Spring is in the air!

Hello,

I remembered when I was younger, my mom read a book entitled "It's Spring" for my brother, then my brother read the book for me. It is written by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko, and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. The book tells about the signs of spring, the best season in the year. In April the robin began to sing .....The robin told the rabbit...The rabbit told the deer...The deer told the duck...Then all the birds began to sing, to tell the bears: "Wake up, it's spring!"

Yes, the smell of spring is in the air!
In the Northern hemisphere spring can begin in the last of March, but in the Southern hemisphere (such as in Australia) the spring begin in the last of August. How do you know if the spring is coming? There are several signs of spring, such as the spring smell, tree and flower buds, duck flights and songbird songs.

I can hear so many birds are singing and chirping. They are also dancing and flying! I can see the cherry blossom trees (Prunus serrulata) are blooming! They have white, pink, orange and red flowers. Their pink flowers are so beautiful! My mom wondered whether they are the same as the cherry blossom (Sakura) in Japan.











It is still cold and windy here in Canberra, but the sun is shining. "Put on your coat", said the wind. "Take off your coat", said the sun. Well, I solve the problem myself, I just put on my sweater .... ^_^

I love spring!

Trip to Snowy Mountain

Hello,

Yesterday we went to Snowy Mountain. We rented a car. It took us about three-hour drive with the speed of 100 km/hour. It was far. Snowy Mountain is located in New South Wales (NSW). We have waited for the adventure for a long time!


We passed many farms, barns and pastures. We saw many beef and dairy cattle, such as black, brown and spotted cows. We also saw sheep and emu. Some of the cows were covered with "warm shirts" to prevent them from freezing in the winter. Look at the bright red "shirt" for the cow. Thank you, farmers.


This was the road close to Snowy Mountain. Isn't it beautiful?


We stopped at Cooma. We had to rent snowsuits, snow boots, gloves and toboggan. Toboggan is a simple sled, first used by native people (Indian) in Canada.


We also rented snow chains or tire chains, chains that had to be attached to the tires to prevent sliding in the snowy road. However, we were lucky, because the road was clean. There were winter service vehicles, such as truck plows and heavy front-end loaders that removed the snow from the road.


Finally, we were at the Perisher, Snowy Mountain. There were so many people enjoyed the snow. Their snowsuits were very colorful. They were ready to slide down using toboggan. We can use one toboggan alone or together with friend or family. We can sit, lie down or lie back, whatever it is comfortable for us. We use our feet to reduce the speed and hold the rope that is tied on the toboggan with our hands to steer.


This is me! I was ready to slide down. Wheeeeeeee! It was really fun! However, it was really hard to get back up there! Hah, hah, hah. I lost my breath!


You can see there were many activities in the Snowy Mountain. Some people rode cable cars that were hanging in the cable and some were skiing or snowshoeing.


Some people were snow tubing. They rode on a tube that was pulled up by an electric cable, then they were sliding down.


Some people were snowmobiling. I wanted to try!


This is our snowman! Hey! That's my beanie (snow hat)! Isn't he cool?


These are two snow makers. They used the machines to make artificial snow, when the snow has not thick yet (in July), so people could play in the snow.


These are beautiful trees. They have very beautiful trunk! The trunks were twisted on the stone and they had beautiful color! They are always there to greet the visitors and they are always there to let us admired their beauty. They are so amazing!


On the way to Snowy Mountain and on the way home, we saw a very beautiful rainbow! The multicolored arc was curved over the pasture in Jindabyne. It was formed when the sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the earth's atmosphere. What a wonderful phenomenon!

We really had a good time at the Snowy Mountain! When will I see you again? Despedida! Hasta la vista, Snowy Mountain!

Other beautiful side of ANU

A couple of days ago, we went to Sullivan Creek, Coomb's Building and University House at ANU. What a beautiful sightseeing we had.


This is Sullivan Creek in winter. Beautiful and calm.


Stepping stones at Sullivan Creek. I really like stepping stones.


Beautiful bare trees. I wonder what they are. They always greet me ^_^ My mom told me that all trees look like praying during winter, cause all of their branches are facing up. If you look at them carefully, then you will find many bulbs in every branch. They are waiting for the spring.


This is Bottle brush (Callistemon citrinus). Many of them are planted surrounding the Coomb's Building, where Budhe Iwu's office is located.


This is a purple bush for ground cover. They always look beautiful and they always bloom all year. They covered the ground of Coomb's Building.


This is a Relaxation statue. It reminds my mom about balancing of body and mind.

The power to learn

Hello,

This morning we celebrated Sophia's birthday at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) Discovery Centre! Wow!


Budhe Iwu took us to the CSIRO. Thank you very much, Budhe.


My friends and I at the CSIRO Discovery Centre lobby.


Nathalie, one of the staff was explaining to us about many activities that we were going to have and the rule that we had to follow.


We could touch Stick insects (Eurycnema goliath). Their colors are just like sticks! They can camouflage with their colors. They eat a special species of eucalyptus. We could also pet some turtles and laboratory mice.


My friends and I wore lab coats, then we could try so many interesting activities at the lab. Abigail and I tried to solve the green frog puzzle.


Sophia used magnifying glass to discover the beauty of some corals.


Annabelle analyzed the acid and base of some liquid.


There are some real microscopes to discover the parts of insect's body, worms, etc.


We also learnt about human body.


This is a plant cell puzzle.


Do you want to sit on the heart-shaped cushion?

The last activity that we had was watching a 3D movie! It was really exciting! We learnt about polymer. It is expected that someday the doctors can inject polymer to fix the broken bones.
We really had a good time at Sophia's birthday party. We had fun and we can learn many things about science. Thank you for inviting me, Sophia.
Well, as it is written in the lab about "the power to learn": science isn't just something you observe. It is something you do. Science isn't just a series of facts and figures to be learnt from a book. It is a way to understand and explain the world around us.

Backyard's birds

Hi,

I find so many backyard's birds everyday. They are very beautiful. My mom always ask me to talk to them and give them bread.

These are domestic pigeon (Columba livia). We found them when we went to the city. They like having a party!


These are galah (Cacatua roseicapilla). They are the icon of my school, North Ainslie Primary School. We found them on the way home. Look at them carefully! There are labels in their wings. My mom thought they might have been studied.


These are Australian King Parrot (Alisterus scapularis). They like to gather on the oak trees to eat acorn or try to find acorns on the ground. They like it when the acorns are soft after raining.


This is an Eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius). It is still in the Parrot's family.


This is a Crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans). It is also in the Parrot's family.



These are sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita). They also like having a party! They don't care of cars, cyclist or pedestrian passing by. They are beautiful but they are easily getting angry.


This is a Magpie (Cracticus tibicen). My mom told me that it is more a carnivore than a herbivore. Maybe that is why it gets into a lot of fights over food. Sometimes there are Magpies and Crows (Corvus bennetti) on Budhe's backyard's door, that make me afraid to open the door. My mom told me to give salaam to them and ask them to leave. It's magic! they seem to understand us and they leave, so I can open the door.

There are still many backyard's birds that my mom haven't had their pictures yet, such as Crested pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes), etc.

Well, each kind of birds have its special beautiful colors and voice. I like it when they spread their wings and fly. I also like it when they are chirping. God is Glorious! What a wonderful world!

Vegies, anyone?

Hi,

As usual, we always buy vegetables, fruits, milk and eggs when we go shopping. This evening, there were some "new" vegetables that I have never seen them in Indonesia.


This is a broccoflower. My mom think it is a mix of broccoli and cauliflower.


This is a baby fennel. My mom told me that it is crunchy and slightly sweet. It is good for making winter salad or Italian cooking.
Well, we haven't try them yet. The world of vegies are so interesting.

Rain, rain, go away

Hello,

Today is very cold and windy. The sky was very dark and it was raining when I went home from school. My mom and I sang "Rain, rain go away" together while we were waiting for the rain to stop, cause we are going to go shopping. My mom would like to make an Indonesian dish for Abigail's mom and her friends at the campus.
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
Little Ais wants to play
Rain, rain go away



The rain finally stopped after we had waited for two hours. Mr. Sun has shining down on earth again. When I look at the sky, there was a beautiful rainbow appeared between Budhe's and Jill's house. It was beautiful, although it was not very clear.
I remember "the Sesame Street" program, once told us about the rainbow. It is easy to remember the colors of the rainbow: ROYGBIV, stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

I was very happy to have Mr. Sun again. When we went outside, we saw many ducks were playing in the puddle, and many birds were chirping. I thought they were very happy and had a party.

These are Australian wood ducks. Their scientific name is Chenonetta jubata. My mom wondered where their nests are, cause we often see them playing in the back of our house.