Cory U of CUExperiments
I can be bribed with coffee...
CUExperiments is a collective of experimental projects I've personally designed & created. Each experiment is fabricated through the inspirations of everyday living.
-Cory U
Two things I made an effort to do at the zoo was race to see the tigers play & feed the elephants. I had friends rave about how cool it was to feed the elephants so it was top on the list, but pretty well the last activity of the day.
It was so funny seeing a tiger get his daily activity playing with basically garbage bags on sticks. If you think about how easily these animals can destroy things, it only makes sense to use cheep materials… But watching a tough cat attack a plastic jug into a pool of water is nothing less than entertaining.
Feeding the elephants was pretty cool, but they can be slimy animals. You walk up, grab a big chunk of fruit or veg, hold out your hand & feed an elephant! First up was “Bimbo”… Yes, that was his name. Bimbo had clean eating habits & was a real dry feed. We should’ve stuck to Bimbo. Decided to feed the other two elephants too & was surprised to find one slobbered & the other spewed slime. I will always remember walking with my hands straight in front of me all the way to the washroom to give a proper scrub. Worse than dog slobber!
Other favourites of the day? Seeing the wombats, hanging out with Nakita & earlier that day, my headband friends Carmen & Amber. I’ve definitely said it before, but how CUTE are Wombats?!
NEXT UP: Day Fourteen at Byron Bay
-Cory U
PS Australia Zoo responded back with this: “Nice post. By the way, when feeding the elephants, that’s not slobber or slime… it’s snot :p” I’d still rather think it was just slobber & slime.
You don’t realize the different restrictions in states until you travel through them. Down in the sanctuary in Victoria, the kangaroos were fenced in & Koalas cannot be touched. Here in Queensland you can even hold koalas.
I was totally stoked to finally hold a Koala, but after seeing them relieve themselves whenever & being passed around from one person to another I kinda gave up on that goal. Seeing them comfy in their own trees & being able to pet them was good enough for me. Petting both animals that day, I can easily say that koalas are softer than kangaroos.
Also found out a day later at another sanctuary that Koalas sound like squeak toys! One was struggling to stay up in a tree & gave a cute squeaky yelp. So cute!
NEXT UP: Feeding elephants & watching tigers play
-Cory U
I always find the diversity of zoos to be a little odd. They’ve got farm animals that steal your sunglasses (it happened) next to camels. Then a really awesome creature called a bearcat looking like a Jim Henson muppet beside a dingo that looks like a real chill dog. Then there’s colourful birds near birds with dinosaur feet… & just a walk away from that, an African safari. So random.
In case you’re wondering, the bird with dinosaur feet is called a cassowary. They’re terrifyingly odd creatures.
NEXT UP: Kangaroos & Koalas
-Cory U
Right at the beginning of the zoo stands a monument of Steve Irwin & family. It’s crazy to think how long ago this was & that little Bindi isn’t so little anymore either. Besides the kookaburra & a few other birds, it was mostly reptiles to start.
Strange enough there were american alligators to hold. All the way to Australia & they have an animal I easily came across walking around Florida while I works at Walt Disney World. I mean, where’s the crocodiles to hold?! We did get to sit on a giant reproduction crocodile though; still can’t believe that’s life-size!
Had to grab the blurry photo of the Komodo dragon for family back home. (My mother’s a bit of a Matthew Broderick fan.) The Freshman, anyone?
The cutest was watching to tortoises eating breakie together.
NEXT UP: More animals
-Cory U
Australia is home to the most venomous snakes in the world! This is not one of them, but still an Aussie native. We did however see a poisonous snake lying on the rocks on our walk the next day.
Next stop: The Beginning of Day Two of the Great Ocean Roadtrip & a video; Part One
-Cory U PS Nick this was totally for you. Beats Paul doesn’t he? (Nick’s response)
Sometimes I think I share more photos of Dana than of me… We both got to hold a baby Joey Wallaby before the end of our first day. Still can’t believe how much he wasn’t scared to be passed around by all of us; I think it helped that he was being fed. Again, too cute!
Next up: Something I did just for Brother Nick
-Cory U
I was so excited to spot this little Joey that my double dimples came out instantly. My left side is where it really shows though, so you miss out this time round. But look how cute this little guy is! It was tricky getting a good photo because Mama was hungry & baby was shy. Too cute!
Next up: Baby Wallaby! Are they also called Joeys?
-Cory U
Everybody meet my new favourite animal; The Wombat! I want to somehow bring one of these cute pudgy animals home as a pet. I can’t believe it’s taken this long to see a real one (there was that Statue on Swanston St). I’m in love & I want one… Maybe I’ll just crochet one!
Other than that there were also Aussie deers, creepy emus, & albino wallabies. I hadn’t thought that albino wallabies existed until we saw them hopping around.
Apparently these wallabies a really special breed & have been taken in by this place for their protection. Breeding two albino wallabies together can just cause a mess of illnesses & diseases which tend to happen in the wild. So they’ve been taken to be separated here to breed with others where the albino gene can be passed on through generations instead. (I’m learning a lot on this trip!)
Next up: A baby Joey!
-Cory U
A good while back we spent the day with our “Canadian Tour Guides” & headed to the Healsville Sanctuary. You can read up about our day HERE & HERE but here’s a little video to go along with it now too!
It’s pretty well all just animals & commentary; but you do meet Kevin the talking & dancing bird, & watch a boomerang get thrown on a very windy day. (This guy’s got skills!)
Our only disappointment (besides not petting a Koala) was not being able to get any footage of the fast swimming platypus. It was too dark in there & they move way too fast.
Tidbits of Aussie Animals (by Connect3hree)
-Cory U
“We jumped around like kangaroos & then saw some kangaroos. We finally came across some wallabies. Spotted afraidy echidna roam by & dingoes sleeping in their den. AND we saw some cute koalas!”
These are the second set of photos from the Healsville Sanctuary.
Look how close we came to the wallabies!
-Cory U
Too much happened in Healsville to fit on one page! Koalas, wallabies, awesome birds & even more kangaroos; how the heck do you even try to jumble all that awesomeness on one page?! It’s just not possible! (Page two HERE)
The four of us headed to the Healsville Sancutary to see a whole lot of awesome in just a few hours. We were on a mission & our main mission was koalas. Photo brochures make it look like you can have a “magical moment” & pet these cute furry creatures. Don’t be fooled. You can’t! There a VERY few places that will let you do so, & this is not one of them.
Out of disappointment we almost turned around to drive an hour back without seeing anything; thank goodness we didn’t!
We saw birds swoop & soar in front of our eyes. We spotted lyre birds (still want to hear one). We walked through exhibits of cute nocturnal animals. We saw platypuses swim too quickly to take any photos. We jumped around like kangaroos & then saw some kangaroos. We finally came across some wallabies. Spotted afraidy echidna roam by & dingoes sleeping in their den. AND we saw some cute koalas!
My goodness those creatures look so cuddly & lazy. They are definitely a cute sight to see (& one they fear may not be around to see much longer).
-Cory U
PS This also marks the first photo of us with Cassie & Steve altogether. How do you live, take tons of pictures around each other, & forget a group shot for a month straight? We have no idea!
I LOVE my cousin way too much. I’m also jealous she got to do this without me. What a beautiful giraffe & an even more awesome girl. Love you Nomers!
-Cory U
MISSION COMPLETE - Feed a giraffe before I die.
I finished my latest WIP & I’m so excited to be able to carry my little Baby Elephant experiment around with me in its full form.
After picking colours, making many note book sketches & lots of doodles I got to working on lots & lots of stitches. Tiny tight-knit single crochet stitches to be exact. I wanted to make a durable case since it’ll be protecting some hefty cargo, so no flimsy hook sizes or stitches were used. Averaging 3 minutes per row & at least 125 rows, this iPad Envelope is complete.
I plan to make a custom Etsy posting eventually, but in the mean time you can contact me if you’d be interested in one of your own. Have I mentioned on tumblr that I’ve created a facebook page now?
-Cory U
How awesome is this mohawk? I wonder what hair products he uses…
On Tuesday, I showed the first steps of my newest Experiment. Here’s the next part of CUE’s creative process:
Version one of my Baby Elephant Experiment is complete! I’m pretty happy with the product so far but there’s a couple things I want to change before I’m 100% happy. I’ve done a bit of editing here & there along the way but I never really know until it’s done. I LOVE the fact that with crochet you can make mistakes & unravel yarn whenever you want & it won’t affect the final project. Such a great medium to experiment with!
I really think he’d look a little cuter with a shorter body & the ear could be more round at the back. Guess it’s “back to the drawing board”!
Check back Saturday evening for another Baby Elephant Experiment update!
-Cory U
PS. Still taking in suggestions for what the project should become.
