Cute Capers - a Trilogy

Whenever there is a gathering around these parts,

my camera lense is (naturally) drawn to the kids.

~~~

Sweet,

unselfconscious,

smiling,

sullen,

silly,

madcap,

darling.

~~~
Take the last two weekends.

It was horsey action all round - campdrafting and rodeo.

But really, the stars of the action were the ankle-biters.

I'll break it up into three parts...

Shall we check it out?

~~~

Cute Caper ONE - Toe to Top

Oh, how Cute are these Boots?

Snapped whilst their owner was banging the heels against the mesh of the grandstand.

Violet would ADORE these.

She already has purple elastic-sided boots though (pics to come)

so her Mum cannot justify adding these to the collection.
Speaking of my colourful daughter...

Nice red hat, dear!

And those very blonde plaits... hang on.

That headwear looks suspiciously like something out of our Christmas box in the store room... hmmmm. She is nothing if not ORIGINAL in her fashion sense!
~~~

Cute Caper TWO - Camera-less Cute-ness

Amid the craziness of a certain 24 hour period

(that involved almost 1000 km in driving time and checking out this chick)

I decided to leave the camera at home for one event.

Just one.

The night-time rodeo (at which our P&C were catering, so I figured I'd be busy).

I should have known that the MOMENT I put that Nikon down,

Cute (with a big C) would break out left, right and centre...

And it did.

I will attempt to describe events in my usual stacatto shorthand way.

Bear with me.

~~~

Kids were lined up, bug-eyed at the two metre high fence

watching grown-up cowboys showin' 'em how it's done.

Steer ridin'. Bull ridin'. Limbs flying everywhere.

Dirt bein' eaten.

(And 'g's being dropped all over the place).

Then as the riders dusted themselves off and geared up for the finals,

the announcer called for the littlest cowboys to line up outside the chutes.

I completely panicked when I heard Dash's name called out,

dropped the burger I was serving and galloped (okay, hobbled fast)

to find out what the heck was going on!

I found half of Dash's tiny school also lined up.

I listened, slightly terrified, to the challenge.

Their task?

To BE the best bucking bull they can be.

One by one, these little men got down in the dirt on all fours,

and bucked their little hearts out.

For eight seconds apiece, they were rearing and kicking up,

wheeling and snorting...

I cannot begin to tell you how funny it was...

I had tears running down my face.

I had that kind of painful silent laughter thing happening.

Then they had a buck off.

Because 80 seconds of kids-being-bulls is clearly not enough.

And again, there was furious writhing and heart-stopping hand-standing action.

More gasping giggles.

The judge stonewalled and the audience was given the final say...

And the winner was....

DASH!

(by a very dizzy head).

There IS footage somewhere.

I am hoping to get my hands on it...

~~~

Cute Caper THREE - Big Ben
And I have to finish with one of Dash's competitors in the campdraft (last weekend).

And the cute factor of THIS one?

Off the freaking scale, peoples.

You ready?

Brace yourself...

~~~

This little guy is three or four years old

in the camp yard with his Mum

(who rode out beside him but NOT leading him)

riding Ben the Clydesdale...

Oh Lord.

If you look closely that kid is so little he could walk right under that horse.

A pimple on a pumpkin, as Dad would say.

It made me all hormonal and a wee bit weepy for some reason.

So they shoo their cow to the front of the yard, called for the gate,

And off... the little cowboy and Big Ben bobbing along gently together.

After a somewhat bemused cow...

and around the first peg.

Oh, there was cheering.

It was loud and it was long.

Much, much more raucous than for winner of the major draft.

People were lined up two deep at the rails and yelling.

Who could possibly compete with THAT level of cute?

~~~
How you going?

Teeth fallen out from all the sweet cuteness yet?

Got a favourite kid yarn?

Please share in comments - links welcomed too...

Not easy being... GREEN! (weather watch alert)

So Pioneer Woman is running another contest/assignment at her place.

The theme is 'green'.

I have to admit, there is a lot going on and I am not as focused as I might be

on bloggy things this week, but thought I'd hurl this one into the

massive melting pot that is her Photostream...

Backlit gumleaves photographer on a small sapling

beside one of our paddock roads, sometime.

Cause green (in my opinion) is no good unless you get some brown

to contrast it with, in order to appreciate it properly.

Like rain after drought, green after brown.

Makes sense (to me).

~~~

SPEAKING of weather

(oh the subtlety of the segue today)...

the WEATHER FORECAST for the week ahead.

Clouds but no real follow-through.

Plus a serious chance of getting sunburnt.

*Sigh*

Now for the more romantic side of the forcasting section:

Moon and sun phases.

My new favourite weather forecasty things.

How 'bout you?

Photos of verde to share?

Or a report on the

Weather from your verandah?

Put all hot beverages DOWN...

Been a while since we did the old 'Aussie wildlife behaving badly' thing here...
This set of snake photos arrived in an email sent through recently.

The accompanying description read:

"These pictures were taken by one of the road crew at Cooyar last week.
It took a total of 5 hours for the snake to finish off the Goanna. As you can see, they put some signage up so it couldn't be run over."

...

Cooyar is on the Darling Downs in South-East Queensland.

Not whoop-whoop.

Under two hour's drive from Brisbane (capital city of Queensland) in fact.

I've not been to Cooyar - it looks awfully pretty.

When I do, I shall be checking the ground regularly.

My kids are smaller than that goanna!

Gotta love our Aussie snakes.

Blinkin' gluttons.

~~~

NB These are NOT my photos. I like to credit all photos used here, but these arrived without an original address.

If the photographer cares to contact me, I will place the credit here. Great shots!

Bravery

I know some of you have already been there,

but I just wanted to share a link with you,

to the amazing and brave Corymbia.

She plucked up some almighty courage and shared her story.

(It's in two parts - one here and two here)

And it will be among the hardest things she ever does.

But it needed telling - it'll make you re-evaluate your world.

Be warned, you will need tissues.

Please leave her some love.

She needs it.

Thanks.

BB

Behind the camp

Guess where I am this weekend?

Know what season it is?

If you've been hanging around here lately

you'd be aware that it is CAMPDRAFTING season.

(Here is the explanatory link again for newbies).

~~~

So tonight I am at home, feeding and hosing down animals and kids

while Mr Incredible camps out in the truck at a showgrounds with his

campdraft horses (and Lacey) about 45 minutes drive away.

And seeing as how I still have a gazillion unused images from last weekend,

thought I'd do a quick share of some behind-the-scenes action (up-front action here).

~~~

Here is the loot the competitors were vying for last weekend...

Now THIS is the kind of self-portrait I am comfortable with...

Riders always warm up their horses before they are due to compete...

...like any athlete, they need to have muscles warmed and attitude right

before they can perform at their best.

(Recognise anyone in the background here?)

Then they line up with other waiting competitors beside the 'camp',

where the mob of cattle is held from which they select their 'beast'.

(Is it just me, or would my friend Jenny have had a field day

with the terms used in this sport?)

They also use this time to check out the cattle sent into the camp,

to see if they can pick a 'good one' before it's their turn.

(This is a real skill, as 'bad ones' look very similar to me!)

Then your name is called, your heart starts to beat just that little bit faster, and it's time to gather up and get into action...

Breathing slow and focussing on the task at hand...

And keeping that cow/steer from getting back into the mob...

Then erupting from the small yard and OUT...

Legs all a-blur but seats steady and still....

As rider and steed attempt to keep their bovine 'on course'...

Flying changes and gallopinog manoevres sending all threeweaving through the 'pegs'...

Of course, not everyone has great runs.

And not everyone has high-scoring weekends in this sport.

It can be a bit brutal, actually, when things don't go as planned.

Mr Incredible was disappointed after his run last weekend - can you tell?

Luckily it's an addictive sport so even unrewarding weekends are soon forgotten...

and you saddle up and head back into the dust for another round!

Wish him luck tomorrow, y'all!

New friends

Quick wrap-up of last 24 hours:
About 650km of driving

Meeting a new mate for first time 'for real'

After she performed live...

Please meet my friend:

She's real and a bit rude

Feral and fabulous

Irreverent and irresistible

Cheeky and chummy...

Talented and very, very (very) funny.

And quite short.

Plus she's got a really outrageous dad.

Have to admit, that despite my blog name lending itself to all kinds of awful connotation,

they both left me alone.

A weird little part of me is a tiny bit disappointed...

(And a big BIG bit relieved!)

~

Her humour is bawdy and probably not for all my sweet readers,

but in person she is just the NICEST chick.

My cheeks are still hurting from laughing so hard...

(and it's not from the Gladstone Entertainment Centre upholstery!)

~

Heading off to cater at rodeo now...

Then... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Then ... more campdrafting!!!!

Crazy, crazy life.

~

PS Links to Jenny and Kevin for those brave enough to explore further.

Weather and witnesses

As some of my readers have been kind enough to point out,

it is past mid-week here at Granite Glen.

Mid-week seems to be a point of interest...

perhaps because it is supposed to be Weather Watch Wednesday on a

... um... Wednesday.

And while it is no doubt Wednesday SOMEWHERE in the world,

it is actually... um... Thursday here.

Whoops.

So WEATHER outlooks for Granite Glen this week are:

Temps - 17-30 degrees C (63 - 86F)

Rain - up to 90% chance of less than 1 mm

Sunrise - 6.01 am

Sunset - 6.02 pm

Moon rise - 2.20pm (Thurday)

Moon set - 1.31am (Friday)

In other words, balmy and beautiful and grass-growin' weather!

Twelve hours of sunlight... and 11 hours of moon...

Do you know your sunrise and sunset times? How about the moon?

Too cool!

I love knowing this - and will try to remember to add it into these little updates...

(Sunset photos above taken yesterday after a marathon book-keeping session)
~

Oh... was it NOT the weather you were after?

I wonder if the girls who keep reminding me what day it is,

are interested to know what Mr Incredible and I are getting up to tonight?

HINT 1: It involves a fair bit of driving.

HINT 2: It has something to do with a blogger friend.

HINT 3:

This chick is a blogger I have never met and I admit to being mightily nervous ...

(it's always a little nerve-wracking meeting someone who has built up an image of you from your online ramblings and photoshopped portraits - I always fear I shall be a sad disappointment!)

And not that I think she will be awful (I suspect she will be enormous fun).

We will be meeting her 'backstage' before her show.

but what she might DO with our meeting...

you have NO idea.

And neither do I.

Wish me luck.

Some friends of mine...

Our local campdraft last weekend was a hectic, happening affair -

with lots of action in the centre ring and plenty of activity in the grandstands too.

Events like this provide the chance for socialising that can be rare in rural areas.

Oh sure, we may run into people we know at the local supermarket,

or see them in passing on the road, or at someone's birthday party.

But an event like this brings people of like minds together.

~

And the delightful thing for me,

having lived in the city for so very long

(and sometimes not even knowing my neighbours' names)

is that almost EVERYWHERE I look at a local draft,

I know someone.

This shot, for instance, contains the rear views of my father,

some of his campdrafting co-horts from the 'good old days'

(who still give me a ribbing about my few - unsuccessful - campdrafting efforts)

and there are a smattering of friends there too.

~

This chick went to school with Mr Incredible,

...and her family and mine pretty much grew up together.

We may (or may not) have yakked for about an hour in the stands later on...

we only had about 25 years to catch up on!

~

This is her brother, and also the President of the local campdraft committee.

He was one busy bloke over the weekend -

what with riding, supplying cattle AND organising the three day event.

We like to call him 'Mr President' just to annoy him!

~

And this is his gorgeous wife, waiting her turn in the yard.

She's not so much the First Lady,

as Madam Secretary (of the same committee)

and one of the best female riders I have ever seen.

Pretty. And quite fierce. At least on a horse.

Heh.
~
This is our local butcher.

Unlike some who were literally born to draft, he took up campdrafting as an adult

and is really starting to hit his straps.

He won the Maiden on Friday...

(which sounds much more romantic than

being 'the best cow chaser around a mowed paddock'!)
His partner is one of my oldest friends (and a long-time lurker here).

We could NOT be prouder of him.
~

This is the Dad of one of Dash's school buddies.

He is a terrific horseman and trainer.

Plus he's a totally nice guy - and not bad as a long jump steward either.

~

And of course, there was Dash and Violet's cousin doing her thing

in HER very first campdraft...

You GO girl!!!

(Loving the matching shirt and saddlecloth, BTW)

So you see...

Not only am I exhausted from taking a bazillion photos (no exaggeration) and encouraging my hubby in his drafting endeavours, as well as cheering on our son in his first very draft, plus attempting to ensure my children don't invade every gooseneck horse trailer on the grounds (when I am not looking) and keep up the supply of chocolate ice-creams and meat pies (when I am)...

I have been TALKING.

Talking up a storm.

Catching up with friends.

And wearing my larynx out in the process.

I have another event mid-week* which will no doubt place

some stress on my vocal chords too.

Thank goodness the mountains of laundry before me don't require me to vocal input.

'Cause there's another one of these campdraft things on NEXT weekend.

~

*it's a secret event, but trust me, there will be a blog post about it.. if I survive!

Forever Friends

When Dash was very, very young, he had a bit of a tough time.

It's not a time of our lives that I think about too often...

even when I link to it here,

I don't go back there myself.

I just want to make sense to whoever just arrived at this blog.

...

Through all his ordeals,

there were regular visitors to his world who were amazing.

Among them was a babe who innocently kept things

very 'normal' for both Dash and his shell-shocked parents.

This little girl was three weeks younger than our son, and he just adored her.

And despite the fact that more than 500km now seperates them...

and often almost a year flies by between visits, he still does.

Thank God for good friends.

Especially the ones who keep it real.

(I am looking at you, Dash's friend's Mummy.)

Change of expression

Something pretty amazing happened today.

We have been having a massive campdrafting weekend,

with Cyclone Ului being polite and staying at bay (although the skies are quite grey).

There has been some AMAZING action which I will share when I get a spare hour or so to sift through the memory cards chock full of images.

But I had to dig out a couple of shots tonight to share.

Cause something pretty darned amazing took place at the local showgrounds.

~

It happened between two expressions.

The first one looked like this:

And then this happened.

Then this...

Then this...

And then he was OUT in the arena...

(Holy Heck, hang on boy!)

And presenting...

Expression Number Two.

He's saying: Did I score more than you, Dad?

~

To explain more fully...

Dash went in his very first campdraft today!

At the ripe old age of seven (nearly eight) he plucked up the courage (with the help of some cousins) to enter in the 'Junior' draft. Kids under the age of 13 get just one beast (cow) in the yard (as opposed to a small mob for all other drafts) and take it out of the yard and around the course as best they can. They pretty much cannot get 'cracked off' (dismissed by the judge) and just do they best they can in 40 seconds.

It's a riot.

Seriously, more spectators stop and watch this draft

and cheer with more gusto than any other division!

Dash vaccillated between wanting to have a go, and being too nervous and unsure of what he was supposed to do. Before entering the 'camp' he confessed to feeling 'a bit sick'.

There should be more photos of Dash outside in the big arena

but I confess I was yelling and carrying on too much to really focus. Or click.

~

More pics of cuteness to come,

but I am so bustin' out with pride at my

sometimes-nervy little man having a red hot go,

that I just had to share....

This weekend...

Depending on the mood of that lil ol storm cell

just off the Queensland coast

who we like to call Cyclone Ului,
this weekend should be filled with a whole lot of this...

and this...


And a spot of this...

I'll be keeping my eye out for talent like this...

and enjoying some equine talent like this...

My Nikon will be busy capturing random images like this...

...or this...

...or I'll be taking random images of others catching random images..

Of course, we could all get flooded in too.

Either way... I don't mind.

~

How 'bout you?
What does your weekend hold in store?

And will the weather be an issue for your plans?