They may look strange, and have very sharp beaks, but to our youngest son, they are always worth the detour. Photo / Ilona Hanne
They may look strange, and have very sharp beaks, but to our youngest son, they are always worth the detour. Photo / Ilona Hanne
Opinion:
Ostriches. Over the years these ungainly, ridiculous-looking creatures have taken our family to many places, from African safaris to California, plus numerous zoos and animal parks both here and overseas.
One place I didn't think they would take me, however, was to our own shed. But that is exactlywhere my husband and I have spent many evenings recently, drilling holes in tyres, cutting through old trampoline legs and spending far too many hours turning old copies of the Stratford Press into papier-mâché.
No, we haven't been indulging in some creative form of marriage therapy (sidenote - anyone who suggests a shared arts and crafts project as a way to strengthen a marriage clearly has no idea how intense a discussion on the correct shade of pink spray paint for ostrich legs can get ...) but we have been building a scarecrow. A scareostrich to be precise.
Our scareostrich (which is potentially more steampunk than scarecrow considering it contains more metal than straw) is one of 69 such creations entered in this year's Stratford Scarecrow Trail, which is currently under way.
Now in its fifth year, the trail runs alongside the region's various garden festivals and encourages people to explore the district on a scarecrow hunt.
It's the first time our family has entered a scarecrow, let alone a scareostrich (and will probably be the last given the aforementioned paintgate), but the scarecrow trail itself has been an enjoyable reason to get out and explore our district in recent years.
Our youngest was all smiles when George the ScareOstrich was completed in time for the 2021 Stratford Scarecrow Trail. Photo / Ilona Hanne
They are our youngest child's favourite animal, or bird if you want to be specific (even the Greek philosopher Aristotle did not know whether to classify it as a bird or a mammal, so I make no apology for referring to these long-necked, small-headed, giant-beaked creatures as animals rather than birds at times), and he is, quite simply, obsessed with them.
They have featured in his entry for a school speech competition, his miniature scene for this year's school mission day is a rainbow ostrich safari, he has had ostrich-themed birthday cakes, he owns possibly every cuddly ostrich ever created (there aren't exactly lots of plush ostriches stocking the toy shelves around town) and his obsession with them has led to some interesting detours in our travels over the years.
While it might not be surprising we have seen them in Africa, where our detour took us to Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the world located near the Swartberg and Outeniqua Mountains, his ostrich obsession has also taken us to Solvang, a small Danish city in California's Santa Ynez Valley.
The city, originally the home of the Chumash people, became home to many Danish settlers in the early 1900s and is now packed with Danish architecture, Danish bakeries, even a half-size bronze replica of Denmark's famous Little Mermaid statue. And ostriches, lots of ostriches, thanks to the city also being home to OstrichLand USA, where over 100 ostriches can be hand-fed by the brave (ie, the smallest child).
Covid-19 hasn't stopped us travelling to see ostriches, our youngest son was thrilled to hold a baby ostrich when visiting Feilding last year. Photo / Ilona Hanne
If it wasn't for his love of the giant birds, we would never have visited Solvang, or even possibly heard of it, and we would have missed out on a lot, not just the ostriches, but eating aebleskiver (a kind of apple dumpling or pancake the area is famous for), as well as far too many Danish pastries and exploring the Hans Christian Andersen Museum.
His love of ostriches is his brother's fault really, as we first "met" them when we were in Africa looking for meerkats - the eldest child's favourite animal (seriously, why can't my children like animals more easily found in the soft toy aisle of the average toy shop?).
Meanwhile, our daughter's love of giraffes has led to us staying in accommodation in Africa that had those creatures visiting us for breakfast and drinking out of the swimming pool. (Her love of cats means we also currently own eight felines, of which seven are rescued former feral ones, but that's a whole other column.)
Over the years we have taken many detours as a family, inspired by something one of our children is interested in, or passionate about. From looking for hobbits in Matamata and Thomas the Tank Engine in Auckland (Glenbrook Vintage Railway), along with holding baby ostriches (Kowhai Grove ostrich farm, Feilding) to searching out ostriches in Oudtshoorn and Solvang, or visiting the Yoda fountain in San Francisco, those detours have formed some of our happiest memories as a family.
The Yoda Fountain at Lucasfilm in San Francisco was a worthwhile detour for our Star Wars loving children. Photo / Ilona Hanne
As parents, it can be tempting to always take the shortest, most direct route in travelling and in daily life, but some of life's best moments can be found when we stray off that straight road in favour of a winding detour. Instead of always rushing our children from school to ballet to touch rugby to dinner to bed, it's worth taking time sometimes to explore those detours, be it stopping at the park for a quick go on the swings on the way home to going on a scarecrow hunt this weekend.
We learn from our children as much as they learn from us (did you know an ostrich can beat a lion in a fight?) but one of the best lessons anyone can learn is that life is about the journey and the memories we make on the way.
So whatever your child's obsession is, consider making it part of your family fun, whether that means lightsaber battles in the lounge, dressing up as princesses for a picnic, crazy science experiments in the kitchen or even planning a scarecrow themed to their favourite thing for next year's trail. Just be careful when choosing paint colours if you want to avoid any marital disharmony perhaps.
Need to know: The Stratford Scarecrow Trail runs from October 29 to November 14. Trail maps are available from Stratford Library or online: Stratford.govt.nz.
