Bobby the Bilby is cute as can be.
He’s very shy and hides from me.
With long ears and a pointy nose
He builds his burrow with clawed toes.
I want to pat his soft grey fur.
Down a burrow he dashes in a blur.
Should I wait in the pale moonlight,
or come back again tomorrow night?
National Bilby Day is the 13th September 2026
Image from Save the Bilby fund
There were flocks of hungry Pellies
breaking into deli’s.
They filled up their beaks
with enough food for weeks
and returned when they’d emptied their bellies.
image from Pixabay
Chopsticks
was a song that my jokesy old dad
played just before dinner arrived.
Dad boasted that his song was rad…
We thought he was dinner-deprived!
We always had winding spaghetti like snakes,
in meals that took longer than the game of AFL,
‘cause baby would kick the meatballs in her shakes,
as we held up our chopsticks like goalposts as well,
and if the ball made it between two of such posts,
we would scream loud and proud! and all of the sauce
would hit our Dad splat on the face! and like ghosts,
we’d all cower under the table, of course, of course!
Image from Pexels
“I see that your eyes are so blue,”
said Jenny to charming young Hugh.
She blew him a kiss
of ultimate bliss
and fainted head first in the stew.
Image from Pexels
Here the cliffs are sinking slow,
Slipping, sliding, down they go.
Fraught with danger, who will save
These ancient cliffs from the waves?
Fossils here are found in scores
On these old Jurassic shores;
Here were creatures long since lost,
When dinosaurs this land had crossed.
A crumbling cliff at Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast. Photo by Ginette Pestana
Teacher’s note: The English resort town of Sidmouth lies at the mouth of the River Sid in Devon, on the English Channel. Its origins date from the Iron Age, possibly earlier. It is famous as a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The giant red cliff of Salcombe Hill is a well-known though crumbling landmark. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote early parts of Lord of the Rings while holidaying in Sidmouth with his family.
Big Bird Emu
cannot fly.
Got long legs
and big brown eyes;
slender neck
and smiley beak;
stringy feathers,
mega feet.
Big Bird Emu
sits on nest.
Eight whole weeks,
no food no rest;
nearly faint
from heat and thirst;
wants those chicks
to hatch out first.
Shading babies,
outstretched wings,
eating grass
and insect things.
Eighteen months
‘til they’re full-grown,
big enough,
safe on their own.
Big Bird Emu
dedicated.
Caring love
for little babies.
Get too close
might make him mad,
‘cos he’s their
Big Bird Emu DAD!
Today is Father’s Day
Image from Pixabay
Sometimes the simplest
things are the best.
The magic of play
among kids and their pets
comes from the time
they spend with each other,
rather than whether
a toy lasts forever.
As children grow up,
they go through phases.
Peek-a-boo games
don’t last for ages.
But sticks and balls
always win the day
whenever it’s
doggy-time for play!
Artwork: FRIENDS by Karen Erasmus
There once was an eater of custard,
who one day became quite flustered.
He cleaned off his plate,
but realised too late –
he’d mistakenly eaten some mustard.
Image from Pixabay
There once was a girl named Ludmilla
who lived on a hill in Manila.
She got rid of her cat,
which was scared by a rat,
and bought herself a gorilla.
There was a young man from Cuba
who tried to play the tuba.
He puckered his lips,
pushed hard with his hips,
and blew himself to Bermuda.
There was a young poet called Lear,
whose rhymes were a treat to the ear.
After eating some turmeric
he composed a limerick
and fell asleep for a year.
Image from Pixabay
There once was a chicken called ‘Polly’,
whose name sounded happy and jolly,
‘til one morning at two,
she crowed, “cock-a-doo,”
now our chook is a rooster called Wally.
Image from Pixabay
