House Construction

 Debbie spied an elderly couple coming thru the front gate and wasn't sure if they needed help or directions. David and Jan (pronounced Yarn) bought the cleared block here in 1997 and built this house in 1999.  David has an engineering background and designed it himself and incorporated all the ideas they were wanting from previous places they lived.  They were happy that we had it now and that we were putting in the maintenance it needed. He said he built it to last and to stand up to the weather.  I was astounded at one story he told.  They had photos of the house which they gave to us so I got a photo off the wall of the old jetty and he remembered when he was seven years old being on a steamer from Melbourne that pulled into the jetty to drop off passengers.  I would say that must have been around 1945. After a cuppa they were off.

Three Rings

 I had to pick up some replacement Sunnies after losing my old ones on the marathon day. This was in Ocean Grove so we drove a bit further to Barwon Heads to check out the shot put facilities.  There are three rings and one with a cage and it turned into a three ringed circus when bus loads of schoolies arrived for training purposes. We were not there 5 minutes before we were swarmed by hordes and they were using the ring for baseball not shot put, which is what it is meant for.  I thought you needed a mound for that anyway. No phasements. We got out of there and did a walk of the parkland which was a least 2kms around. 

the toe boards are missing

2km path

forest section

Blog stats on the rise

 I can usually find something during each day to write a paragraph or two about and put it up here. Some days might be more interesting than some other days but that is the way it goes. Most blogs tailor and hone their subject matter to appeal to a particulat group and always about the same topic. It took ten yar to get to 100,000 views and now one year later this blog is at 200,000 views and I cannot say exactly why it has doubled more quickly.  Perhaps if a blog has been around for ten yar and something has been posted each day then that must deserve a look or a least a view by your friendly AI agent. 

Tassie Boat Saga

 Tasmania IV has arrived in Geelong last weekend and Tasmania V is still in Finland somewhere, trying to workout where it can be stored or even used for something else, while waiting for its turn.  The boats themselves will be a nice new thing to try, but it is the infrastructure that has brought the delays. You don't have to be a genius to work out if you are building new much bigger boats then does the spot they park need attention too.  This was not thought about until much later. Even in Geelong the temporary birth at Point Henry needs $2 million to install bollards for it. So now it is going to be moved around between laying at anchor, docked at the ferry terminal and anywhere else out of the way.  We did not see it go passed but the conditions have cleared and the atmospherics sharpened to the point where I can spy it from the deck. We will try a bike ride to get a closer look at some stage.

the strip of land in between is the Point Henry road

One Way Breeze

 We waited til the afternoon before getting the bikes out. The Sun was out but a stiff cool breeze was coming in from the South.  Our place offers plenty of sunny spots out of a southern breeze.  The first part of the ride was into the wind. Being a circuit we had it as a headwind for the first half but it blew us all the way back. We noticed trucks are being used to cart away seagrass from the jetties, so why not on our beach.  We stopped at a gate for a lady who was walking a bike thru. She was from NSW and was exploring all our rail trails. I said that will take a while. She was complaining that there are not many trails in her state. NSW was late to the party but there are quite a few now. It used to be that an NSW act of parliament was needed for each trail proposal. That changed in 2022. 

grass begone

the high trail

Stormy Sunday

 It socked in and stayed in yet if it is the weekend and you have a boat or a jetski then time is wasting if you are not out there. We have been observing jetskis in the rain on a few occasions now. This time is craziness in a greyed out scenario where you can't see anything. At first there were two but then there was just one. It looks like a rescue although the jetski does seem to be moving. In the meantime it is thunderbolts and lightening but nothing changes the grey.

it drains away quickly

Collendina Pub

It was a long day of travel for some, however that did not stop us finishing the day with the Grandies at the Collendina Pub.  Now it has been some years since we have eaten there and things have not improved much. It is a convenience for caravan users but even back then we did not use it that often. There was a chance for an upgrade, however Mr Mockbel ran off with the money so the half finished retirement village has been a ghost town for 20 yar.  Maybe get a meal there but only once in a while.

Mirage like city

October swimming

 I promised myself that I would get into the water earlier than last year. I know it was sometime in November that I got in after Winter last year, so todays swim means I made it in time. I know I was swimming around up in QLD this month but that doesn't count. Only submerging in Corio Bay counts.  I didn't stay long. Not much to be seen except a golf ball, sandy ripples and a rock shelf.  I will bring my proper snorkel gear next time and go a bit further.  I am way out of practice.

Sneaky House

 I got the bike out this morning, it was still but cloudy. Last time I noticed much clearance works down at the jetties so I went down among the boaters and floaters for a closer look. There are two excavators now, how about coming around to the next beach and removing the grass there. We will have to wait for December. I also spied a house (shack) being built low down closer to the waters edge. I stopped a few more times at the rail tracks and at a side walk shop. Also got buzzed twice by the same bird close to my garage and from different directions. 

there is no road to this shack

waiting for the next train

Big Blow

 There was another windy weather whorl yesterday and I can report that the repaired side gate stood up to it however a side panel has been blown off. There's always something.  I went across for a beach inspection and picked up a full bag of rubbish.  A lot of fishing paraphernalia, old lines, a knife handle, three expensive looking lures (one of which pricked me) and a tool maybe for descaling fish. Also the usual butts, plastics, rope pieces and a hat.  I also did some putting the shot.

What is that tool?

oysters a plenty

The Fourth Man

 Lee Child must be trying to appeal to a world wide audience and maybe Australia has been buying a lot of his Reacher books.  The stories I have read have all been set in the US however on this occasion Reacher makes a dash to the land of Oz because he is the last one on a list of four who are being knocked off there.  Challenge accepted, he makes a flying visit to see for himself.  On his way back to the US he complains that the visa he paid for was for a much longer visit so needs to come back during a Southern Summer.  This story is so short there is hardly anytime for some violent vocabulary.

Canon Balls

 I have previously mentioned breaking out the old Shot Put. It has been 50 yar since I hefted that thing. So as a kind of 70 yar old resolution I have started getting the feel for it again.  Yesterday I was searching in the old paint box for a brush and some sand paper for a small project. The box was way to heavy! There was another shot put in there.  These things are sprouting. Now I have three of them and I have no idea where this last one came from, but it is old and slightly smaller than standard, so maybe 6 kilos. 

I have had a couple more practice sessions over at the beach and have found that you can only put it from a stand and deliver position. The sand and sea grass is too unstable to try a proper glide technique. So I have been in repetition mode only, trying to maximise height with a good release. Even still, I have done no more than 20 shots at a session so far.  I believe I have found a proper concrete circle. It seems the little aths centre in Barwon Heads has moved but certain athletic equipment, like shot put circles and long jump pits have been left behind. I have not checked it out as yet other than spying them on aerial photography. 

7.2 kgs (16 pounds)  6 kgs and 4 kgs

two sticks 8 metres apart

There are three squares with a recessed circle but all seem to have grassed sectors. I remember way way back at Poplar Road and also Bren's oval (now a hockey centre) that the council were on the lookout for vandals who were cutting large divits in the grass.

1942 Correspondence

 I was working my way thru a very old stamp album. It is much delapidated with the spine coming apart. It was printed in London and is the 13th edition from the 1930's.  On one page I found an envelope from the Czechoslovak Brigade field post to the Council House Birmingham.  I poked around a bit to see if I could find some more info.  The council house is the Birmingham Town Hall. They had numerous committiees dealing with "refugees and aliens" and another one for "Prisoners of War". Maybe LW Faulkner was on one of these.

Water schedule

 There was a lot of pot plantings done in the last few days before Debbie headed out. Attention to special weeding, seeding and feeding. So I can report that todays watering is completed and the pots are moist. I also walked across to the beach. I still haven't tried a proper swim as yet, but I am getting into the water exercises, being wading and stretching. It was clouded over and water visibilty poor.  There are also a lot of washed up sticks but the beach looks clean enough, for now.

selfie expert

going potty

Drysdale Ride

 I was up early to get to the Gull bus by 7:30am. I noticed quite a few riders around and probably training for the Round the Bay.  So I got the bike out as well when I got back as it has been idle for some time. Someone should have reminded me it was Saturday morning.  I have never had this many U-turns in front of me and each one under estimated how fast a bike can go and I was slowing down. Also throw in the Car and Truck show at the local school and traffic is everywhere.  At least I stayed upright.

always trying to clear these ramps from seagrass

Gate Gremlins

The gates here have had a lot of use and a lot of weather exposure.  We got the gate man out here last year who needed a blow torch to, at first expand and remove some hinges, that were rusted up. They were bespoke creations designed for this gate frame so they had to be revitalised and reused.  We got back from our recent trip and this gate was in trouble again, palings askew and the latch hanging off. (break in?) I have tried to selvage this particular piece as it has been carved to accommodate the latch.  The top was rotted so I made a cardboard mould and poured sloppy wood filler in to leak into all the crevices.  Still waiting for it to dry. 

The side gate must be always closed especially during heavy wind or our pilot light blows out. Getting down on bended knee to relight it is a pain. I have straightened all the bent bits that hold this gate. There are two bolts both of which no longer reach their cubby holes to secure the gate. I have put a large washer against one and padded out the top one with an identical panel in wood. If the bolt wont reach then bring the hole closer.  Now I need to wait for a windy test.

deeper hole

lower bolt hole

now it needs shaping

Coast Care Cutters

 There was a big group of coast care volunteers down at the beach yesterday. We had our own garden care day yesterday so we kept well our of the way. I checked out their activities this mornng and did a bit of a beach comb for rubbish at the same time. There was not a lot to pickup. All small bits of plastic and paper wrappers. The main works that I could see were a lot of slashing of tall grasses. The beach itself is still strewn with washed up debris like sticks and grass balls.

slashed

Fruity Plantings

 It has taken a while but 6 or 8 strawberries have been planted in a row and according to those in the know they have been alternated with marigolds as it seems these deter bugs. That lot are along the front and in the back row are two lettuce, two zuchini and one tomatoe.  Now we have had a tomatoe jungle previously so that is not happening again. The apricot tree looks good. There are many apricots to be seen, way more than last year.  We also did a big cleanup of the lemon tree. At least 50 soft lemons went in the bin and another 30 went out the front yesterday and given some good weather they were snapped up in a day. To round it off I mowed all the lawns after Debbie did some edging earlier.  A good superpower to have would be making long grass disappear and long hair reappear.

Note: lemon less tree

bags of them

now to keep the birds off

Drop of Corruption

 This is another instalment of the homicide investigators set in the world of Khanum.  This place reminds me a bit of Dune. They don't have giant sand worms that lay spice instead they have Leviathans that live in the sea but do come ashore and it is their marrow that helps run the Empire. If there are a few murders getting in the way of marrow harvesting then send in your best crime fighters.  I do like a book that provides a map of the place and these are no exception and just from the scale of the map there are other places yet to be visited. 

Asher 7th

 The Universal Organiser had a day off yesterday, as why make it so hard as to coincide Asher's birthday with the school fete, in which she was peforming a class dance routine and the Melbourne marathon. I was to pooped to type anything more last night after an epic day. These school events are a step up from what I am used to. A few stats should suffice, like 14 major rides all on the back of trucks, at least 10 food trucks and another 20 stalls selling all manner of merchandise.  At the end, one stall was not packing up stuff to take back so they gave it all away, including a jigsaw puzzle that I scored. So after three hours of fete-ing we went back for birthday cake.  

Marathon Run

 It has taken 42 yar but I was back at the Melbourne Marathon for the first time since 1983. It must have hurt that much. The entry fees have quadrupled and they start and finish at the MCG so no more running from Frankston. You do get a tad better service with athlete tracking and a massive sports trade show to check out. Back then there were 7,000 of us, no 10kms, no 21kms, just marathon runners.  This time around there were 50,000 of them doing different distances and they all brought family and friends so the crowds at the finish line were huge. Daniel finished at least 30mins faster than I did back when.  Now we have to wait til Asher and Kaia give this a go.

Dockery Dockery Dell

I have been using Dell since last century. This is one of those mega billionaire inventors who sits in the background, doesn't do anything flashy just sells products and emphasises service. I rang Dell about my faulty Docking Station and got thru to an engineer in less than two minutes. Because I quoted the part number that I own he already had my history in front of him.  We went thru the checks and it was still under warranty, so he arranged for a replacement to be sent out. This part was at most 30 minutes. I got an email one hour later saying the Dock has been sent. At 10:30 am the next morning it arrived. Why can't all companies do this sort of thing?

Beach Clean No 722

I am supposedly nursing a cold and with a coolish wind the last two days I spent them indoors. The aim was to have no contamination of runners before tomorrow's Melbourne Marathon. I think I have beaten down the symptoms so I ventured across the road with my trusty rubbish bag. It did not take long to fill up. Having been away, I have not walked it for nearly three weeks. It is looking more like a wild ocean coast all the time. I picked up a shoe, plenty of plastics, butts, bottles and my first ever harness of some sort plus two golf balls. At least the invasive grasses and bamboos have been dosed with saltwater which generally kills them off.

rubbish collection

Breacher

 I have been fiddling about with video clips from different cameras, trying to splice and dice this stuff and working with about ⅛ of my normal screen real estate. Also at video time trying to focus on a moving whale of a target with grandies asking lots and tugging legs, I am amazed there is something to show for it.  All part of the fun, especially when you can hear the oos and the aahs in the back ground. It seems to me yachts and whales might get in each others way from time to time.

Tangalooma Wrecks

 I have a video clip of some of our wreck snorkel.  There is a Dell dock here where many devices are attached including two large screens which are very good for editing purposes. However this dock has given up so getting something happening on the smallest of sreens is tricky. Hopefully that dock is still under warranty. 

Achey Breaky

As soon as I stepped outside I got the shivers. You can tell immediately that a lurghy has launched or a catarrh has called. It is a good thing I got away from the grandies before I gave it to them. It was probably one party day to many for me, especially after a long hospital day. Only thing is there is supposed to be another hospital day today also combined with another birthday visit, however I don't think the aged care people will want me visiting for a 98th birthday if I am achey and shaky.  Where is that rest day when you need it.

Red Velvet very tasty