DIPPYS ADVENTURES ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT

Dippy’s overnight stay at America Woods

Last night I camped in America Woods with two of my red squirrel friends, Rodney and Rufus. We put up our tent in the afternoon underneath some huge oak trees and made our beds. We each had a sleeping bag with a fluffy puffed up pillow, I had bought some extra woollen blankets to keep us warm as the weather forecast was predicting a very chilly night.
Rodney and Rufus collected bundles of dry wood from the forest floor, lots of twigs and broken branches which I used to make a campfire. I added a little bit of BBQ charcoal also to ensure the fire would get hot enough and keep burning to give us enough time to cook our dinner on it!
The sun began to set at about half past 8, and the sunny warm day slowly disappeared, Rufus was our chef for the evening and cooked up some super sausages over the roaring camp fire. He served them in long white hot dog buns decorated with a wiggly line of ketchup along the top, they tasted fantastic and we all ate so many I lost count!!
The dessert of the evening was marshmallows on skewers melted slowly over the glowing flames, creating a crisp outside shell and a gooey centre, they were absolutely delicious! After our camping feast we sat around the fire, Rodney played his guitar and sang some tunes. It was a full moon and the sky was full of twinkling stars, as midnight approached we all began to do some very big yawns and decided to get ready for bed. We snuggled up into our little beds, pulled down the tent door zip and then we all fell fast asleep.
I woke very early this morning to the tweeting of birds up above in the trees all around us, it was a magical and truly delightful sound. Rodney and Rufus were still fast asleep so I got up very quietly so as not to wake them and stepped outside the tent. The sunlight shone down, upon the glistening dew covered leaves of the trees. Springtime was here, all the brand new leaves were slowly beginning to open up, the illuminous green colour and the freshness of these trees was amazing.


After breakfast we spent the morning  collecting Bluebells and yellow Primroses which were growing in the wood. These were for the Hawaiian skirts we were going to make for the squirrels, they had been invited to a fancy dress Easter Party. We made an elastic waistband, onto which we attached long pieces of flowing straw. We then very carefully, with a needle and thread sewed on the Bluebells and Primroses and put on occasional bright green leaf in between. Rufus and Rodney were delighted with the finished costumes and were sure they would win the first prize for the best fancy dress!!!


We packed up the tent and said goodbye to one another and then set off in different directions on our way back home. Whilst wandering back through the wood, I picked a small bunch of Primroses for Phessie, the silver pheasant who lives at the Park, because these are her favourite flower and to get these would make her smile!

DIPPYS ADVENTURES ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT

GONE FISHING………
This morning my alarm went off extremely early as today I was off on an adventure to Ryde for a fishing trip. I travelled to Alum Bay in my magic lighthouse, where I was met in the car park by Francis, my fisherman friend.
It was pitch black as it was before dawn, in the distance I could see some huge lights on full beam, as we got closer I realised that these very bright lights were on an aeroplane!! Francis explained how he would fly us over to Ryde where we would then jump onto his fishing boat, which was in the harbour and go and catch lots and lots of fish for dinner!

It was a very smooth flight and we landed on Ryde Esplanade beach just as the sun was beginning to rise, there was a pinky coloured glow in the sky and the air was incredibly fresh. The tide was far out so there was plenty of space to park the plane on the soft sandy beach.
Francis had named his boat 'Sharky', it was emerald green and there was a small covered area at the front, where two wooden benches ran along either side of the boat. Francis started up the motor which made a tremendous roar and off we zoomed across the crested waves over the Solent.
Francis is a very experienced fisherman and knows all the best spots for catching fish, today we were out to get lots of Sea Bass. We attached tiny wiggly worms onto the hooks of the fishing lines and casted them into the deep blue sea. Whilst waiting for the fish to bite the bait and the fishing rod bells to ring we enjoyed a nice hot cup of tea from my thermos flask. It didn't take long until we had about 6 large buckets full of delicious juicy rainbow coloured Sea Bass. It was enormous fun and Francis gave me lots of helpful tips on successful fishing and special techniques he had learnt over the years.


We began to start bringing the rods in and untangling the fishing lines on the boat deck when an octopus popped it's head out of the water and gave us both a bit of a shock!! He introduced himself, his name was Olly. He started to tell us all about the Spring Super Speedy swim race he was organising which was taking place today and due to start in the next 10 minutes. It was an annual event which started at the top of Ryde Pier head and finished at Puckpool, a long and enduring swim which required a lot of strength and stamina. The contestants this year included lobsters, crabs, eels, numerous varieties of fish and of course many octopuses! Olly explained the winner of the race received a seaweed crown, handmade by his wife. It sounded such fun, I asked if penguins were allowed to enter, he said 'Of course Mr Dippy and gave me a wrist band and directed me towards the starting point.


It was a tough race and by the time I reached the finishing line at Puckpool I was absolutely exhausted. Luckily Francis had driven the boat down that end of the beach to meet me so I could have a rest on the deck before the prize ceremony took place. The winner for the 3rd year running was a very fit looking lobster who trained all year round for the event. Everyone gave him a huge cheer as he was presented with his magnificent crown!
 

DIPPY’S ADVENTURES ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT

 

WHERE IS DIPPY? CAN YOU SPOT HIM AND GUESS WHERE THIS BEAUTIFUL LOCATION IS ON OUR ISLAND?

Dippys Adventures- Dippy and the Double Rainbow

This afternoon I had been invited for tea by my friend Sidney the seagull, who lived in the white cliffs at Freshwater Bay with his family. His wife had said she would make some seaweed and raisin scones which I was looking forward to eating very much with lots of fresh cream and strawberry jam.

When I arrived the young seagulls were playing on the pebbled beach and Sidney was busy catching fish from the sea for their meal that evening. Mrs. Seagull invited me in and offered me a cup of tea. They had a wonderful home, it wasn’t too high up in the cliff so I could just about climb up to it, carefully and slowly taking one step at a time up to the small circular doorway.

Inside the walls were decorated with carved out pictures all done by the young seagulls of the family. They had used sharp rocks and stones to create beautiful drawings which were then finished with tiny coloured shells.

After eating rather a lot of Mrs. Seagulls scones, and feeling very full indeed, Sidney began to tell me about a game he and his family liked to play on days like these. He explained the weather conditions were just right, the sun was shining high in the sky peeping in and out of huge white fluffy clouds and then every now and again a grey cloud would pass and a shower of rain would pour down.

The game was to make a rainbow, it was such a magical idea I jumped up out of my seat and said with delight how much I would like to join in !! Mrs. Seagull brought out a large black cauldron from under the kitchen sink and the young seagulls each held a wooden spoon in their wings. Sidney lined up seven jam jars in a row on the wooden table, these were filled with different colours of shimmering dust. In each jar the dust sparkled and seemed to have a magical halo around it. Sidney then emptied the glittering dust into the cauldron and as he did, tiny twinkling stars rose up from within and then floated in the air above our heads, some floated out through the door, outside onto the bay.

Mrs. Seagull read aloud a spell written inside a large leather bound book whilst each of the young seagulls gave the potion a little stir. She explained the spell would take a few minutes to work, and that we were best to go up to the cliff above the bay overlooking Mermaid Rock to get the best view of the magic.

The young seagulls flew up there whilst I waddled up to the top of the bay. Sidney and Mrs. Seagull carried the cauldron together, each holding the handle  with one wing. Once they had arrived at the top they flew up into the clouds and scattered the magic dust into the air. The young  seagulls sat very still all perched on the edge of a bench gazing up into the sky with their wings crossed behind their backs for good luck !

Then it happened, the clouds opened and the sun beamed through, a shower of soft rain sprinkled down and landed gently upon our faces as we gazed up at this wonderous site. The spell had not only worked well but something happened that Sidney explained he had never been seen before – it was a double rainbow !!!



Mrs. Seagull very kindly took a photo for me as I stood under this amazing sight with a huge smile upon my face. I could not wait to tell my penguin friends about this magical time I had had, I thanked the seagull family for a delightful afternoon and sped on home with my photograph held tightly in my flippers.

To read all of Dippy’s stories- check out his website:
http://dippytheisleofwightpenguin.com/