Aquaria - boys day out

The boys wanted to go to Aquaria but JY was reluctant.
So DH took the boys to Aquaria and I went shopping with JY in KLCC for 2 hours.

For once, we had a blissful time shopping minus the boys running around and hiding under the displays and locking themselves in changing rooms.

Mutant Corn

We dried and then planted sweet corn kernels from cobs we bought at the market.
The corn that grew were deformed but Fai said they were sweet and devoured everything.
Looks like corn bought market has been genetically modified and not suitable for planting.

Cool DIY Camp Gadgets

Many thanks to GC for her treasured Girl Guide jamboree notes.

Fai and I pored through it and marveled at the ingenuity and simplicity of the designs.

Why buy a tent when you can make this superb swing shelter. Just drape a mosquito net over to keep out the bloodsuckers.

Fai's sketch of a campsite

Fai was inspired to build a boat from sticks salvaged from the beach.

It floats!

A close-up of his knots and lashings. All self-taught.

Roots

Erosion + Roots = Art

Even the tree trunk has character

The boys spent the afternoon playing among the roots of this Ketapang tree

and made this tree into their warship. Roots are great for imaginative play.

Pumpkin Harvest @ Melaka

PohPoh and KongKong got a call at 8am from the middleman "I will be coming to collect the pumpkins at 5pm today!"

So we rushed down to Melaka to experience pumpkin harvesting.

By the time we arrived, the pumpkins had already been placed in piles along the dirt road.

Ean helping to put the pumpkin into a bag. For ease of weighing and collection, the pumpkins were put into sacks.

Fai found parts of a male and female flower.

Fai collecting plants to plant at home

This plant caught Han's fancy. He dug it out and placed in a black planting bag.

Fai's pet millipedes

Pumpkins that were ready for harvest had a dull orange hue.

Unripe pumpkin was green and had a shiny sheen.

The boys could easily identify ripe pumpkins by the end of the day.

Something interesting there, boys?

PohPoh bonding with Ean over pumpkins

Pumpkins ready for collection

The pumpkins were weighed and thrown to the back of a lorry.

OUCH!

The culprit - smaller stingray in the middle.

4 nets were set, the 2 more experienced fishermen, were summoned back to KL leaving DH to tend to the nets.

DH gung-ho as always went to retrieve the catch with just a pail.

As he tried to pry out the barb with his fingers, the stingray whipped its tail and embedded its barb deep into DH's hand.

The barb is serrated and when he tried to pull it out, he felt an excruciating pain and body went into shock. So he left it there and drove to the Klinik Kesihatan.

The kids were told to wait outside the Emergency Room

The doctor was friendly and jovial. DH had to wait minutes before being tended to. Service here is amazing.

The doctor gave DH a jab of local anesthesia and removed the barb with ease. He has done 3 such cases so far.

The kids comforting DH.

It's time for the pumpkins to 'kahwin'

The boys giving the pumpkins a helping hand.

Male flower

Female Flower

Remove petals on male flower to expose stamen

Rubbing the insides of the female flower.

Successful fertilization!