jan.

Reigning Cats (And Dogs) – Poetry Friday Round-up

Hello. Welcome to Poetry Friday – and to my blog. It’s my first post for the new year – and first Poetry Friday hosting for far too long. To get the conversation going, I thought I’d share some pics and a poem about cats… and dogs. Because who doesn’t love our little furry friends?

Reigning Cats

(And Dogs)

Dogs disco.

Cats ballet.

Dogs defend.

Cats betray.

Dogs gambol.

Cats slink.

Dogs wag.

Cats blink.

Dogs brawl.

Cats spat.

Dogs rollick.

Cats scat.

Dogs chase.

Cats pounce.

Dogs skulk.

Cats flounce.

Dogs pant.

Cats churr.

Dogs drool.

Cats purr.

Dogs gnaw.

Cats lap.

Dogs sprawl.

Cats nap.

Dogs scent.

Cats prowl.

Dogs yelp.

Cats yowl.

Dogs dig.

Cats claw.

Dogs bark.

Cats roar.

Dogs sit.

Cats stare.

Dogs fetch.

Cats glare.

Dogs beg.

Cats reign.

Dogs adore.

Cats disdain.

This poem isn’t so much inspired by our current Zoe-dog, a rescued breeder from a cage life on a puppy-farm who arrived with a fear of everything. (Though she’s grown to love the farm life, as you can see in the pics.) It’s more a throwback to the joyful/jauntiest little loyal yappy you’re ever likely to see, our loved and always-missed Jonty-puppy. The cat lines? They are our Savvy-cat to a T-for-tiger!

: Jonty

: Savvy

: Zoe

Are you team cat, or dog? Or like me, do you love them both for their differences? Feel free to share links or lines from a pet poem you’ve loved, in the comments below. And don’t forget to add your links for the Poetry Friday Round-up, too! I look forward to catching up with you all. And I wish you a fur-abulous 2025!😺

Upcoming Poetry Friday Hosts:

17 Tricia at Miss Rumphius Effect
24 Janice at Salt City Verse
31 Jan at bookseedstudio

Missed-err Lister

This poem is a bit silly. Not inspired by any brothers I know.🤭 (Not even my sons’.🤣)

I hope it brings a smile.

MISSED-ERR LISTER

If Santa’s special sack of toys
is for the ‘goodest’ girls and boys,
then how is it my pesky brother
is on that list – and not the other?

Linda Mitchell is letting us squeeze in A Word Edgewise this week for the Poetry Friday round-up. I’m looking forward to seeing what you all have got to say!🙃

Sheep and Straw – a Lai

This year I am trying to soak in the celebration and miracle of Christmas for the month of December. Not just an overwhelming rush at the finish. And what better way to stay in a moment of joy, than through poetry?

Sheep and Straw

“No room,” says innkeep.
Stable bed dirt cheap;
fresh straw.

Angels sing news sweet.
Shepherds rush to peep,
in awe.

Swaddled babe asleep.
Donkey, ox and sheep
adore.

I’m sneaking in a little early for Poetry Friday this week, because the end of the week is always so busy! But you’ll find all the links with Carol at The Apples in My Orchard on Friday, 6th December. So be sure to check back then! Thanks, Carol!

Next job on the ToDo List is the Christmas decorations. If I don’t do it early, I know I won’t do it at all! See you on the other side of tinsel and trimmings.🎄

Credits
Handmade Nativity: Michelle @PlatypusCreations.
Pop-up Picture Book: The Christmas Baby, by Sally Ann Wright and Honor Ayres.

My May Gibbs Creative Time Residential Fellowship

September has been and gone – but what a wonderful month it was!

I sure was hanging out for my May Gibbs creative time – feel like I’d been on countdown all year! Not just for the writing time, but the community of writers. I have needed everything about this Fellowship, this year!

I arrived on the day that my picture book Mad Cows released – so I was very excited to be around a kidlit community with new book feels.

I went with a goal to complete one verse novel project that has resulted in numerous false starts over the past 4 years. I hoped to work on some other projects as well – but … I didn’t really. And I can’t regret it. I invested in that verse novel project, and I know for a fact it would never have been written without this fellowship, and the time it afforded to dig deep into my characters without continual life interruptions. And immerse myself into elements of my character’s world that I hadn’t expected to find so close to The Burrow – my home in Adelaide.

It almost sounded like writing was smooth sailing. It was not! The project that I’d thought would magically behave in Adelaide … did not! I wrote some words – but there was more stress than success. I had dinner with two of the lovely May Gibbs Support Group, Mary Wilson and Elizabeth Hutchins, and floated the idea of a potential shift in direction. Could I do it? Was I game!

Turns out I wasn’t just game, I was desperate! My project continued to be moody and unco-operative. I reached out to an editor friend, and that conversation reinforced my doubts, whilst strengthening my belief in the premise for this story.

I’d just committed to a shift in my manuscript when I went to Victor Harbor for 4 days of school presentations. Victor Harbor was beautiful. Again. Much warmer in September than it was in May 2018, when I had my first May Gibbs CTRF. But just as gorgeous! Over the course of this second visit, five different staff members said how much they’d loved the poetry workshop I presented in 2018 – and still use the activities I’d shared in their classrooms. (It’s one relief teacher’s go-to activity.) Of course I loved hearing that! And it was heartwarming to be remembered positively, after 6 years.

We had a bit of Mad Cows celebration running the week I was there, with classes bringing masks students had made, either from my website, (Mad Cows Stuff is here) or that their teacher had sourced. Some had even made the 3D cow on my website. They were all fantastic! It was much fun celebrating the new book with such a supportive school. (I loved it last time, and I loved it all over again!)

And then back to The Burrow, where I burrowed down and wrote. And wrote. And walked and talked and researched, and immersed myself in my character’s world … and wrote.

I deliberately shut down all other ideas and focused on my one project. I didn’t write masses by other writers’ estimations. My very messy draft was sitting just 10,000 words at the end of my Fellowship. But I knew the story has muscle, and I had confidence and certainty going forward. Managed to cling to another 5 days of creativity on my return home, extending the story to 12,000 words before the business of writing and life took over.

For me, the Fellowship was as much about the writing as the supportive kidlit community. It was so good to be back amongst the kidlit community of Adelaide, and the supportive and delightful May Gibbs Support Group. I caught up with lots of lovely friends – and made new ones. I wish I’d had more time with all of them. There have been so many nurturing and enriching conversations. So many lovely hugs! I’m grateful to everyone who supported me during my Fellowship. And I’m glad I have so many photos to hang my memories on! (Somehow September whizzed past faster than any other calendar month.)

Which brings us to High Tea in Glenelg, an event that was everything wonderful, and the perfect way to complete my fellowship; perfect weather, a gorgeous green/blue view, scrumptious food and such a wonderfully supportive community of kidlit lovers. I couldn’t have asked for a better finish. Or new-book celebration!

Presenting at the High Tea was pure joy; such a very warm and responsive group. It felt like I was among friends. And I was! It was a privilege to share my home and stories, and bring a taste of country Queensland to this gorgeous region of South Australia.

I took so many photos of flowers and bees. (I was so thankful that the magpies weren’t swooping – and I could walk and walk and just soak up this beautiful city!) I even managed to see some of the beauty of Chihuly in the Botanic Garden that opened during my last weekend in Adelaide.

I’m so grateful to the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust for this wonderful opportunity. Thank-you for your belief in me, and my project. You are the reason I am writing today.

I’m linking in with Poetry Friday, another wonderful community that I love to hang out with. And today it’s a particularly scrumptious gathering, because we’re at Jama’s Alphabet Soup. And there are donuts! Oh my… What could be better than poetry and donuts?

Chasing Time –

I’ve done it again. Fallen behind. And impossible to catch up! Here goes for a starter …

One highlight in recent months was presenting at the Fraser Coast Libraries in the lead up to the Mary Poppins Festival in Maryborough, birthplace of PL Tavers, author of Mary Poppins. So good to get to visit Story Bank, the house where PL Tavers was born. (In an apartment over the bank, where her dad was bank manager.) Since I’ve wanted to go for so long, and I took so many pictures (!) of course I have to include some here! But to see more, head across to my instagram page…

(Oh my goodness!!! If I’d known Instagram was co-operating with WordPress again, making it so easy to cross share, I would have caught up ages ago!!!! It was the pictures that were overwhelming me!)

I was thrilled to be able to attend the Mary Poppins Festival itself, which was the biggest spoonful of sugar! 🙂

More recently, I’ve had the joyful arrival of my next (my tenth) book, MAD COWS. (Yes, it really has taken more than 20 years to get to 10 books, but there you go…👵 #iamasnail)

Minimalistic text by me. Hilarious illustrations by Beau Wylie. Published by Scholastic Press, Australia. MAD COWS is releasing in September. And since Beau’s book arrived before mine, let’s keep it in order of appearance…

(Oh my goodness. This catch-up thing is too easy!)

This week involved video editing and book trailers. I’m getting much quicker at doing these! I’m pretty chuffed with it, though for some reason I thought it was a good idea to make it square so it would fit the instagram post…🤷‍♀️ Youtube doesn’t agree.)

What I can’t show you yet, but is exciting just the same, are the roughs for my next book, also with Beau and Scholastic. The pencil sketches snuck in THIS week, and it’s going to be fabulous! It’s more along the lines of MISS UNDERSTOOD; another fractured fairytale with layers of puns. (I may have spotted a sneaky hint or two in Beau’s video, above.)

And now, you’re perhaps wondering what all this has to do with poetry… To be honest, I was too. BUT – author events always involve poetry. And MAD COWS is, quite simply, a rhyming picture book. But just to be on the safe side, here is a pic-poem inspired by a very brave pelican (though actually, with that hook, I think *I* was the brave one!) on the pier at Hervey Bay, during my visits to Fraser Coast libraries. He’s been primped and posing for months, waiting for this post!

Rose at Imagine the Possibilities has the Poetry Friday round-up for today. I can’t wait to swoop in like a pelican and scoop up some poetry goodness!

More Moments …

There really is so much goodness in poetry – in writing poetry. Nearly everything I write professionally is either verse novel or rhyming picture book – but writing a standalone poem, just to play with words and form (for fun, or for reflection) … That’s a whole other breath of fresh air! I knew when I was tinkering last week that I had to back it up this week – because I still had photos begging for poems! And I wanted to craft those words.

So – here are this week’s offerings…

I was a wee-bit chuffed when I caught this moment.

Photo prompt: Streetlight. (Nearest one is 10km away, so I had to be creative. Spot the 🦘.)

Photo Prompt: Insect (Did you know this is called an assassin bug?😬 And this acrostic is factual.🙀)

And on that reassuring note… The lovely Tabatha is hosting the Poetry Friday round-up this week on her blog; https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com. Thanks Tabatha. And thank YOU for visiting. 🙂

Capturing Small Moments

Not a 365 photo. I just couldn’t resist it.

Hello readers, and Poetry Friday peeps. Again, it’s been too long. But this time, I’m pleased to say it’s because I’ve been wondrously productive! So I really cannot regret the things achieved in the time away. (Though I do often regret the time not spent with my lovely Poetry Friday community. I’m just so glad that some of you pop up in my Instagram feed, too!)

I’m still pottering away at the 365 Photo-a-Day challenge. Loving that really, it’s just for me, and the three friends, (and now my niece too) who I share it with. There’s just something special about sharing with a small group, as opposed to the world. Though occasionally, I do post a pic to my Instagram story… This week, I actually made a post, of ten pics – because I had the real camera out and it was such a joy to capture small moments.

Like these… (But of course, being Poetry Friday, I had to add words! Just for you, my friends!💗)

And now that I’ve started, I feel I will be tinkering with some more pic-poems – so perhaps you’ll see me here again next week. I hope so!

Thank-you Denise for hosting the round-up this week. You’ll find all the links at https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org. I’m looking forward to skipping around and catching up with folk again!