Ride Swim Sleep

A pleasant day after yesterday so we started out by riding the Drysdale Circuit.  This time we stopped at the cafe in Curlewis.  Two other tables got their coffee first who ordered after us. We were told that the serving of tables is not necessarily in the order of who orders. If you know what I mean.  Doesn't sound right to me.  We proceeded onto the train station, then the Train tunnel and back to Drysdale. I also immediately went down to the beach with the new snorkel. This time I had it positioned better so the breathing was freer.  Lots of suspended grass though after last nights wind.

Curlewis Lookout

Pyramid Teabag and one Martha (Muffin)

Snorkel Set

I have been hanging out to try the new Snorkel Set.  I went earlier around 9:00am as the forecast was for a brute of a day. We got to 41° it is now 33°.  The main thing is that the flippers work and stay on my feet. The breathing tube was putting me off. It is designed to go on the left side of your face where I was always placing it on the right previously. Also there is a blocking cap when you breath whereas I am used to unobstructed breathing.  It's only the first go and I may try combining bits from old sets. 

Once a year

We are seeing many once a year activists. On the way over to the Collendina brunch there were many once a year bike riders on the road.  The old van is still standing although a few more gaps have opened up in the side panels. Joan has declared the Taylors official owners except they haven't signed anything. Seems Joan is getting a bit confused in her 80's.  They will fix up the paperwork this week and the two year van sale saga will be over.  Mick is going to seal the gaps with the magic silver tar tape.  We observed our first road rage car chase just now as the smaller car was able to do a wheelie 360 in our T intersection whilst the chasing King Cab had to three point turn to get around ,so the smaller car was able to speed off with a screech of wheels.  The last once a year activity was the threesome who labored over a giant canoe. They took it all the way down and half an hour later brought it all the way back up.

Our third brunch in three days

Canussance

Asher Rides an Alligator

I have two Alligator stories from Christmas Day now that I have some film editing time.  These dovetail nicely.

A Ferry tale

The clean up took two hours to vacate by 10:00am but we were ready by 9:30am. So in plenty of time for the brunch of bacon eggs toast and more bacon eggs toast. The Quinn car was the most impressive Santa effort I have seen this year. After various games of UNO and babies and Smart Ass (Question Game) and more babies we ran out of time for any beaching.  We thought 50 mins to go, maybe we can get the 2:00pm ferry. That is the Ferry Tale.  23km took 1hr 20 min but we did get the 3:00pm so made it home around 4:30pm.  Just in time to sit on this deck.

In like Quinn

Asher drives it home

                                                        Now that is a meat ball!

The Spit is a Hit

Spitting takes some skill and a lot of preparation. You need the right environment. Enough room for it to draw back and judging the volume before hand is essential. It also depends on whether you want leftovers or not. 250g per person is a guide so this 5 kilo ball was just enough for everyone. James and Heidi have planned this to perfection. Then there is the five or six hours of the rotation over the specially chosen coal lumps.  Nothing like a good spit to end the day.

Heat gun starter

Chicken and pork on a big fork

Noisy Deck what the Heck

Slide Show extraodinaire

The NAGA Award

I think the the award should be shared equally between all the golfers although the preceding and trailing groups seemed it bit worse.  The number of balls that were lost was numerous but by the time the ninth hole came there were genuine birdie chances.  The scorecard is laid out below so there can be no arguments.  The tallies were JO 49 JA 54 D 56 P 49 T 52 C 60

9th hole birdie chances

NAGA for you

Asher wears the Sting

The Safety Beach house here is quite big with a nicely fenced paddock to keep the kids in. The drive was OK as long as you kept away from DFO on Boxing Day.  We have three bedrooms occupied and Laura in the lounge.  The leftovers were polished off over at the Clancy van and quite a few drinks disappeared.  This mornings round of golf could be a bit slow.  Asher lasted well despite her run in with a bee which left a sting in her foot but there were no lasting side effects.

tub table

Punch the air like you just don't care

more presents

Asher balls it up

We managed to fit in a bit more food after lunch but it was not til around 8:00pm.  Laura did one of her commuting plane flights to arrive just in time. The pud travelled well considering its trip from Geelong and the heat and transferring between Nana's fridge then the car then to Daniel and Bianca,s house.  The Jack and Josh, Ash and Quinn poem went well and the Pyramid of Balls contemplation tent is a winner.

My first tent

SkyWays lunch

This has been a bit of a new Christmas arrangement by having lunch at a hotel.  We were not sure about 250 people at the one venue and that was just downstairs. In the end it was a good idea. No mess, no cooking, no cleanup.  There was plenty of food and many different choices. It was buffet all you can eat style.  I would vote the Turkey as the best cut for next time, although next year we are eating at the retirement village. HoHo.  Santa put in an appearance and we need to be vigilant from now on with grandchildren on the scene as we had no idea that Santa had presents for all the children.  I am sending this post from Debbie's new machine and I notice the media from my camera will not slot into this new laptop as it will only take the micro sized media.

complete with bonbons

Chrismata Dentata

Turns out I was the last customer for the dentist after they jigged their schedule to get me in.  I had to see a different one as Ricky Muk was not available. But no problem she filled it up but warned that I should not crunch anything very hard on that tooth ever. Not sure how you eat to avoid one tooth. All this for just $88.  We spent the rest of the time on the deck and doing some packing for the three day Christmas layover.

Clifton Springs Bistro

We did the beach walk to the golf club for lunch yesterday.  This is the first time we have walked it to actually sit down for lunch. The steak sandwich is a winner although I have a tooth problem now, which I have squeezed a Christmas Eve appointment for this afternoon.  Most of this tooth seems to have gone missing. In the mean time I finished a book called Warlock. It is a Derring Do Egyptian adventure with no holds barred.  I had suspicions of reading it before and then on Page 283 there was my own writing previously defining a word that I had not heard of.  Now I write my initials in when they are read.  I think I may have even mentioned it in this blog some years back.

Rakumba

It is a 20 min walk to Rakumba from our place and it is an over the top Christmas presentation and if I had my Grinch hat on the other residents probably dread the crowds and it is a court, not a thru street. With my Grandpa hat on this would be a good place to take Asher.  We deposited $6 in gold into their bucket but that is nothing compared to the $000s they won in prizes from the Geelong Advertiser.  Walking the streets at night without footpaths is a tricky business especially with this place being a car/kiddie magnet. Most people walk on the road.

H Payne reserve

The other day we took Asher for a walk down the end of their street to Payne Reserve.  43 yar ago that park was different because I had my 21st birthday party there and there was a building or a hall with a stage and a kitchen area that I can remember.  It was a bit of a country knees up affair but there is no sign of any kind of construction other than a toilet block.  I had a look at Google Earth and the photos only go back to 2000 but that means sometime in the 24 yar between 1976 and 2000, somebody made off with a building. Unless I am in the wrong place. I looked for some other photos and can only find two which were taken inside.

Someone must have other photos?

I found the old MMBW plans that I used to work with.  This one shows why there is a Reserve (circled) as West Breen creek used to flow thru it.  So it would have been filled in and a pipe placed underneath.  But does not show any building in the lot to the North.

This reserve is a Payne

Percy Cherry

Went for another ride as it was amazingly cool after yesterdays 40°.  I have a mostly off road circuit around Drysdale that you can spend a leisurely hour riding along. I will perfect it more when the various road works are complete. I came across an information display about Percy Cherry. He was born in Drysdale in 1895 so 18 yar later he was ripe for WWI.  He lasted three years before being hit by a shell in a town called Cagnicourt. He is buried nearby.  We have visited an American cemetry in the area but not Australian. I need to add that to my list.

View over Clifton Springs

Garden Heat

The Japanese Weeper got its own shade cloth roof today in preparation for the  44° that has been forecast.  I saw some 48s is SA yesterday so maybe it will get that hot. We also culled some lemons and had them out side at the front gate. Most of them disappeared after a few days, some were as big as footballs.  I did the swim earlier today and just as well because the windows have the telltale bug population so it would be nasty over there right now (4:00pm)

Lemon Scent

Asher Digs the Dirt

This baby sitting business is fairly complex. I end up having three different swims in three different places in 24 hours.  Throw in two bike rides and a walk to the park and I was ready for the afternoon nap.  Asher is a bit of a aquanaut so living over the road from a high standard pool is going to suit her.  I remember going to the Pacoe pool almost daily during summer and there was talk of closing it down. 

School kids were hogging this

Asher says splasher

She needed a bath after this lot

Big Ships

We get all manner of ships at all times but this one was honking his horn earlier this morning.  But those very small fishermen get up early as well.  The Bay was a flat sheet so I just had to try the swim again today and for the first time I remembered the ear plugs.  My friend the banjo shark was there again snuffling around the grassy stuff.

Proper beach day

Hooray. Spent three hours being entertained on the beach by various parties and there were not many dogs  around as well. The attached film has proof that I can swim between the groynes albeit with snorkel and flipper assistance.  The 2nd part of the film depicts bikini girls A and muscle man B and mimicans C ( Is that a word?).  The water was clear but no large fish to report. We did set a new record in the water tennis with 75 consecutive hits.  It has been suggested that leaving comments has become more difficult. So if a few comments could be left then we can test out if it is the blogger end or the user accounts that may be reading this blog.  There have not been any comments for a couple of months so I need to see if there is a problem at this end.

minute shells

Towing the Line or Two

The sun is out and so are the boats.  This time there was also more towing but of the inflatable style. I guess the design is such that the ropes never cross over. You hope.  I was also hoping I had finished going to the Doc for prostate follow ups.  He says everything is going great so we'll make them six monthly appointments now. Groan.  Before we make them yearly! groan groan.  And we will need more pre-visit blood letting each time. More groan.  I did my swim this afternoon with very clear water.  The resident large ray was in his usual spot. They have tails and dorsal fins like sharks but no need to wet yourself.

Street Party

I missed the Christmas street gathering last year but I made it this time around.  It is not one of those one's where you block off the street but a convenient garage centrally located. For some reason I was nominated as photographer but there are only so many photos you can take inside a garage.

Kay & John hosts

Apricot Killer

I dismantled the apricot tree and dug it out.  The ground was fertile and the root system seemed to be well splayed out with some deeper penetration around 40cm.  I did spy a potential culprit. there were two crawling burrowing caterpillar like bugs nestled among the root system.  There size was small compared to the tree but could they have poisoned it some how?  I found the following entry

Japanese Beetle

Adult is a metallic-green and brown beetle, which skeletonizes leaves. Larvae are cream-colored grubs that feed on turf roots prior to maturity. Turf pest-control may help reduce grub populations; check turf product labels for timing and control of grubs. Traps are an option for luring adult beetles.

This description seems to fit.

Happy Prostate day

It has been one year since the Prostate incident and before it all happened it was suggested that one year later, significant healing would have taken place.  The year is up and there have been numerous pills, tests, blood letting and injections.  I'm hoping that Monday will be the last quarterly follow up that I have to do. 

South West Cape

I have another set of digitised photos on display. This was a walk to the bottom of Tassie and the only time I can lay claim to being a Cape Crusader.  Don't have an exact date but during the late 1990s. This was one of those fly in, walk, fly out missions, by landing on a remote beach.  I can remember being within sight of the very bottom but could not step foot there due to a large cleft cut thru the end of the Cape. We needed some heavy duty ropes which we did not have. There are two versions here from different cameras, Chris James took one lot and Ross Klye the other sequence.

Wand Pump

I did some poisoning of escaped plants and weeds today. It was a little breezy so aiming the wand without hitting anything else was a bit tricky.  I did get some splash back on my legs but what better way to wash it off than a wade in the Bay.  I could have tried the swim but the stiff breeze was against it.   The Police helicopter was there hovering over the spot we rang up about the other day. They surely could not have been there for that!  They were very low but also covered a huge area of Corio Bay all the way to Geelong one way and down to port Arlington the other way.

This guy landed outside my window

Norfolk Island

I have become more familiar with Norfolk Island via its stamps of late.  The comparisons with Lord Howe are inevitable. They are both accessible by flying from Sydney but the NI flight would be twice as long. It is a bigger Island therefore has a better airport so the flight disruptions should be minimal. I would say LHI is more spectacular but NI much more historic.  I tried my hand at drawing one of the NI pictorial stamps. I have to work out when and how I can pay it a visit.

                                 Now that I see these side by side mine needs to be a bit darker

Boat Action

Today's big event was the council street sweeper cleaning up our gutters. Now I just need to get them to mow our lawns. 🌝  fat chance.  I did cobble together some videos today that had been storing up on my camera.  These occurred over the last couple of weeks. I missed the flaming flare scenario as I was watching thru the telescope not the video camera.

Sublime Beach - NOT

Earlier today I spied the Blue Boys in the bath.  Always entertaining.  The weather was hot but not too hot. The warm breeze was there but just enough to cool if you were wet.   We should have known as we were exiting the side gate, as it is a white gate but it had a black tinge. A covering of small bodied insects.  When we got down to the beach this had multiplied big time.  The only place was to be in the water.  We played some beach tennis in the water. We had our couple of travelers in the water.  Originally I was intending to try a swim out to the wrecked Ozone. One year ago we got there and it was swarming with kids.  This morning I looked out and there was a van with six kids carrying snorkel gear. It is not supposed to be holidays yet is it. Today is the 9th of Dec that can't be school holidays yet.  I remember primary and secondary being at school until the week before Christmas.  I guess the wreck isn't going anywhere, except molecule by molecule.

Blue I

Blue II

Bugs 1,000,000

Wet Warding

Birthday Outing

This is the second time in 6 months I have traveled to Daylesford for a birthday party. This one was a 10 hour day but did include a walk up to the mountain top and then 99 steps to the top of the fire spotters tower.  Daylesford is a big town but I haven't actually seen much of the main street.  The 57th birthday barbie went off well but are you allowed to mention someone's age. Nobody knows who WhoolyDooly is anyway.

I'm all right  -   Jack

on the botanical trail

000

We just made our first emergency services call to 000 for a Corio Bay incident. We were on the balcony and could here calls for help.  I located a small speed boat obviously disabled as the two occupants were waving and gesticulating. There was another boat only a few hundred metres away but seemed to be ignoring them.  That's when the flare was set alight so that's when we rang the 000. The people on the other boat now got the message that help was required.  We were asked a lot of questions about where and how many and was it taking on water.  In the end a tow was effected and we rang back the 000 to cancel the call.   The advantages of a powerful telescope were evident here. I could describe the scene in detail to the emergency call desk.  We have witnessed other incidents where capsizing has occurred but were able to extricate themselves but this is our first actual involvement.

Fountains of Paradise

Arthur C Clarke moved to Sri Lanka in 1956 and it was from here that many SF books were written including the concept of HAL which was dreamed up for 2001:A Space Odyssey. So the last SF book he would write before the supposed retirement would be based on Sri Lankan sites.  Many of the scenes in this book are real places and I have seen some of them.  The subject of the story is a mega elevator from the ground to a fixed point space station.  It seems the theory has all been tabulated in many scientific papers and is only a matter of time before someone tries it.

  This one is not a Hugo but I must have picked it up on one of my Hugo Hunts.

Montserrat

There are a number of places known as Montserrat (Serrated Mountain). Some years ago we took the train up to the Monastery of that name in Spain.  We climbed a number of the rounded rock spires there.  I was doing a few "maps on stamps" today and came across the other Montserrat of volcanic fame in the Caribbean. These islands are on my list for a visit. There is a game of spot the difference you can play in the two stamps below, I almost missed it and it is not the fact that one has selvage and the other doesn't. There is a difference in the design.

Those monks

Flag on the serrations - we climbed that