Wednesday, August 18, 2010

230. An urban creek


Joey and Pete liked nothing better than being out of the house early each Saturday morning for a mooch along the storm water canal down the back of Joey’s house. Pete had been given a red Swiss Army knife for his eleventh birthday last summer, and they used it to cut a branch and fashion it into a walking stick come prodder. They had seen old Pop Selby poking away with his oldies stick, and they had the action down to a tee.

With their black galoshes, knife and stick they wandered, slid, jumped and prodded their way downstream from the Wilson Street overpass to the people’s walkover from the 6th to the 7th hole of the Bexley Vale links. Many a time they could be spotted, heads down and bums up, collecting tadpoles, some already with rear legs. One morning, to their own delight, they captured a blue-tongued lizard.

5 comments:

jabblog said...

I hope they didn't take the blue-tongued lizard home! I gather they're not the easiest of house guests.

Clytie said...

Oh my, I can just picture these two young hooligans, bums in the air, collecting tadpoles, frogs, and lizards ... what wonderful fun.

Julie said...

Not sure about your neck of the woods, Clytie, but over here the word 'hooligans' is just one step away from 'hoodlum'. How about the word 'scallywags' instead?

Joan Elizabeth said...

Yes sallywags is a good word for these two. I've found blue tongues have a fearsome hiss and spit when they are cornered.

Julie said...

Okay ... shall remember that about the BTL for further stories ...