Bundy Lunches with Angus

Bundy met a friend for tea and a light lunch recently. The friend was Angus, a dapper sheep that Bundaleer got acquainted with on his recent trip to London. And now, Angus was in New York...

The two could not help discussing the latest Colony gossip: While she is certainly very pretty, exactly who is Kate Middleton anyway? Anyway, this tea is lovely...

Bundy Tries a Corny, Minimalist Costume

Here is Bundaleer on Halloween 2010. Always one to appreciate imagination, Bundaleer dressed up this year as a Unicorn.

FOUND: Bundaleer's Cousin, Yuki!

At last! Bundaleer's long-lost cousin came out of hiding! Observe and appreciate the sheer joy on the faces of those who missed Yuki -- and finally found him!



Gavin and Caidan, along with their brother Matthias, gave Yuki the full royal treatment to celebrate his long-awaited, happy homecoming! The boys directed tasty feasts as well as special activities in Yuki's honor.



Yuki had been missing for nearly six months. He is a wee bit even smaller than his cousin, Bundaleer. There was worry among koala fans that his small body had met with great harm. But fortunately, that was not the case! Here is Yuki last week, playfully moving among Christmas cactus branches.



Handmade by my dear sister, Yuki carries on the family tradition of perky ears, an honest face and evenly matched arms and legs. Yuki, however, is quite a bit trimmer than Bundaleer. I suspect Bundy likes to nibble on things all day long when I am not looking -- and Yuki could not do that so easily while in hiding.



Here's Yuki, checking his email after six months offline. You may wonder where this little guy actually was for six months! Apparently somewhere "behind a basket on a shelf near the kitchen sink." Well, I guess you never know where a koala's going to fall asleep!

Any comments or messages from readers to little Yuki may be made via the comments section below. Of course, we will work on getting answers back to you as soon as possible!

Long live sweet koalas -- and their friends!

Bundaleer Gives Britain Two Paws Up!

This summer, our lucky Bundaleer received an exciting invitation. My friend, Mona, invited Bundy to join her on a trip to London! Well, before you could say boomerang, Bundaleer eagerly accepted and got busy packing!



Bundaleer was a little afraid that he might not be strong enough to carry British pounds. However, they were lighter than he expected and, anyway, he managed to spend most of them by the trip's end.



Never forgetting his dear friends at home, Bundaleer couldn't pass up this "symbolic" early photo opportunity! ("Hi, Ben!")

Now, some of you know this secret already. Yes, come a little closer. Bundaleer was actually allowed to accompany Miss Mona to a very real - and very formal - function.



And thanks to Miss Anna's terrific handiwork, Bundaleer had no need to rent a tux at a local suit hire! Admit it. Doesn't he look just smashing?!



Especially for Birgit and Thorsten, Bundaleer requested this special plate-side snapshot. Could this creation match those earlier Yankee seaside delights?

Despite Bundaleer's rural upbringing in the woop woop, he developed an early fondness for urban public transport. In London, he had his very own Oyster card so that he could ride freely on the London subways.



Here he is in fine weather at Trafalgar Square. I think he was pretending to get his fur wet because in the next photo...



...he paid a visit to the "Gents Salon" for a trim and a little ear massage.



Oh no! Bundy in peril! Well, maybe not. Since you can see in the glass a reflection of Big Ben, I think it's safe to assume this Aussie is just kidding around at the London Aquarium!



Now this photo is truly "classic Bundaleer." A long distance train ticket to Buckingham Palace!



Luckily, the Queen was in residence this day. Thus there was plenty of fanfare! However, all the pomp made Bundy feel self-conscious about his own smaller stature. Here he was feeling a little camera shy.



After Bundaleer returned to London from majestic Buckingham Palace, he took refuge in the familiar comforts of simple, sturdy bark and soft, green leaves.



Later on, Bundaleer boarded the London Eye for a bird's eye view of the city.



He loved the beautiful Thames River, and he had a secret desire to sail a big boat down its wonderful, wide waterways.



Somehow, Bundaleer made his boat dream come true! (He always was good at chatting up the locals!)



Well, not every dream came true while Bundaleer was in London. As you can see on the scoreboard, Germany had the upper hand in this football game.

Nonetheless, Bundaleer rooted steadfastly for his Aussie teammates all the way to the game's disappointing finish.



Oh no! I think this was after the game! Close your eyes! It doesn't look pretty...



Of course, Bundaleer is the most resilient of koalas. The next day he made sure to pay homage to the grandeur of the British Parliament building.



And finally, at Westminster Abbey, Bundy tried to hide himself (again) in a feeble attempt to extend his trip "just a few more days."

Fortunately, Miss Mona rounded up Bundaleer quickly, and they returned safely to New York City without incident.

Pssst. One more secret... I have heard a rumour that more outfits are being handcrafted in Ohio for Bundaleer! I haven't told him this yet because he would get too excited. But I can't wait to see what they look like!

Don't worry. We will make sure Bundaleer has more adventures that are worthy of new bespoke outfits! As I said at the beginning of this post, Bundaleer is one very lucky koala!

Bundaleer Parle Français!

Bundaleer recently discovered the quiet beauty of Georgeville, Quebec in Canada.



Our favorite koala was enamoured with the poignant veranda sunsets. We could hardly get him to come inside, even for salads.



He studied the finer points of playing a good game of cribbage...



...and he got pretty lucky, too. Tres bien, Bundy!



Here is Bundy peering out of his very own window in his caretakers' new Prius. Bundaleer was quick to alert us to any nearby deer and the occasional moose.

Finally, we couldn't get a picture of this (because it was so dark) but Bundaleer LOVED stargazing in Georgeville! He saw many brilliant meteors during the Perseids showers!

Ooh la la, Bundy! :)

Friends of Bundaleer! And Fuzzy Logic Comes Home!

WAKE UP, BUNDALEER!!! It's nearly AUGUST!

We've all been suffering from the heat. And that includes our dear friend from Down Under, Bundaleer. After so many recent travel adventures, Bundy just plain fell asleep...deeply...for even longer than usual!

With a cool cloth and plentiful eucalyptus, I woke him up today. Can you guess the first thing Bundaleer asked about? (It was so sweet!) He asked how his friends were. The three brothers in Massachusetts. Two sisters in Ohio. All the Germans, furry and not. And more!

And was it a dream, or was Bundaleer actually whisked to London before he fell asleep? No, it wasn't a dream. He really saw London with my dear next-door-neighbor from Astoria.

I refreshed our small mate's fuzzy memories with these delightful pictures.



Bundy, Sheepy and Gavin (age 8!) atop New York's Rockefeller Center!



Bundaleer and Phinney, ready for automotive takeoff under the watchful eye of Anna.



Bundy, post-bath, getting a grin and a lot of hot air from Ailsa.



Our dear friend, Birgit, finding yet another perfect spot for an endearing koala to rest. (This is New York's famous High Line park!)



And Thorsten, ensuring that Brooklyn Bridge will be strong enough to carry a koala who is more substantial than he looks.



It is with great memories, and warm thanks to Birgit and Thorsten, that I post the conclusion of the Fuzzy Logic series. Never before have three small animals taken part in so many caring and animated shoreline adventures! Bundaleer says Vielen Dank and Auf Wiedersehen!
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On the last leg of our trio's weeklong walkabout, we ferried from the mainland to "The Islands" of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.



Scoopy the Pelican and Inky the Octopus struggled to get a good photo of me as the wind from our high speed ferry put me at risk of flying right overboard into the wake!



Our arrival beach consisted (only!) of thousands of shells. I lay down among them and made a small joke about being shell shocked.



Although we preferred the manly beers of Fosters and Coors, we contemplated visiting a wine festival while on Nantucket. (It sounded elegant.) Inky volunteered to hold all the glasses for our group. Do you think there was an ulterior motive?



However, in the end, we skipped the wine festival and had our own party on one of Nantucket's smoother shores. Wheeeeee!



I guess it happens after spending lots of time together: we started to make rhymes out of our adventures. Our favorite: "No fries in a bucket, but fried clams on Nantucket!"



Our next day's journey to Martha's Vineyard yielded a surprise! We Aussies understand that not everyone can swim as well as we can. So like to help them out when possible!



Birgit and Thorsten had the idea to "Where's Waldo" me. I hope at least someone finds me!



We had seen so many tall New England lighthouses but this one was special: our final lighthouse together. I think we realized here that our trip back to New York would come all too quickly.



So we made sure our last big meal was a special one. At least that's what everyone told me. See how excited Inky and Scoopy are for this creature? I, on the other hand, am baffled at how this Martha's Vineyard lobster will become my dinner. I'm going to need help...



Back on the mainland, word had gotten out about the fuzzy trio. Upon our arrival there, we encountered prying paparazzi at Gillette Castle State Park. Can't a koala just enjoy himself?



Thanks to its security team, the Hartford Capitol Building was a safer tourist spot for us. We recalled wistfully the distant beaches where we hadn't needed security guards to feel safe...



The ride back to New York City was not easy. I did not want to say goodbye to my superb and seaworthy friends. And they did their best to comfort me as we approached our destination.

But I was looking forward to seeing Ben and Julie again. And I know Inky and Scoopy missed B&T. Plus we had LOTS of pictures to look at so we could remember all of our great landmarks, local foods, and imaginative adventures!

Rather than be sad, we three decided this was just Part One of a longer adventure! I put in my vote for our next rendez-vous: Germany's Black Forest! Hmmm. I'll have to ask Birgit if eucalyptus and sage grow in the forest. A koala has to plan for these things, you know!

Fuzzy Logic Visits Plimoth Plantation

Our next day's journey found us trekking to Plymouth, Massachusetts.


It was cool and rainy so we brewed a pot of tea before heading out.

We explored Plimoth Plantation. It's an outdoor museum that includes a Native American (Wampanoag) home site (at around 1620), and an English settler village (at around 1627).

The actors at the museum taught us about historic clothing, languages, and tasty-sounding foods.



I was most excited to compare the museum's handcrafted canoes with those of my Aborignal people of Australia. This was definitely not eucalyptus wood!

We talked with everyone there who wasn't frightened by our curious group, and we learned a lot!



We were advised by the locals to sample some stuffed crab and quahogs (kind of like clams). We did not regret this friendly advice.



And, at Scoopy and Inky's request, we visit "just one more" lighthouse! This one was at Chatham Beach.



While my two seaworthy buddies were playing in the surf, I talked to friendly locals who were even smaller than me.



These guys looked as if they had seen better days...

...maybe that's what happens to you if you go swimming where you are not supposed to.



Did Americans think these waves were too dangerous for swimming? I grew up with much bigger waves in Australia! I wasn't scared of these waves at all!



And so, my local orange crab friend and I convinced bigger Mr. Horseshoe Crab to take me out into the water! And together, we rode high and mightily on the salty waves, just as I used to do at home!