In April, my College Class and I were sent on our class final to document, study and eat the trees and verdure of the land of New Zealand. I was overjoyed, for it gave me the perfect excuse to visit my old friends the Moa Birds, whom I had not had the pleasure of watching in some time. We all eagerly got on our rafts and floated forthrightly to the mighty mountain uplands, and absolutely delightful swampy lowlands of that country. The trip, as it always is, was long, but we all left from our Native State of Colorado, USA, and thus, had brought a healthy supply of our favorite Picea pungens to eat along the trip.
We each had our own raft; I did not travel with anyone on my raft but we had each other in sight the whole time. When the time came in Early May to arrive in New Zealand, we did not seek our friends The Moa Birds right away; and as usual no one came to greet us, but I was not alarmed as I have been to New Zealand before, and knew where to go to find them. Instead, as we were all tired of Picea pungens by three weeks of nothing but, my class and I eagerly stomped about until we found some familiar Cyatheaceae, which warmed my heart and reminded me of my childhood, since they had been around since my mother found me while she was eating a cabbage patch, and I was but a young plate lizard, just barely out of my shell. They are the tallest family of surviving ferns from the Jurassic ( or, possibly the Cenozoic, though I do vividly remember them being pointed out to me by my mother when I was young. ) And we all had to stand on our hind legs to reach the best leaves, and sometimes knock them down, but it was worth it. When you are almost 140 Million and 15 you will understand the attraction to nostalgia and longing for the past. When we had eaten our fill we all stomped forthrightly over the hills to the uplands, in search of The Moa Birds. We had seen some Haast's Eagles circling above as our rafts arrived on the North end of the South Island, a nature preserve and National State Park named after a famous mammal named Abel Tasman. ( 1603 ~ 1659 ). Along the way we found and heartily consumed an abundance of Alsophila colensoi, these were in the lovely swamps on the North end of the Island. Dicksoniaceae, another delicious swamp dwelling fern, which I am sure my cousin Wuerhosaurus remembers from his youth since they have been here since the late Cretaceous Period. Cibotium was itself part of this family until the mammals classified Cibotium as a family of its own in 2016. Either way they are both very delicious. I always like to look for and consume some Dicksonia fibrosa, while in New Zealand, since it only grows in this country. I have a real fondness for the fern family, and in the last few million years or so have become a real connoisseur. Likewise with the Dicksonia squarrosa, which the native mammals use as decorative plants in their gardens; they also build fences out of them from time to time.
It was then, when we had finished the Polypodiophyta and ready to move on to the Pinophyta when we encountered a grazing herd of The Moa Birds in a clearing. We all agreed, having the strong desire to evolve into birds someday, ( its a bird hip thing, maybe you wouldn't understand unless you have bird shaped hips. ) that we should sit and be quiet and simply observe them for some time. This was a very relaxing thing. I find watching birds to be one of the most calming activities one can undertake; whether we are enjoying their beauty in the moment or dreaming of the day we will evolve feathers and wings and fly away it is one of the things I enjoy most in my life. I never tell my classmates about my wishes to evolve into a bird, for they are very proud of being 6 ton, 9 foot tall and 30 foot long plate lizards with cool, spiky tails and spiff, sexy plates. They would probably laugh at me. Maybe they secretly have the same dream, but I am too shy to ask.
Finally I decided we should let the Moas know we were watching them, so I stomped ( as quietly and carefully as someone can stomp when they are 6 tons, ) and since I was successful they were not in any way alarmed. I was greeted heartily.
"Why, Stegosaurus !! How nice to see you !! How long have you been watching us ? When did you arrive?" Moa Bird asked me.
"Not too long ago, friend Moa Bird .....I am here with my entire college class. We are studying the trees of New Zealand for our final exam and it is very fortunate that I have friends here because I can learn and visit you at the same time."
"Delightful. Welcome," said Giant Moa. "Call your class out of the bushes. Might I suggest we all pass the time by digging for roots with our claws .....?"
"Oh what a great idea !! I wouldn't have thought of it but we do have that in common. I love to dig for roots with my claws. Are you sure you don't have a mammal brain, thinking of such great ideas as this?" asked Stegosaurus.
If Moa Birds could smile, ( which they can't ), Moa Bird would have smiled. Moa said, "No, Stegosaurus. Just a bird brain." I called out my class, and they all came out of the forest, some grazing right away, others already digging for roots, having heard our conversation. The arrival of the other Stegosaurids caused some circling Haast's Eagles to think twice about eating the peaceful Moa Birds. I like to watch the Haast's Eagles too, they have a majestic wingspan I'm envious of, but I don't like the fact that they are fond of eating my Moa friends. Its too bad they aren't vegetarians also.
We enjoyed the rest of our time in New Zealand; our class final also required us to consume some of the native Angiospermae, and generally I like flowers, they are one of the greatest inventions of modern times. But today in the swamps, there were a lot of insects about, and I really didn't feel like getting the insects in my eyes and under my scales. However, I needed to put up with it in order to complete my final and get a good grade. To this end we found and consumed Dodonaea viscosa, Coprosma acutifolia, ( another lovely plant native to this land ), Coprosma arborea, which also bears delicious fruit, Cordyline, and Dracophyllum. We remained until the first week in May, and when we were about to get back on our rafts headed for Colorado, the Moa Birds surprised us by asking if they'd be able to come back with us and visit America for a while. "We haven't traveled in a while, and just as you enjoy our native plants, there are some plants in America that don't grow here," said Moa Bird.
"Of course you are welcome," said Stegosaurus. So, we were able to enjoy the company of the Moas in their native land for about three weeks, and then they got on rafts and joined us in America for a while. I was so delighted. My life is so blessed to have so many good friends around me, and so many rich, full enjoyable adventures.
