New Buddy

Kd had the class Guinea pigs at home over the weekend!

It was quite a learning curve for him to take care of these little creatures as they love pooping an eating.  Every child should have the opportunity to clean out the yard of a cow shed! Now that is cleaning up poo.

A fitting poem by my Mum, Lorraine Marwood

Guinea pig town

It was our brother's idea

to build a town,

a small town

for many guinea pigs

which kept multiplying-

cream, ginger and black

wisps of colour and rabbity- mousey

features, all ours.

We found old sheds

to refashion,

we found old bits of paint

in tins

old scraps of wood

that's when dad's saying

it might come in handy

really came true.

Concrete floor

concrete half walls, a roof

and we were in business.

Let's have a park, said

my little sister

and houses for each family,

I added.  And a shop and...

Stop! warned our brother,

we have lots of work to do,

already.  No more houses yet.

So after asking Dad

(Can we use the old pigsties?)

(Can we have nails, paint?)

We began, sawing, hammering

following our big brother's direction,

humming, singing as we ran backwards

forwards from Guinea pig town

to dad's machinery shed.

Ready yet?asks our really big sister,

who knows more about painting toenails than

painting guinea pig houses,

but she offers, we accept, want her

to be part of the game too.

So our really big sister paints circles,

triangles, lines of lime, purple, brown

across the roofs of each building.

Hope guinea pigs are colour blind,

 mutters our big brother.

The colours will keep them warm even when its

freezing outside, I say bundling

lots of straw into the first house.

Fill the water bowls up too, orders

our big brother.

We'll soon be bringing the residents

into their new houses.

Our little sister and I squeal like pigs, not

guinea pigs but real excited yips and yaps.

We all go to the guinea pig cage.

And take one, two to each new building

in guinea pig town.

They sniff, nibble, run

around guinea pig town.

They like it, says our big brother

'Cause they do, probably like the bright

colours says our really big sister,

or the playground, I say

or the fresh straw says our little sister.

Dad comes to see,

well done, he says I've never

seen a guinea pig town before.

Let's hope it doesn't get overcrowded

and we know what he means.

Guinea pigs are always having babies.

cream, ginger and black

wisps of colour and rabbity- mousey

features, all ours.