A little officework...

A quick catch-up on the Mystery Photo competitions... the latest one was guest-held by Scotty over at his place (after he won here and 'paid it forward' here before you got back here - I get lost just explaining it!).

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The winner (drumroll) was Kelly from Arkansas, USA.
Congrats Kelly - let me know when you have chosen your favourite shot!

Happy trawling and don't get scared off by the goannas.

They are quite friendly - not like the bunyips!

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There's a new Bush Babe Battle on it's way - probably sometime next week.

It's a contest with a difference... one you may have been waiting for.

*wink*

Stay posted!

(Oh, I crack myself up!)

Hugs

BB

PS This pic has nothing (well almost nothing) to do with the upcoming mystery.

I am just trying to tempt Kelly to choose one of my 'horse eye' photos... I have a somewhat bizarre obsession with them. This is Trooper gazing adoringly at Mr Incredible. If you look really close you can see him in the reflection. If you peer even harder, you can also see me (behind my hubby) taking the photo. But Troop isn't focussed on me. I don't exist when Mr Incredible is around. He's a devoted soul, our big chestut stock horse.

Lucky I am not a jealous woman!

Unfinished business

Among my many resolutions for 2009, I have vowed to keep on top of my book-keeping a little better... And I realised I had failed to follow-up on the winner from this post ...

So in order to tick off at least ONE checkbox, I have great pleasure in announcing BB's latest winner is...

(drumroll please)

BIG SIS

Email me on bushbabeaustralia@gmail.com !

The mental image of gold, silver AND uranium spewing geyser-like into the air continues to amaze and bemuse me... and the Pirates of the Carribean twist really nailed it. I may have had an expression on my mug a little like the guy in the photo above (who was the REAL answer to the mystery, and current holder of the title of Cutest Thing at Granite Glen!).

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And I am also intrigued by BS's home description as "Frozen Tundra"... as opposed to 'Slightly-Soggy Microwave' where I currently reside.

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Congrats BigSis and keep your eyes peeled for the next Mystery Photo comp coming up later this week...

After I get a few Christmas photos sorted and the office sorted out.

*girds loins ready for battle...*

You asked for it...prints and prices

I have been asked on a number of occasions about getting prints from this blog. I am so amazed and flattered that people have bothered to enquire... and I have finally decided to look into getting some prints done up from my snaps of life here at Granite Glen.

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Initially I will put up some thumbnails of prints I have already sent out to winners of my Mystery Photo competitions. Below are my first batch for sale.

... Fence sitters

(Campdraft images)

Queensland Sunset

(Roads and Views)

Campdrafting Close-Up

(campdraft images)

Bunyip Reflections
(Roads and Views)

Bottle Tree Moon

(Roads and Views)

Campdraft Spurs

(Campdraft images)
Mustering Scene

(Mustering images)

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NEW AVAILABLE IMAGES

>

Ready to play!

(Polocrosse image)

Old Gate
(Old Stuff)

Jacaranda Petals
(Trees)

Action!
(Polocrosse image)

Wedgetail taking off
(Wildlife)

In pursuit!
(Campdraft image)

Purple boots

(Campdraft images)

Mustering in the rain

(Mustering images)

Waiting for the next mob
(Campdraft images)

Goanna in Gum Tree

(Wildlife images)

Old fence
(Old Stuff)

Emu parade
(Wildlife images)
. Afternoon Ironbark.

(roads and views)

Mama's eye.

(Horses)

Cool Clear Water.

(Roads and Views)

Prickly Pear in bloom.

(Roads and Views)

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Each will come as an 8 x 12" print. The price will be $35 (AUD) per print which includes postage (discount for batch orders). I will provide bigger prints if people are interested. You will have to work out the conversion for other currencies I'm afraid! I also use PayPal and will take orders via email (bushbabeaustralia@gmail.com).

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In this email, I will need to know:

1. Your name

2 Your mailing address

3. Which photos you'd like (name under each image above).

4. The number of prints of each image.

.

I will then reply with your total owing and details for payment.

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I am also working on some montages and having them available in the same way soon.

Here is the very first of these for your perusal:

Equestrian Montage

Images selected by Kate (Utah Zen)

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Montages are 20x32" (will be posted in a cylinder) and cost $85 including postage etc.

Other prints and montages of images from this blog are possible, but may take more time to prepare. Patience is the key here.

Your patience. Heh.

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Thanks so much for your interest.

I am still humbled that people even take the time to come back and read my little blog!

:-)

Hugs

BB

Mystery Answer... I think!

OK, show's over. I have to look over your very crazy answers in order to choose a winner. Which I am not sure is actually possible. Where are the rules for this silly competition again? Oh, that's right. There ARE none. Righto.

Here is the REAL answer (which may or may not have anything to do with the winning Mystery Photo entry). This is Lou Lou. She is my friend (and gorgeous beach chick). She is a photographer with whom I used to work, and share philosophical debate and life traumas with (in the coffee room of my old workplace). And she goes NOWHERE without her Canon.

And in my mystery photo, she is hunkered down (all agile and unlike her bush friend) and taking photos , not of freaky Aussie wildlife...

Hello little fella!

But of rocks. Granite Glen Granite. In dry grass. Under fabulous azure skies. As you do. As we do. For no apparent reason other than we follow our craving to document everything! And it's fun... drives our menfolk crazy. Well, mine anyway!

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Lou Lou is a top girl. She brought her hubby and twins out to Granite Glen for a visit this week - for the first time. She has spent her life at the beach and has travelled far and wide and is laid-back and funny and sweet, and everything a real top Aussie chick should be. One of those friends who you might not see for ages, then when you catch up it's like you've never been away. I'm very very lucky in the 'mates' department.

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Anyway, she and her family got a two-day taste of the bush life. And, being a photographer, she snapped her little heart out while she was here. And me being another photographer (it's not so much a job, or a vocation as a disease from which sufferers seek no cure) I took photos of her taking photos. As you do.

There is something very wrong with this photo. What is it? Can you see?

Oh yeah. It's Lou. She's talented, a great chick, a great mate, and skinny. That just ain't right. Is it?

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Lou Lou will have some ammo to fire back at me, I have no doubt. I shall share some of it with you at some stage... in the meantime, here is one of her views of our part of the world.

Smoko-time at the yards, reflected in her groovy beach-chic sunnies. Right before my darling sweet daughter turned from sweet kid sharing the biscuit tin (look closely and you can see her) into the child from The Exorcist.

Thanks Lou Lou... be kind!

Heh.

BB

The truth, the whole truth & nothing but the ear tufts

So, you want answers?

But can you handle the truth??

You're sure?? OK, here 'tis gals and boys ...

(OK, so there aren't too many boys taking part in my silly games yet... perhaps I need better prizes to lure some to de-lurk?? Hmmm... working on that one!)

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Anyhoo, the answer of the BB mystery photo for this week is...

Trooper's ear hair!!!

Some of you were soooooo close, but while it looks hairy (and scary) enough to belong to the laid-back little ears of one vertically-challenged ROB ROY ....

...this delicate tuft of ginger ear wool belongs instead to our super-tall stock-horse, the almost- 17hh (Super Duper) Trooper.

Hey handsome!

Thanks for letting me borrow your ears (lend me your ears? Perhaps we should have called him Caesar?? Or Brutus? Hmmmm).

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It could easily have belonged to that other fabulous GG redhead, the much-missed Admiral. But it didn't. *sigh.... sob!* How I wish I had taken more photos of that beautiful, beautiful animal.

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Anyway, we are away from GG at the moment but have saved something a bit more upbeat for you tomorrow!

Hugs

BB

Mystery Photo: real one this time!

This week's mystery photo is pretty much essential in the bush.

Can you guess what it is?

Winner gets the Bush Babe image of their choice...

C'mon, have a crack at it!!

BB

PS Am getting ready to post off my last lots of winners photos... keep your eyes peeled over the next week or so, gals!

Mystery cloud photos...

This is not so much a normal Bush Babe contest (and no, before you even ask, there is no such thing as a normal Bush Babe!)... as it is an appeal for information.

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You see, as I was leaving Granite Glen one morning this week, I noticed this strange phenomenon out of the corner of my eye...

For all the world it looks like fire smoke rising INTO a cloud, which appeared to be almost ready to rain!

What the??

And even as I shook my head at what was surely an optical illusion, I kept checking it out as we drove. And regardless of the angle, it STILL looked like smoke being drawn towards the cloud.

I know for sure that there was definitely a fire below, and a rain cloud above... it's the weird connection between the two which intrigues me...

What do you think?

Are there any experts out there who can verify that this can happen?? Or am I the only person who thinks this is strange and unusual??

No More Mystery!

OK. I'm back. I'm bad. I'm whacked. But I'm glad.
(Apologies to the writers of Lethal Weapon there!)

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Mystery #1: Whereabouts of Bush Babe

Apologies to my four regular readers who have wondered if I have been knocked off my perch or given up blogging altogether. Not so. I missed it way more that you missed me!! But lack of Internet opportunity (and general respect for my hosts over the past week, who do seem to prefer the front of my head to the back view as I huddle over a laptop) has seen me temporarily abandon my posts. Luckily I had a Nikon handy to appease my need to record almost everything in my life...
So brace yourselves people!

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Here is just one of the places I have been with my crew...

So as I burrow through the eleventy hundred photos (thanks for this phrase Deb, it's my current favourite and is driving SSB to distraction!), here is the very non-mysterious answer to my last very hurried, mid-travelling post and

Mystery # 2:

Of course it was AN ELEPHANT's trunk.

From our humungous, elephant-sized visit to Australia Zoo...

You are all far to clever and I am delighted to have delurked a few of you in the process!! Welcome people... the winner however, was Melinn! Well done! You were just too quick. Many of you gave me a giggle with silly guesses - no-one's elbows or knees SURELY look like this?
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We all fell in love with the Oz Zoo elephants and got to feed this one - and she hardly snotted on us at all!

The lovely handler was very worried that TLW was too young to cope and would freak out... he doesn't know my daughter very well!! She was completely delighted but calm as a cucumber... he was totally impressed and told SSB so!

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Dash and TLW are still reeling from their OZ Zoo experience, and my son appears to have recovered from the revelation that Bindi couldn't quite fit him into her schedule.

Seeing eleventy hundred scary crocs will do that for you.

Sorry... I'll shut up now.
Off to edit. Lots. Of. Photos.

And wash. Lots. Of. Clothes.

See you when I'm a bit more bleary!