~ Australian Christmas Bush Baby ~ The hot dry summer wind whipped up the dust Flies buzzed, as the radio compelled A harvesting fire ban, until dusk While the wave of searing heat held, The fans oscillated at full blast, everyone lay still It was Christmas...they could tell. Willy willies spiraled, rolling turnip weed along Lightening flashed in the sky over head, Haze shimmered above the gum trees Where the koala slept The hottest for ten years, everybody said. But then the reverie was shattered As the phone eerily rang out, The guys leapt into their trucks, water tanks awash About eight miles out was the yell, The lightening had struck. The rolling hills were brown and parched tinder dry She'll go up in smoke for sure They all mused, as kangaroos leapt by, Back-packs at the ready The truck screeched to a halt, For the sky was lit up, white with the blaze, But all they heard was a voice up the track Peace on earth, good will to all men Dumb-struck, they stood there amazed. Shaking their heads, they stumbled back to the trucks As the two-way crackled out "There's another heap of trouble It's a glow in the local wheat shed, You better get there on the double". So tearing past bright orange Christmas trees Where galahs screeched and lizards scuttled by, They waved at the kids splashing in the dam Then, there was the glow in the sky. Hey mate, we better check this out Sure looks like a new southern star Beaming in here from a-far, No-one was about, so they peered in the door Grins spreading from ear to ear For there gurgling in the straw, so small With the cows and the chooks Was the cutest little baby, in an old wooden stall The gift of love for one and all. Blessings for a Christmas of wonder from Aussie down under Soft Whispers from Derry's Heart Poems © 2004 used with permission [email protected]

Subject of television shows, movies and books, Blinky Bill is a much loved Australian icon. Together with his friends from Greenpatch village, this mischievous koala has entertained Australian children for years. Despite their resemblance to a cuddly teddy, Koalas are not bears, and they aren't terribly cuddly either.  They are shy, nocturnal marsupials who spend most of their time high in the Australian Eucalypts, which provide both food and shelter.

Confused koala ends up in Australian family's Christmas tree

Christmas came early for one family in Australia — thanks to a special furry ornament found in their tree: a live koala. The McCormick family found the creature tangled in lights and plastic branches on Wednesday evening. "Well that's something you don't see every day," wrote Amanda McCormick in a Facebook post.Dec 4, 2020

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~ Lil Kitty Linkware Graphics - Australiana Series - Bush Baby ~
Font used is Saginaw.