Married for 10 whole years so we are off on a long long holiday - Fiji without the kids and then Skiing with them (if there is any snow left).
Don't do anything I wouldn't do whilst I'm gone.
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Camping
We got away for a bit of camping this month just gone.
The first was up to Stockton Beach, just north of New Castle for a weekend of driving with the Toyota club, the other was with friends a little way up north (at a nudist beach :-) The weather was not on it's best behavior. With enough rain to cause a decent flood in Sydney. The morning was made all the ore exciting with a little brown snake (v. deadly) sharing the camp ground with us.
Stockton
The first was up to Stockton Beach, just north of New Castle for a weekend of driving with the Toyota club, the other was with friends a little way up north (at a nudist beach :-) The weather was not on it's best behavior. With enough rain to cause a decent flood in Sydney. The morning was made all the ore exciting with a little brown snake (v. deadly) sharing the camp ground with us.
Stockton
Friday, December 24, 2010
It's bark is worse in this light
Eucalyptus saligna forms a continuous hybrid with E. pilularis
The three 50m trees in our backyard are probably slightly towards the saligna end of the spectrum as the branch forks are more open than the pronounced, upright V's of the blackbutts and the perminant bark just covers slightly more than a quarter of the main trunk. The rest of the smooth bark (an infra-red reflecting adaption to frequent fires) sheds annually.
Why the science lesson?:
Our backyard is covered in a substantial layer of bark.
These photos were taken the day after we mowed - less than 24 hrs.
Off on holls down the coast - I'll take some photos for you so you know what you are missing out on.
Any way, Merry Xmas, and a 'appy new one.
Chat next year.
Cheers
The three 50m trees in our backyard are probably slightly towards the saligna end of the spectrum as the branch forks are more open than the pronounced, upright V's of the blackbutts and the perminant bark just covers slightly more than a quarter of the main trunk. The rest of the smooth bark (an infra-red reflecting adaption to frequent fires) sheds annually.
Why the science lesson?:
Our backyard is covered in a substantial layer of bark.
These photos were taken the day after we mowed - less than 24 hrs.
Off on holls down the coast - I'll take some photos for you so you know what you are missing out on.
Any way, Merry Xmas, and a 'appy new one.
Chat next year.
Cheers
Labels:
Australia,
environment,
family,
fires,
gardening,
holiday,
house,
natural science,
summer,
xmas
Friday, August 21, 2009
Summer is coming
I can smell it
How do I tell you what that means to us Aussies??
How do I tell you how it feels to dive under a wave?
How do I tell you how it feels to hold a 4yo's hand, teaching them to avoid bluebottles as they jump through the waves at the edge of this sacred coast.
Xavier knows it.
How do I tell you what that means to us Aussies??
How do I tell you how it feels to dive under a wave?
How do I tell you how it feels to hold a 4yo's hand, teaching them to avoid bluebottles as they jump through the waves at the edge of this sacred coast.
Xavier knows it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Last day of hol's, goin'-ome tuhmorra
The last few day's have been a blast.
Take today for example:
Today I managed about two hours surfing and a few more body and boogie board surfing whilst mum and dad built sand castles on the beach with the kids.
Surfing - If you haven't I can't explain the feeling. Waves, powerful enough that given time will wear down headlands and reshape coastlines. Powerful enough to smash you teeth as they pile drive you arse through your neck if you fuck up. But awesome fun to play with dancing on a 6' length of pointy fiberglass bristling with blade like fins. Surfing is big, for many it is life. There are the finer points of wax selection, of etiquette, of leg rope selection - the culture and fashion, wave selection, fitness, your skill, pin tail or wedge. It goes on and on - if you are not initiated you will never find a way in.
Today I had one of the rarest surfing experiences - fantastic waves, a peaky steep right, all too myself. I had the joy of ride after ride of consistent waves in crystal clear water, of being underwater watching my reflection in the surface whilst duck diving under 1.5m curls.
My base of my ribs are sore from paddling and my arms are sore from dragging the board through the surf - but it is a good kind of sore.
After surfing and lunch on a picnic rug in the park, where the kids and I devoured a few hamburgers, with beetroot cauz were Aussie we got back and enjoyed the heat and suffered the view whilst savoring the beer mum dropped in my hand. Had a rest and then drove up the coast a ways to pick up Patrick - a 16 yo school kid who lives on the neighboring property from school in the next town. He took me fishing out on his boat. 6 magnificent fathead later we were heading back in only to be stopped by the dolphins trapped in the lake. (vid later).
Dinner was a sav blanc and fathead fillets in batter - so fresh they were quivering.
Raff is playing a fellow Spaniard in Melbourne whilst I'm sipping the last of the West Australian white.
How was your day?
Take today for example:
Today I managed about two hours surfing and a few more body and boogie board surfing whilst mum and dad built sand castles on the beach with the kids.
Surfing - If you haven't I can't explain the feeling. Waves, powerful enough that given time will wear down headlands and reshape coastlines. Powerful enough to smash you teeth as they pile drive you arse through your neck if you fuck up. But awesome fun to play with dancing on a 6' length of pointy fiberglass bristling with blade like fins. Surfing is big, for many it is life. There are the finer points of wax selection, of etiquette, of leg rope selection - the culture and fashion, wave selection, fitness, your skill, pin tail or wedge. It goes on and on - if you are not initiated you will never find a way in.
Today I had one of the rarest surfing experiences - fantastic waves, a peaky steep right, all too myself. I had the joy of ride after ride of consistent waves in crystal clear water, of being underwater watching my reflection in the surface whilst duck diving under 1.5m curls.
My base of my ribs are sore from paddling and my arms are sore from dragging the board through the surf - but it is a good kind of sore.
After surfing and lunch on a picnic rug in the park, where the kids and I devoured a few hamburgers, with beetroot cauz were Aussie we got back and enjoyed the heat and suffered the view whilst savoring the beer mum dropped in my hand. Had a rest and then drove up the coast a ways to pick up Patrick - a 16 yo school kid who lives on the neighboring property from school in the next town. He took me fishing out on his boat. 6 magnificent fathead later we were heading back in only to be stopped by the dolphins trapped in the lake. (vid later).
Dinner was a sav blanc and fathead fillets in batter - so fresh they were quivering.
Raff is playing a fellow Spaniard in Melbourne whilst I'm sipping the last of the West Australian white.
How was your day?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Now that's Aussie
In celebration of everything Australian, Australia Day long weekend just passed and all - I bring you the Beer Thong - yep, you can knock the top of a coldie with the inbuilt bottle opener.
Complete with an ace beer drinking wench slouching over her Corona.
The only thing more Aussie would be bitch'n about kiwis and throwing a few koalas on the barbie.
Complete with an ace beer drinking wench slouching over her Corona.
The only thing more Aussie would be bitch'n about kiwis and throwing a few koalas on the barbie.
Monday, December 10, 2007
For fucks sake people, water is dangerous
What is this, would you stop drowning already. Tourists, kids, more kids.
I used to be a life guard at Tamarama, Fresh Water and Bondi Beach. I've pulled dozens of people out of the surf, mostly tourists and kids. Thankfully nobody has drowned on my watch. We have had the kids in swimming lessons BEFORE THEY CAN WALK. 1 cubic metre of water weighs 1000kg, even a small shore break can be 1.5m high and 1 to 1.5m thick, moves as fast as you can run and will slap you down. It will knock you off you feat deposit you in a rip and sweep you out to sea long before you can say - that's a neat looking octopus, funny that it is swimming so close to that little square jelly fish. If you can't swim 200m whilst being pounded by 2 tone waves then keep the fuck out of the fucking surf. Most people are afraid of sharks, that kind of stupid crap is for Englishmen fe fi fo fum. You would do much better to ensure that you and the kids learnt to swim.
kids + water - adult supervision = dead kids. and it aint their fault.
The stats
Training
Welcome to Australia and please, enjoy your time in our surf.
end rant
I used to be a life guard at Tamarama, Fresh Water and Bondi Beach. I've pulled dozens of people out of the surf, mostly tourists and kids. Thankfully nobody has drowned on my watch. We have had the kids in swimming lessons BEFORE THEY CAN WALK. 1 cubic metre of water weighs 1000kg, even a small shore break can be 1.5m high and 1 to 1.5m thick, moves as fast as you can run and will slap you down. It will knock you off you feat deposit you in a rip and sweep you out to sea long before you can say - that's a neat looking octopus, funny that it is swimming so close to that little square jelly fish. If you can't swim 200m whilst being pounded by 2 tone waves then keep the fuck out of the fucking surf. Most people are afraid of sharks, that kind of stupid crap is for Englishmen fe fi fo fum. You would do much better to ensure that you and the kids learnt to swim.
kids + water - adult supervision = dead kids. and it aint their fault.
The stats
Training
Welcome to Australia and please, enjoy your time in our surf.
end rant
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