Last night as I sat with my boys watching the memorial service on Animal Planet for The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, the reality of his loss to this world began to hit home.

 

He did a lot of great things in his life, made a lot of impact for protecting animals.  But, I didn't realize just how much a guy in Australia could influence two homeschooled boys in Florida.  But, he did.

 

Growing up (my boys are 7 and 5 now) they enjoyed watching the Crocodile Hunter on television.  It was sort of a family affair really...but my boys were really glued to that TV screen when that show would be on.  As time wore on, and the boys got bigger, they began to make their own attempts at caring for the environment.  I watched as they sprouted seeds, and together we would plant flowers and sometimes trees.  I watched as my oldest son "scolded" our house cat one day for killing a bird.  That poor cat got one long lecture from a 4 yr. old about why he shouldn't go around killing birds, and he should be ashamed of himself for hurting a defenceless animal.  After the "lecture" my son deposited the cat in our bathroom with his litterbox and food and said "now stay there until you can behave yourself".  A cat in time out??  LOL  Obviously, I had to let the cat out and explain to my son that, well...the cat was doing what was natural to him.  We don't think he should kill birds, but to him... a blue jay looks like dinner.  That even though he was a pet, with people to provide for his needs, he still had natural survival instincts, ways of surviving on his own...and killing birds was part of that instinct.

 

A couple of years later, in December 2004, my youngest son made a request...something he wanted for his birthday.  He wanted fish.  So, at first we got him just two goldfish.  He made it clear to everyone that those were his fish, and he would take care of them.  And he did, religiously.  So, we bought him a few more the following month.  In late March 2005, our home was hit by a tornado somewhere around 8 PM.  Thankfully, my family wasn't in the house when it hit, the boys were at their nanna's (who also got hit with the twister).  They were shaken up, but alright.  They wanted to "go home", only to learn that...well...the house fell.  My youngest son began screaming...at first, I thought it was because of his blankie, teddy bear, something along those lines.  But, no...he was screaming about his fish.  Telling me I had to go rescue them, and he called each one by name.  But, that late at night, unable to see where powerlines might be down, or if the house still rested on any sort of support, I told him..."not tonight.  They have to wait, you and your brother are my concern now, not anything inside that house.  Besides, the fish are dead sweetie, I'm sorry but there is no way they could have survived the house being picked up, moved, and dropped."  He began planning a funeral service for each of them.

 

But, come daylight, we really saw the full impact of the previous night's storm.  The anchors to my mobile home sat about 3 feet in front of where my home now sat.  Foundation blocks now sat inside the subflooring, the front door was badly dented.  I unlocked the front door and went inside my home to shut off the breaker since the power company had restored the power.  Things lay scattered on the floor, pictures and paintings had fallen off the wall, frames cracked, the kitchen wall clock now laid between the kitchen and living room...being flung about 8 feet across the room and shattering.  But...the fish weren't dead.  Somehow their glass tank had survived, it was unlevel sitting on it's table, but intact.  I had some good news for my son...the funeral services had been cancelled!  And for several weeks, they feasted on vacation feeders, but lived.  It was a happy reunion for my son and the fish the day we went back home after the necessary repairs were made and the home once again stable.  It made me happy to see the love he had for 5 helpless fish, the pride he took in their growth, feeding, habitat.  They lived very happy lives until their untimely death months later when the breaker once again had to be shut off due to a hurricane that dumped water into the electrical wiring.  RR knew the fish had survived the hurricane, and knew how well they had done months earlier after the tornado.  So...he gave them another vacation feeder, expected them to come through in flying colors...but it was now hot weather, without the cooling of our airconditioning, even with windows open...the house got too hot, the water in their tank got too hot...and in a very sad farewell...he laid his fishies to rest.

 

But, this isn't where the story ends with my boys and "wildlife".  By this point, they had lost all their pets to circumstances that were really beyond anyone's control and we had lost our home.  However, they began to "adopt" animals so to speak.  They would feed the birds that paid us a visit, fed stray cats and dogs that people would throw out, and...my youngest son even went as far as to adopt his father's fishing worms!  Yes, he adopted them...they became his "new pets" and were named...about 80 wiggler worms shared the same name..."Wormie Hermies".  For a couple of months, they lived in a coffee can in the laundry room.  But, they were happy worms, so they were now multiplying.  RR sat out to learn how to REALLY take care of them.  He sat a "scrap bin" in the kitchen to get them coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, and that sort of thing.  Helped to construct a worm bin, found them a shady spot outside and moved his worms to their new "habitat".

 

Then, earlier this year, their Nanna brought them an injured baby turtle from her job at the state prision.  It took us a while to figure out exactly what kind of turtle he was because he was so small.  But, he was a "snapper".  Well, again they constructed a habitat for him, found him the proper food, and named him "Raphie".  They respected him, and didn't harass him except to "right" him when he would fall off his log upside down.  But, they also knew that he would only be a "temporary" pet.  They could only keep him until his injuries healed, his health returned, and he grew a bit more.  So, for about 6 weeks, Raphie graced their lives.  And, he was a happy turtle in their care.  He healed and grew, and at last, the fateful day came that it was time for Raphie to take a car trip.  They didn't want to release him just anywhere, they wanted him to be happy, safe, and protected.  So, off to the local park we went. Part of it, away from the playground and picnic areas, was a protected habitat.  There was no fishing, swimming or boating in it's waters, and all sorts of wildlife lived there...turtles, fish, frogs, ducks, geese, alligators and snakes.  The boys carried Raphie to the water's edge and sat him down.  They watched as he pulled his head and legs out of his shell, looked around, walked around, and then set off into his new permanent home. 

 

My boys set up "backyard habitats" for such things as frogs, lizards, and birds.  None of these are pets, none are really in close contact with the kids, but they all live on the property.