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The Adventures of Charlie Tucker – Amazon Rain Forest

by Crystal September 23rd, 2011 - No Comments »

Charlie sat in his rather large plane seat as he and his family got closer to the Tucker’s next destination, Iquitos City in the Peruvian Rain Forest.  He had heard his teachers back home in Canada speak of the Amazon Rain Forest as an enormous forest full of unusual and, at times, dangerous creatures.  He was very excited to be the explorer of this rain forest!

“Mom, I heard my teacher, Mrs. Baker, mention that the Amazon has spiders and big bugs. Is that true?” Charlie asked, as he slid forward on his seat a bit to look up at his mom.

“Yes, spiders, frogs, snakes, and thousands of insects we have never seen before, or even heard of.  Not to mention, the largest snake in the world, ‘the Anaconda’, and the Jaguar, too, live in this huge rain forest among other fierce hunters,” Mrs. Tucker said with emphasis.

“Wow, the Jaguar, cool!  And how big can this forest really be?” Charlie asked.

Before Mrs. Tucker could respond, Mr. Tucker replied, “If you think about all of the forests we have seen in our travels so far, and how big our world really is, this Amazon Rain Forest has over half of the remaining rain forests in our world.  That is a huge forest, Charlie, and it is said that the forest is ancient, over 55 million years old,”* or, so the scientists estimate,” Mr. Tucker finished.

“That’s a huge rain forest,” Charlie said thinking of how big it must be compared to the Canadian forests he and his dad had experienced while camping in British Columbia.

After landing in Iquitos, the Tuckers felt the humidity and thickness of the warm air as they were getting into a taxi. This particular taxi was a three-wheeler car, called a moto-kar.  The driver raced for open spaces and reminded Mr. Tucker of his go-cart days when he was young. After an exciting car ride to their beautiful hotel, they decided to settle in for the night so they would all be up for the jungle adventure in the morning.

The next day came quickly, and as Charlie stretched his young body in the large bed he lay on within the unfamiliar hotel surroundings, something very familiar was going on.  A comfort came over him as he looked out the window to his right at the large raindrops that hit the pane and ran down. In fact, rain was coming down in buckets outside his somewhat fogged-up window.

Charlie’s job was to be the alarm clock for the family, and so today, he would excitedly wake everyone up and inform them of what was occurring outside!

“Mom, dad, wake up, wake up, wake up!” Charlie said, jumping on their bed.

“No, Charlie, not yet–we still have an hour to sleep,” Mr. Tucker said, peering up at his son with one eye, hoping he would calm down and go back to bed.

“But, dad, it is raining to beat the band outside, and we could go puddle jumping right now,” Charlie said mischievously.

Mrs. Tucker, who had been curled up and hiding under the warm covers, popped her head out, commenting, “Rain, no, the big rains aren’t supposed to be here for another couple of weeks. It can’t be.  Don’t the rains come around November?”

“Yep, it can be, mom. Just listen to it coming down. Wow!  I never knew it could rain so much all at once,” Charlie exclaimed.

“Well, we always knew there would be a chance of it raining, and we have had the perfect weather for all the other places we’ve been to,” Mr. Tucker replied, not feeling his son’s excitement.

“Get up, up, up, up,” Charlie said, as he pulled his parents’ blankets off and dove into the middle of their bed.

As both of his parents looked at one another, a massive tickling session was now in store for Charlie, and laughter and giggles were sure to have woken others up!

After breakfast, visiting the Jungle was still in effect, but they weren’t just going to go and hike into the forest.  Rather, The Tuckers had planned a Riverboat Adventure!

The boat was a good-sized vessel, but it was very different from the boat the Tuckers had taken out to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.  This boat was blue and white with a big red wheel off the back of it. They clambered aboard.

“Look!” Charlie said, as he pointed to the big wheel churning water at the back of the boat, as it pushed them up the Amazon River.

“Wow, that’s a lot of water being moved through the wheel, eh, Charlie?” Mr. Tucker replied.

One of the guests on the Riverboat, also a tourist, came over and asked, “You didn’t just say ‘eh’, did you? Why, are you Canadians?  I’ve always heard people mention you can tell a Canadian by that one word.” The older gentleman finished with a hand on Mr. Tucker’s shoulder.

“Yep, we are Canadians,” Mrs. Tucker said, as she came to her husband’s side, laughing as Mr. Tucker nodded.

She continued, “You gave us away again. Kidding,” she said, as she nudged her husband while Charlie watched the grownups talk.

“Why, I’ll be darned, if that wasn’t a pink river dolphin over there,” the older man said, bringing his hand up to his eyebrows and leaning forward to try and get a better look.

“That is impressive if you saw one already, especially with all this rain coming down,” Mr. Tucker replied.

“A what-coloured dolphin, mom, did the man say?” Charlie questioned, as he tugged at his mom’s shorts.

“A pink dolphin, dear,” Mrs. Tucker responded, looking down at him with excitement in her eyes.

“No, really?  Pink?” Charlie said in astonishment.

“Yep, they have pink dolphins in the Amazon River. If we are lucky, we will see one in the next day-and-a-half,” Mrs. Tucker replied.

“We might even be able to see sloths when we stop at one of the lookouts,” Mr. Tucker added.

“They are so slow, young fella, that you and I will both see them,” the old man said with a chuckle.

“You are pretty fast, if you have already seen a pink dolphin, sir,” Mr. Tucker piped up.

In response, the older man took his white traveler’s hat off and bowed his head in acceptance of the kind words Mr. Tucker had spoken.

“Wow, that is a colorful bird, mom,” Charlie said, as he watched a Toucan land on the railing of the boat and then move closer to him, making birdlike noises and cocking its head so its bright, yellow eye could take a closer look at little Charlie.

“Now, that is a rarity,” the old gentleman responded, continuing with, “I’ve been on this riverboat adventure 3 times in my life and not once has a Toucan flown on the boat and now while it is raining–even more amazing!  They normally stay to the tree canopies.  He must like the cut of your jib, young fella,” he said as he motioned for others to take a look.

“Hello, perty birdy. My name is Charlie Tucker, and I am your friend. What’s your name?”

The bird cawed, placing its beak between its claws and bobbing its head back and forth, as if bowing. Then suddenly, it pushed off and flew away.

“Wow, that was amazing mom ‘n’ dad,” Charlie said in awe, as he watched the beautiful multi-coloured bird fly away up, up into the high forest canopies at the side of the river.

This was to be a place to remember for the Tuckers, for they had been lucky.  They had seen three pink dolphins, numerous sloths, and many other Amazonian fish and wildlife. The Peruvian people were very kind, and the architecture, truly astonishing.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

In writing this story, information was found from three sources:

1. *Wikipedia, Amazon Rain Forest, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest, September 21, 2011, homepage.

2. Gap Adventures; The Great Adventure People. http://www.gapadventures.com/trips/amazon-riverboat-adventure/PVIIA/2011/, September 21, 2011, homepage.

3. Welcome to Iquitos Peru.http://www.dawnontheamazon.com/iquitosperu.html, September 21, 2011, homepage.

 

 

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Little Charlie Tucker, A New Kid on the Block

by Crystal April 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

The sun was shining through little Charlie’s bedroom window, as if to softly wake him up from a restful and glorious sleep. Little Charlie Tucker felt today would be a wonderful day. Who really knew what today would hold, but something in him felt today would be special.

“Good morning, mom,” little Charlie said, while sliding into the kitchen.

“Boy, you are chipper today,” she replied with a smile. Continuing, she queried, “Did you have a good sleep, my little man?”

“Yes, I sure did, mom. I dreamt I could fly, and that Big Red could as well. He was barking happily and he was even able to roll over in the air. It was amazing,” he said, while pulling himself up onto the kitchen stool.

“Wow, sounds amazing,” she replied.

After a hardy breakfast with homemade yogourt and some fresh farm eggs they had purchased down the road, Charlie, his mom, and Big Red walked to Seaview Elementary School.

“Have a great day, sweetie,” Mrs. Tucker said, while giving Charlie his little backpack that she had carried for him, and taking Big Red’s lead from Charlie.

“Have a great day, mom, and you, too, Red, my puppy,” little Charlie said, giving his mom a hug and then patting Red on his shiny head. “Goodbye ‘til after school,” he said softly, giving Red one final pat.

Once in class, there seemed to be a buzz around the room, and whispers broke the usual calm morning feeling that Mrs. Baker’s class typically had. Something was going on, and that something was Ava.

“There’s a new girl in our grade. Her name’s Ava,” tiny Benny whispered to Charlie.

“I hear she isn’t from Canada, and that she may not speak English very well,” George said, his eyes widening.

“I bet she is really nice, and that she can tell us things we never knew before,” Charlie said with excitement, moving onto the edge of his seat.

All of a sudden, the class fell silent and in came Ava Fernando.

“Class, this is Ava. Ava is new to our school, and I hope you will all give her the warmest welcome,” Mrs. Baker said, motioning for Ava to take a seat by Emilia.

Mrs. Baker continued, “Why don’t we all share an interesting fact about ourselves so Ava can get to know each of you a little better.”

Attention focused on first one student and then another, as each one shared something of interest.

“I am the tiniest kid in our class, and I can fit into the smallest play tunnel outside that no one else can fit into,” tiny Benny shared.

“I can hold my breath under water for almost a minute without coming up for air. I love having tea parties under water with my friends,” Emilia contributed.

“I live on a farm with a goat, a dog, and some apple trees,” Charlie disclosed.

Then it was Ava’s turn. “I love bugs and insects. Where I came from, we have many beautiful insects, and some you have to really look hard to find,” she divulged.

“Wow, insects, you are going to love our class compost with all of our earthworms, Ava,” George replied.

“We would love to show you our new compost during recess, Ava,” said Charlie enthusiastically.

“That would be great, thanks,” she replied.

And so, they all had a new friend with wonderful new things to share. Charlie and his classmates welcomed Ava into their school, making her feel appreciated and special.

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

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Little Charlie Tucker- Visiting a Dairy Farm

by Crystal March 17th, 2011 - No Comments »

As part of Seaview Elementary School’s new Sustainability Program, little Charlie Tucker and his classmates were going on a field trip to the local organic farm.  Mrs. Tucker had volunteered as the parent helper for this particular trip.

Prior to leaving for the organic farm, Mrs. Baker explained to the class that they would take part in an interactive farm tour.

“As this is an organic dairy farm mainly, you will be seeing dairy cows,” Mrs. Baker said in a cheery voice.

“When at this farm, we will be learning about how the milk is taken from the dairy cows and we will even be learning about how this farm uses sustainable practices.  All right everyone, let’s get our gumboots on, and our coats,” she said, motioning for everyone to rise.

After a small bus ride, the Grade One class arrived at the dairy farm, and laughter and excitement floated in the air. Once off the bus, the students were greeted by a kind man, who owned the farm and was going to give them the interactive tour.

“Hello, everyone.  Thank you all for coming today.  You all, I am sure, are excited to see the dairy cows, so let’s get started,” Mr. Eco said to the lively youngsters. “Oh, one more thing, please do not touch the cows when they are in their stalls; you will be able to brush Maple, our pet cow, after we are done the tour,” he said in reassurance.

Then all of the Grade One students, including little Charlie, tiny Benny, Emilia, and George followed this strong man into a big barn.

“For all of you here, who are learning about composting, here is another form of waste removal—in fancy terms, it’s called the anaerobic digester, but I call it the tank.  What the tank does, is it takes the cow manure and feed spills and stabilizes the material, in the absence of air, into a substance that can be applied to our fields like manure, without the smelly side effect that manure would have,” * he said watching the youngsters’ faces.

“Yuck, manure.  That’s pretty neat that the tank can break material down without using air,” little Charlie spoke up.

“Yeah, it is pretty cool, as long as the tank keeps a specific temperature range, then the microorganisms can survive and break the material down,” Mr. Eco replied.

“Oh wow, what is that?” Emilia blurted out, while pointing at a machine that was coming out into the stall.

“Those are the robotic milkers! * These robotic milkers will sterilize the udders and teats while massaging them to allow the milk to come down and be taken,” Mr. Eco responded.

“Look, here come the dairy cows, wow, look, look,” George said excitedly.

“It’s almost as if they know to come and get milked,” tiny Benny chimed in.

“That’s a very good observation, and in some sense they do.  These old girls know that it is grain time, that’s for sure, and boy do they love to eat,” Mr. Eco said, now watching the cows come into the comfort cow systems, and the robotic milk machines going to work.

“Gee, these cows sure look happy, and look their waste is being flushed away.  Does that go into the tank, Mr. Eco?” Charlie questioned.

“Yep, it sure does, and that’s one of the reasons why we can say our farm is a sustainable dairy farm, ” he replied.

“Can we go brush Maple?” Emilia asked eagerly.

“Yes, you all can, but before we go away, I have one question,” Mr. Eco responded.

He continued, “How many of you knew this is how most of you get your milk?”

All of the hands went up, and he was very surprised.

Emilia explained, “Charlie has a pet goat that he brought in for show and tell, and now we all know where milk comes from.”

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

*Information about the anaerobic digester and robotic milkers were sourced from Wikipedia, also click here, this is the other wikipedia site.

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Little Charlie Tucker – Composting

by Crystal March 3rd, 2011 - No Comments »

Mrs. Tucker had taken Mariah home for the day, and it was just about lunchtime for Charlie and the other young students.

Their teacher, Mrs. Baker, loved to compost, and had decided today, as it was sunny outside, would be the perfect day for all of her young students to learn how to compost.

As it was almost springtime, Mrs. Baker felt that if they started a class compost bin, then by the end of the school year, they could use the new soil to grow some flowers, and/or vegetables.

“Before we go for lunch today, as we have about twenty minutes, we are going to go outside and learn how to compost our leftover lunch foods.  Now I have saved mine from yesterday so we can start with those.  At the end of lunch, I would like everyone to add to our new compost bin.

“Ooh, ooh, do we get to name our new compost bin, Mrs. Baker?” tiny Ben asked.

“Why yes, that’s a great idea,” Mrs. Baker replied.

“Could we call it…?” Emilia wondered, pausing to think.

“Let’s call it the Green Giant Bin,” Sarah said in excitement.

“No, I like that, but maybe it would be better to call it the Mud Pie Bin,” George responded.

“Why is that?” Little Charlie questioned.

“Because all of our composted materials we put in the bin will turn into dirt, and we can make mud pies from the dirt,” George said, laughing.

“Do you know what we are going to do with our new dirt?  Well, we will plant some flowers and vegetables when the time is right later on this year,” Mrs. Baker said.

“Why then, why don’t we call it the Garden Bin,” Emilia spoke up.

“That works,” George replied and Sarah patted Emilia on the back to congratulate her on figuring out the name of their class’s new bin.

“Well, let’s all go out to our new Garden Bin then,” Mrs. Baker said, while holding the door to the outside open.

And so, all of the students rushed outside to see their new Garden Bin.

“Wow, so what do we do with the bin, Mrs. Baker, or, well, how do we make new dirt for our garden?” Charlie asked.

“Good question.  First, as you can see, this bin has been placed where it is not going to be in the way, and it is by the water hose.  In order to make new dirt for our future garden, we will need these magical ingredients,” Mrs. Baker replied.

“Yes, but what are these magical ingredients,” Emilia asked very curiously with the other students, leaning in towards the garden bin to see if they could tell.

“Water is one of the magical ingredients; without water, we will never be able to make our new dirt. We must always keep our garden compost bin damp,” Mrs. Baker emphasized, while many of the young students nodded.

She continued, “We will need green stuff, which could be your leftover vegetables, fruit scraps like your apple cores, or grass clippings.”

“No kidding,” George said with fascination.

“Then we will need air, you see, without air and mixing the compost with our small shovel, which I will do at the end of each lunch hour, our new dirt will be uneven and many scraps of vegetables and fruits would not be composted,” she explained.

So, so far, we need water, and green stuff, along with air to help make new dirt.  What is the last magical ingredient?” Sarah asked for everyone in the class.

“The last magical ingredient is dried stuff, like dried leaves or grass clippings, or even dried-out pine needles,” Mrs. Baker responded.

“Why, we have a lot of that stuff in our school yard,” little Charlie contributed enthusiastically, while pointing at the different items to a couple of his classmates nearby him.

“Now, the only things we mustn’t add are dairy products, meats, oils, bones, and any fats, or we will have our local bear coming to visit, and that would not be fun to stay inside for our lunch hour,” Mrs. Baker emphasized.

“So what’s the catch?” George said, feeling a bit skeptical.

“Well, as long as we layer the ingredients; first the dried stuff, then the green stuff, and make each layer the length of your little feet deep, then we will have our new dirt for a splendid garden in no time!  Just remember, too much of any one ingredient is not such a good thing, so keep our magical ingredients balanced.  You can all go have lunch now,” Mrs. Baker said with excitement.

“I’m going to make a sign for our new Garden Bin. Want to help me over lunch?” Emilia asked George, Charlie, Ben, and Sarah.  And so the Garden Bin began!

© 2011 Crystal Buchan

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