Cane Toad Coin Purse

I am positive that the satisfaction I have today is likely to be lost upon 99% of the general population (Australians excepted...), yet I am going to share this with you anyways. Yesterday I had the joyous surprise of receiving a cane toad coin purse! Now I am sure most of you are already asking "Who the F&!$ cares?" Well, this is where my years of biology and ecology come shining through, hand-in-hand with my slightly twisted sense of humour. Why should I be happy to get a cane toad purse? Well, aside from the fact that the skin of the cane toad makes incredibly strong, tough and durable leather goods, I also have the personal pleasure of knowing that one of these little shitheads has died in the process. Harsh? Not really. Read on, unless your an Aussie. You all know this tale well...
The cane toad was introduced up in Queensland, Australia to "save" their precious sugar cane crops from destruction by the sugar cane bettle. Turned out the toads didn't fancy eating those beetles, so they just started eating everything else. And, like God suggests in Genesis, it was fruitful and multiplied. To make matters worse, the toads apparently don't taste too good themselves, so you can't even count on the dingos to eat 'em. Could have something to do with those poisonous throat glands. So this ugly little invader has since hopped its way all across Queensland and is working its way into the neighbouring states.

So my introduction to the cane toad was in my first-year ecology course, too many years ago. Our class was shown one of the most entertaining pieces of educational videos I have ever been exposed to, starring none other but the cane toad. In a moment of artistic clarity known to few producers, the movie was titled "Cane Toad" (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130529/). The quintessential scene is when a VW van is filmed driving down a country road, swerving left and right, squishing cane toads. Each successful hit was followed by a very gratifying "pop". The film is a great documentary and seems to highlight the quirky people of Australia as much as the evil toad.
And hence my absolute joy to receive the cane toad coin purse! Finally, I have the chance to inflict a small strike against the ecological terror known as cane toad. And so, from here on, I will carry my loonies and toonies with pride inside the hide of a dried toad.

So, first off, Happy Canada Day! A little belated, yes. But better late than never! I decided to join the mega-family for the long weekend and was pleasantly reminded that while my family might be a little rough around the edges, they sure know how to have a good time.


Shuswap Lake was the best place to be over the scorching hot weekend. With temperatures creeping into the late 30 degrees Celsius, almost every minute of the day was spent by the water. With a motorboat and a few jet-skiis at our disposal, we were never short of ways to escape the heat. A short boat ride brought us to Copper Island and some nice cliffs to jump off. Nothing like standing 15 metres above the water being heckled by a bunch of goofs in motorboats, just waiting for someone to do an accidental belly-flop. Oh well, I've never been to big on peer-pressure, so I kept things simple. No backflips for me.

The rest of the time was spent laughing, drinking and getting told off by the rent-a-rangers who patrol the place. Of course, I know I was occassionally a bit loud, but then what can I say? My voice travels. It certainly re-affirms that big, busy campgrounds are not for me. I'm not a party animal, but I do like to be able to drink a beer on the beach and stay up past 11:00.

Finger-waving park operators aside, it was still a great way to celebrate our national birthday! It's not every day that we can drag our family together from all over two provinces.