Fine Farewell for the "Crocodile Hunter"

Crocodile Hunter Gage?

I heard on the radio that there would be a candlelight memorial for Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" at the Denver Zoo tonight, and I knew I really wanted to go. With such short notice, I couldn't find anyone else to go with me, they all had other plans, even though a lot of people wanted to come along. So it was just me and Wendy at the Zoo.

I know Australians don't like rabbits, and I even understand why, but I think it's a different kind of rabbit than I am. Whether he liked rabbits or not, I really admired Steve Irwin, and everything he did for conservation and animals all over the world. I think it's a shame that he died so young, and I think the world has grown a little darker for his no longer being in it.

I didn't know how many people would be there, but it turned out to be a pretty good sized crowd. This is shortly after we got there, and a lot more showed up after we did.




It was all put together by a lovely lady called Coco, and her family. She said she just wanted people to have a chance to say "good-bye" to Steve Irwin, and I think that is a very kind thought for those of us who were big fans of his work.

She seemed like a nice lady, seemed to like rabbits, and even had a stuffie of her own in her shirt pocket!




One super nice thing Coco did was set up some posters for people to sign that will then be rolled up and mailed to the Australian Zoo.



In the crowd, I was spotted by the eagle eyes of a nice stuffie named Kane, who came up and said "hi".



Kane told me that he and his human packmate, Joy, just got back from vacationing for a week in Alaska. It sounds like he's had a bunch of great adventures, and I tried to encourage him to start a blog too, but I don't know if he will. Seemed like a very nice fellow though, and it's always nice to meet another traveling stuffie in a crowd.

Eventually, everyone lit their candles, and Coco stood up and gave a lovely speech about what had drawn us all there, the work Steve Irwin had done, and how he had touched so many lives.


She was absolutely right, he will be missed, and I am with her in the belief/hope that his work will continue.

There were lots of very sad children, some crying over the loss of the Crocodile Hunter. But there were also many who, when I talked to them, said they wanted to continue his work. So perhaps some of the next generation of conservationists and zoologists were standing there with us, in front of the Zoo entrance.

All in all, I can't imagine a better farewell for such a kind, and passionate person. Wherever you are, Mr. Irwin, I wish you all the best. You were deeply loved here, touched more lives than you probably knew, and I hope you had a moment to peek over and watch us in Denver, where we were all thinking about you and wishing healing and kindness towards your family.

Thank you Coco for putting this together. It was a lovely way to say "good-bye".

Gratuitous Cuteness

I have a final this afternoon that I'm not sure I'm ready for. So I'm going to go off and study until I have to go to school.

Since I'm stressed out beyond all imagining and don't have time to do a real entry, here is a gratuitously cute puppy picture for you.

The pups are almost completely weaned, nursing more for comfort than nutrition at this point I suspect, and they're becoming independent little monsters doggies all of their own. Voltaire plays with them, and in a doggie motherly way teaches them, but she's starting to want to spend more time with me than she was when they were smaller. So, Voltaire and I have gone back to sleeping on the couch, and the puppies just sleep all over the place, on the floor, in the office.

Last night, Musashi apparently decided to sleep in my jacket. So here's what I woke up to this morning.


Three more weeks and the puppies can go to their new homes!
Anyway, wish me luck on my final! Have a great Tuesday!

Back From Tacticon

We're back home from the convention! It's been a long weekend, but Wendy got some really cool chain mail in trade, and I got a present for Kumo (and one for Wendy too, when she wasn't looking).

I saw Bear and Cat briefly, but I think they were in the middle of a game so they didn't hang around long enough to even snap a picture. It was great to see them, though!

I didn't go to any of the games or anything, instead I just hung out and helped sell chain mail at the TML Mailworkes table. Tom, the owner, makes some really beautiful chain mail, so between customers, I did some shopping of my own.

First, I tried to talk to Tom's armored war dog. He seemed nice enough, but he wasn't very chatty. Strong silent type, I guess.

I checked out the chain mail dice bags, and even though they're gorgeous I don't have any dice and neither does Kumo.

I have three of these mobius balls on my library bookshelf. They're great fidget toys, and I learned to juggle them too!

I thought maybe I'd pick Kumo out a necklace from all the beautiful ones Tom makes, but she only ever wears that one pendant, so I didn't know if she'd wear one.

I wear one of Tom's bracelets as a collar with my ID tag on it all the time, and it occurred to me that Kumo might like a red and black chain mail choker like it to hang her pendant from. So I got her one. She left me a note that she was going riding (since today is absolutely gorgeous motorcycle riding weather), so she hasn't been home to get it yet. I think she'll really like it.

When Wendy wasn't looking, I wandered over and checked out the t-shirts by Pair o' Dice Gamer Gear at the table next to us. They have a lot of really clever, funny t-shirts, and I knew Wendy liked them a bunch. In the end, I was torn between getting her the new "Demand More Cleavage" one...

... or the "Modified Dragon" one.

In the end, I surprised her when we got home with the Dragon. She had no clue that I got it for her and she loves it! It was a good surprise. Alan and Anjanette (the owners and operators of Pair o' Dice) were very nice about selling a shirt to a rabbit, though they did look at me a little weird.

For me, I got a pair of very nice chain mail bracers. Custom made, while I waited, by Tom. They're great! I'll get pictures of them when I get Kumo to model her choker later this evening.

I guess I don't mind that we didn't go camping, though it would've been fun. I hope Mal is having fun on his camping trip (he told me in e-mail that it's all warm and sunny up there, so he and Molokai were going for the weekend). Maybe we'll get to go before Fall sets in. We'll see.

In the meantime, this was a strange way to spend Labor Day weekend, but not bad. Not bad at all.

Too Cold for Camping

Kumo dragged out all the camping gear, since we'd been thinking on going camping this weekend. The plan was that Wendy would drop us off at the State Park not far from the Treehouse on Friday night, and then pick us up sometime Monday afternoon.

However, the weather had other plans.


It was cold and rainy down here all day yesterday, and so far this morning, it doesn't look any different. Kumo and I discussed it last night, and we've decided we're not going camping, even though this might have been our last chance this year.

Kumo is pretty dissapointed, and apparently planning on just sulking around the house all weekend. I'm going to go with Wendy to Tacticon, where she's helping a friend of hers sell chain mail. I think it'll be fun, even just hanging out behind the chain mail table (I'm not much of a gamer) and maybe I can even find a present for Kumo, to make her feel a little better about missing out on camping.
I'll let you know!! Off to the convention!