After another viewing of Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks”, it was time to Go Fly a Kite. It’s a great movie about how the movie “Mary Poppins” came to be. When they sing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” you just want to! As a kid I always purchased a Dragon Kite. I lived in Lawndale, California and there was usually a breeze from the ocean to get my kite soaring. At the Park we have gusty winds which aren’t helpful for maintaining your kite in the air. It will shoot up and just when you think you’ve succeeded, the wind stops and your kite takes a nose dive. Good Grief! You can relate to how Charlie Brown felt with his Kite Flying Adventures.
Antonio the Pterodactyl was looking forward to flying his Pterosaur Kite. Careful Antonio, don’t get too close to the Prehistoric Kite Eating Tree! Pamela the Pachycephalosaurus looks away in horror. She can’t watch to see it Antonio’s Kite succumbs to the Kite Eating Tree. It’s ok Pamela, I saved it! Chorisia Bombacaceae – Chorisia Speciosa (floss silk tree) is the variety here at the Park. I refer to them as Dinosaur Trees. Look at them! Spikes like an Ankylosaur! And they can be pretty scary at night too!
They have pink lily shaped flowers in the fall and produce large seed pods filled with silk and… Well, that’s a story for another day.
As you can see Charlie Brown isn’t the only one that must deal with Monstrous Kite Eating Trees. They’ve been around since Prehistoric Times.
Kevin and I decide to take a trip to the beach seeking the best Kite Flying conditions. Antonio was off visiting other Pterosaur friends. He gave us permission to fly his kite. Antonio will visit the beach another day. Oxnard, California has some great beaches and it’s not to far away for a quick trip. It was very windy and a steady wind making it perfect for kiting. And No Kite Eating Trees for miles!
The exact origin of Kiting is not known. It can be traced back 3,000 years to China. The invention of the kite has been claimed by 5th century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban. In 549 AD it was recorded that a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission. Kites have been used to measure distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling and communications for military operations. The earliest know kites were flat and usually rectangular. The development of Tailless Kites incorporated a bowline. Kites were decorated with mythological motifs, legendary figures and some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds. From China, kites were introduced to Cambodia, Thailand, India, Japan, Korea and the Western World. Fighter kites evolved after the introduction to India. Kites were even used in religious ceremonies to send prayers to the gods.
Kites arrived towards the end of the 13th century in Europe by Marco Polo. In 1752 Benjamin Franklin published his kite experiment to prove lightning was caused by electricity. Kites were used by the Wright Brothers as they developed their first airplane. The period of 1860 to around 1910 became the “Golden Age of Kiting”!
Thanks to Wikipedia for the history lesson. Much more information about Kiting is waiting for you on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite
YouTube has many videos on “How to Make a Kite”. I think I will check them out in the future when I decide to make a special kite for the Park.
The Pterosaur kite I found on www.amazon.com DinoSoars has many different styles to satisfy your Dinosaur needs.
“Encouraging the Appreciation of Art and Education through the Inspiration of Dinosaurs”
Paul & Prehistoric Pals
Your feedback is appreciated, Thank you!