Rainforest Information

Bicycle Jumping and Photography. Plus a little Face-Planting

2010-02-18T01:37:00.000-08:00

All boys from 8 to 80 should love to jump bicycles.

Bicycle jumping is quite easy, especially when you have all the equipment.

All the equipment you need is a strong bike, preferably a BMX.

The places to jump can be found anywhere, from golf courses to skate parks.

These are the rules.

Crashing (Or "Faceplanting") is all part of the fun.

There are no more rules. Have fun!!!

To be a bicycle jump photographer, you have to have skill, skill, steady hands, a good camera and skill.

Here are a few pictures my dad and I took of Chas trying to jump.

Dad's pics

Good Launch. Things look okay so far.

Going a bit too high! Not sure he can take the shock!

Is that a little lean to the right I see there?

Gaaaaaaaah!!!!

OOffff!!!!!!!!!!

A message from Chas: Pain is temporary......VICTORY IS FOREVER. And I did it on purpose. My plans are flawless.

Rock Collecting Starting a rock collection

2010-02-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Starting a basic rock collection is quite simple nowadays, and can be done via shops, the Internet or museum stores. When you first start collecting, its good to get a plastic container with compartments like the one shown above so you can keep the rocks separately this means that when you expand your collection, the rocks don't get cluttered up

Shown left is the way I lay out the rocks in one of my cases. The rocks are lain out so that each type of rock has its own compartment.

The basic rocks

What rocks should I get first?

Well, the most obvious is one you probably already have : quartz.
It is the most commonly found rock in a collection, but one of the most beautiful. When you start expanding your rock collection,You may like to get the rarer smoky or rose quartz.

Another common stone is amethyst . It is a deep purple in colour, and can be found in all rock shops and museum stores.I went to the store in the Natural History Museum in London, and was amazed at the rock shop. Not only did it have the basic rocks, but also a selection of rarer rocks. Shown below, are some of the common rocks in their order. Quartz, tiger eye, agate and amethyst

After you have collected these rocks, advance your collection by going into stores and picking the rocks that appeal to you If you have any questions, Please comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible

Kronos, My Pet SCARY Monster

2010-01-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys,
I've got a new pet monster. Unfortunately, he doesn't exist. Otherwise I would use him to "Physically Deface and Consume" my brothers. 8-D. Anyway, there is a picture of him above and I wanna know what you think of him. His name is Kronos.

Chocolate Volcano Cake.

2009-12-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WACKY MOMMY WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE CHOCOLATE VOLCANO CAKE IS THE BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER TASTED!

If you haven't tried this, Wacky Mommy, it goes very well in a bowl of cream.

2009-12-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

Day 3

It's the final day here and , as usual when you're leaving , the sun is shining , so we're going to macajuel pond (which I have previously written about) and then going home I am very

tired and it will be a relief to get back to civilisation . (:

2009-10-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

I have made my first cake for the competition......and it's........................it's....................................I'll tell you later.Which means now.It's Wacky Mommy's "pineapple upside down cake"!!!!!!!!!

Rating:10/10

Sorry we dont have photos!

2009-09-27T01:42:00.000-07:00

Okay,we've started gathering up ingredients to make cakes! Wacky mommy,as you have posted two recipes, I will decide which is better,though I think I like the chocolate volcano cake more already! Need more recipes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Everybody out there including our best-so-far cake recipifier,wacky mommy, we interrupt whatever the heck you're doing to tell you that as soon as we move into our new flat we will be testing your cake recipes to see which is best. By the way,you can also send in pie recipes. Here is one way to chop the apples.
Many thanks to the bloggers who shared their secret recipes with us.

A Little Fun For You People

2009-08-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

I am giving you people a fun job to do. It's called "GIVE ME A CAKE RECIPE AND MAKE IT GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Yes,it's a competition ,for those of you who are silly enough not to have guessed that yet. You have to comment me the best cake recipe you've got. And for those of you who want to do a bit of cheating, go to this site here. The winner of the competition will be called "da cook"by all other internetties.Results will be announced on the 1st of September.
Competition Courtesy of Sam.

2009-07-31T16:31:00.000-07:00

Day 2

I woke up early the next day and looked around my hammock and found my book. I read for a while and then went down to the river to bathe off. Dave woke up and we had breakfast and then Dave went to collect bugs. when he came back, he asked Javed and I to catch some bugs in the river. when we had caught several species we came back to camp and found Dave.

That evening we went to a different river to set up drift nets which we did not have a camp at. we reached there and set up the first net, then sat on the bank. it started to pourwithin one hour and we had to wait annother five hours. it was freezing cold. when I turned on my light, Icould see my breath. we waited for hours. Then at nine o'clock, we headed back to camp, had some food and hit the sack.

fun and toil with bugs

2009-07-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while but all this time I have been taking pictures, doing research and hiking. I have had lots of adventures since you last heard from me like having the tree that my hammock was tied to struck by lightning while I was camping.

Recently I went on a research trip with a man named Dave. Dave studies revulous (wabines), and aquatic bu gs. Dave is trying to figure out the diets of the revulous at different times in the year, and he let me and another boy to come as his assistant for three days.

Day 1

I spent a night in Brasso Seco Village, and headed out the next day. As soon as we left, the rain started to pour. When we reached camp, we set up the hammocks and cooked some food. Dave isn't much of a cook so our rations consisted mainly of canned and dehydrated foods, but, we had the most important foods [of course I always make sure I have some] CHOCOLATE and M&Ms. We set up the drift nets at around six o'clock pm, and waited. Drift nets are tough nets made of fine plastic mesh that are put in the river, and catch bugs that drift down stream during the night. we netted bugs until nine o'clock in the rain.

We went to bed at about ten o'clock that night, by which time there was thunder and lightning and it was getting worse I got into my henesee hammock and tried to sleep but the thunder was so loud I could not. I turned on my light and stated reading.lightning struck a tree right across the river. there was rumbling clash from the lightning, then an ear splitting crack as the heart of the tree snapped.

I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and a deer bolted under my hamock then there was annother crack and lightning struck the tree my hammock was tied to. There was a flash of white light ad a falling branch hit me in my face. I dropped my light and it turned off in the dark I could not find it. I lay there for an hour till I finally fell asleep.

Teva Sandals!

2009-05-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

Looking for a pair of shoes that does NOT fall off your feet and float down the darn river? A few years ago, if you said yes then I would have said "Crikey, so am I." Fortunately, a few years ago, my aunt bought me these cool Tevas.

Right now I have four stitches in my left big toe as you can see in the picture. I slipped on a piece of glass at a YOGA RETREAT!! It was the kind of place you would never suspect that some dunce would throw their piece of glass on the lawn. But the cool thing is I can still put on Tevas.(P.S. I am growing Tomato plants!!!!!!!!)

Homeschooling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by Sam

2009-05-20T04:23:00.000-07:00

Allo pepolle!!!!!!!!! WE'RE HOMESCHOOLING! Yes,I said it, HOMESCHOOLING. Victory! MWAHAHAHA!!! With the help of a few websites such as Math Playground
we have succeded in reaching the British syllabus. We have also learned alot by going to Brasso Seco (A place hidden in the northern range) by looking at things such as leeches, ants, razor grass, ti marie, moss, ferns, spit and leaves under a microscope.

Here are two more of the websites we used.
Multiplication.com
and
BBC school

The cool thing about homeschooling is that you don't have to strain your fingers writing with a pencil.
We do most of our writing on the computer.

mapepire

2009-05-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here in Trinidad we have two species of mapepire: the mapepire balsain and mapepire zanana. The scientific name for mapepire zanana is Lachesis muta muta. This fascinating species of snake is the world's largest pit viper and is the most dangerous snake in the Caribbean/South American region. This snake can grow to 12 ft. You should take caution arround this snake as it can easily kill a human. The scientific name for mapepire balsain is Bothrops atrops. This snake is more common, smaller , and its venom is less potent then that of the zanana ( thank god ) but will still kill you without medical asistance. If you are alone in the forest you should carry a snake bite kit .

Of all animals in the forest I fear the mapepire the most.

mapepire balsain.

Macajuel River Hike

2009-04-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went on a hike to a place called macajuel pool. To get there you must swim and hike down the madamas river through some incredible gorges, where the water is so deep that you cannot swim down to touch the river bed . Above is a picture of of one of the people who was on the hike with me swimming down a gorge with his bag.

We drove in along the road as far as we could before starting to walk. on the way ,I took this picture of a shinny we saw many of these on the hike but I did not take photographs of the others.
After that we saw a mapepire in the path .It was about 3 feet . I also got several photographs of it. after a long time hiking we finally reached macajuel pool. We had to jump off a waterfall to get there.If you wish to go get in touch with Carl Fitzjames at the Brasso Seco Paria Site

La Bas

2009-04-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

La Bas

There are HORRIBLY REVOLTING ODOURS and DEATHLY KILLER SMELLS from garbage,mud and muck that people pull up from smelly old wells. P.U, you hold your nose but the aroma still gets in,and makes you smell like a horribly disgusting warehouse bin

Well, smells and odours,aromas and garbage on the grass, they're disgusting,but nothing beats the stench of the La Bas.

by Sam

man-o-war!

2009-04-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

I've just come back from Mayaro, where I have been stung by a rather rude Portuguese man-o-war that has temporarily ruined my leg.

"Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it's not even an "it," but a "they." The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together." says National Geographic Kids. I discovered this when I captured a live man-o-war and placed it in a bucket of sea water. The man-o-war put it's tentacles down, felt the bottom of the bucket, pulled them up, flexed it's sail to let the wind catch it and dropped it's tentacles again to test the depth of the water. This would mean that the man-o-war was showing intelligence and as a siphonophore, without a brain should not be able to do this. I also wonder how the many cells are communicating with each other. A short while later, there was nothing in the bucket. The man-o-war seemed to have dissolved and changed into purple goop! it seems that under stress the man-o-war disintegrates.

Check out this cool video from National Geographic .

Boris, the Pink Toed Tarantula (Not Scary)

2009-03-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

After a week's patient work, I finally got Boris to walk on my hand! We are used to each other now.

(Mom's note: Me too!!!!!!!!)

Pink Toed Tarantula!

2009-03-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

I have some time to come on the computer today , so I am going to answer one of your questions. I have caught a pink toed tarantula in my mom's bedroom, so I am able to look at him for an example. Tarantulas live in humid, tropical rainforests, and eat almost anythyng. You can find out about this amazing spider here.

I was asked in comments , "if a tarantula and a baby bird fought, who would win?'' I have found a video of a goliath spider to clarify this. My tarantula would probably win in a fight against a baby bird because it has venom. He is about 10cm long, but he will grow much bigger. I am going to let him get used to his aquarium before I handle him!

Sam, Max and Thomas helped to catch food for him. We have given him flies and a lizard, but we don't think he has eaten the lizard yet. We are keeping him in the aquarium where the crayfish used to live. They were released a few weeks ago.

More on jacamars and on global warming.

2008-12-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a newspaper clipping that I am glad came out, on

how trees can help global warming.I am realy thankful to

photocopyers, otherwise I couldn't put this up.

The Dragon Dream By:Sam

2008-12-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Dangerous teeth and scary roar
Run in through my bedroom door
Amazing fire burns the bed
Gush of flame so scarlet red
Overhead I hear my mother
"Now get up chas, and wake your brother"

I was sitting in class,"Listening"to the teacher talking about math, when I got bored. "FFFlip"Over the book's cover went, and I came up with this poem. Enjoy!

Jacamars

2008-12-11T09:09:00.001-08:00

I am having problems blogging. I have a lot of homework so I do not have much time to blog. Sam spends all his computer time playing games and Max is too young to understand blogging.

I was trying to light a fire,when I looked up and saw a beautiful jacamar. These birds build their nests in the ground and eat bugs.

They are beautiful birds and I hope to see him again. I managed to get a few shots of him. Note the way he seems to "Pose" in front of the camera.

A snake feeding

2008-09-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Today I found a lora (a thin green snake) eating a large tree frog . I climbed to the top of the tree to get a closer look and realised how (as you can see in the photo) the snakeskin stretched and the scales spread out when the frog was in it's mouth. The snake may not look green and I would have agreed with you if I had not seen the real thing.

I expect you will want to know how the lora catches its prey. After seeing this one, it is not at all hard to write. The lora curles up and makes sure that the prey can't escape. It then lunges for the head. The surprised animal struggles and secretes poison but the snake is immune to the frog's defences.

Gradually, the snake unhinges it's jaws and works the finally dead frog down its throat, the animal staying there as a lump. We do not know how long it stays there. The lump eventually goes away, leaving the snake to do as it wishes.

Juniper Ink

2008-08-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Guanaguanare, thank you for your interesting question:

"Chas, Sam and Max, this is the Trinbagonian blog that I have been waiting for all my life! I have added it to my list of blogs and I will visit you often. Now, I am in need of your help. Can you tell me what is the local name of the plant that the Amerindians use to dye their skin black? The botanical name is "Genipa americana" and apparently the dye is now in demand for body tattoing. Unlike some other black dyes which are poisonous, this dye, which the Tainos called "jagua", is not. The other good thing is that it fades after 15 days which makes it perfect for temporary tattoos. I am relying on your knowledge of the rainforest to discover what Trinbagonians call this plant as I have been told that it grows in T&T."

The Trinbagonian name is just Juniper , it grows in South and Central Trinidad.
Deer and manicou eat the fruit. The dye is found in the seed of the fruit.
We will experiment in the dry season and we would be glad if you could come.
PS. do you eat freshwater fish?

This image was taken from "Native Trees of Trinidad and Tobago" by Victor Quesnel and T. Frances Farrell. The other two were taken by Chas in Freeport, Central Trinidad.

Down The Islands

2008-08-14T12:51:00.006-07:00

This summer, we went Down The Islands. This picture was taken of an Eagle Ray under the jetty at Avees in Collens Bay, Monos. Our names are Chas, Sam and Max.

This website was created because we know all about tropical rainforests and the sea around Trinidad and Tobago. We have lots of pets like fresh water fish including crustaceans. We also have many chickens. We have two pet manicous, three cats, three dogs and sometimes, we get HUGE SPIDERS and SNAKES!

If you have any questions on the rainforest or the sea, please comment and we would love to help you.