Bush Babe

19 June 2008

Mystery photo...

OK - here is a new game for y'all...

Snapped this pic yesterday.

Can you tell me what it is??

18 June 2008

Wordless Wednesday - dusk

Last night at Granite Glen...

Looking west... 4.55pm

4.59pm

5pm

Looking east... 5.01pm

16 June 2008

Goodwill and the Games...

Things have been busy round here... and not just with our boys doing their thing in the paddock here on the property.
...

The local ladies (OK the boys have helped too, but it's been mostly the girls) of the Parents and Citizens' Association for my son's tiny one-teacher school have been planning, inviting, scheming, working-beeing and generally building up to our annual sporting event. The day has been known since it's inception as The Goodwill Games, and includes all the little schools and home-schooled children from the region in a sports day.
And it's theme is Goodwill (duh!).

Anyone else get a flash of Matt Damon then?

No? OK.

Moving right along...

...

As this year's P&C secretary, I had the task of inviting local businesses to sponsor the event, local dignitaries to attend, and encourage the local media to promote it. This kept me a bit busy, amid my other chores. Out of mischief, if you like. Most of the time anyway.

...

One of the things I also managed, was to get an extra award added to the trophy list.

This is the Goodwill medal, handed to kids who have been outstanding with their sportsmanship and goodwill to other competitors throughout the day. Isn't it lovely?

...

The Games also offers encouragement awards for those who haven't won much but tried hard. I love that we can reward kids for effort and behaviour as much as achievement. You can never encourage kids enough to be good sportsman-like competitors, in my book. Of course, you can tell I was one of those kids who didn't take home too many blue ribbons from athletics events, can't you? Good sportsmanship - and its rewards - was something I learned pretty early on.

...

One of my friends (hello Elle!) suggested we also implement a Kick Up the Butt award for any aggressive parents who annoyed the officials. We held off on this one, this year! But we may well take it to the vote at the next P&C meeting.

...

We also promoted and sold tickets in this little gem...

It's a "yards table" handmade by the grandpa of one of Dash's classmates. It converts from a six-seat dining table for kids to a play table with a full set of yards, complete with working gates and even a little trough. It's totally fabulous and people went mad for it. I actually had friends try and make me promise not to sell more tickets so they'd have better odds in the draw!!
...

And so, with weeds chipped, pikelets cooked, cakes baked and almost everything organised to within an inch of its life, we held The Goodwill Games over the weekend.

It was a big day.

More than a hundred kids climbed into their uniforms and competed in a sneaky cold wind, and an equal number of adults cheered their charges on.

Dash's wonderful, hardworking teacher reckons this pic of his two youngest charges looks like the famous muddy rugby league image used for the ARL trophy!

...

We sold a lot of sausage rolls and pies and coffee, as kids and adults fought the numbing chill. (The adults had the coffees, not the kids. They just downed the pastries and ran round like crazy things to stay warm.)

There were plenty of goosebumps and red noses.

There were lots of winners and losers.

Laughter and tears.

This particular sight almost broke one mama's heart (said she with an angst-ridden shudder!) ... my little man is no long-distance runner and that finish line looked a million miles away. I never was much of a runner, myself. And SSB claims he can't run out of sight on a dark night. Poor little Dash lived up to his genetics and was in trouble after about the 50 metres mark. He saw how far ahead the other kids were, grabbed at his chest and I nearly had a heart attack myself.

But his colour was still good, and that promise I made to let him be a 'normal little boy' rang loud in my mind, so I held off for a bit...

God, even looking at this photo makes me want to reach out through the computer screen, grab him away from that track and hug the tears away. We called for him to keep going though... just as two of Dash's older schoolmates ran to the track and guided him home.

He made it!

I was so proud of these girls, AND for my little man making it to that blessed finish line, despite the tears.

Goodwill and heart.

Then, after the rain, there was sunshine...

Dash recovered beautifully and went on to win minor place ribbons in the high jump, discus, 'shotput' (actually a vortex footy) and his team also did well in the ball games.

Nice throw, little man!

...

After the kids had finished running, jumping and throwing...

and hurdling over beer cartons...

I said hurdling TLW!!

(My girl is way too smart for that... she's doing the whole 'running by like I haven't noticed the boxes I'm s'posed to jump over' thing. Works for her!)
...
Then it was time for the Old Fogies races. This is where all the adults are commandeered to try their hand at some of the very events they had coaxed their offspring and nieces and nephews through earlier. I have to say, there was much less goodwill and a great deal more cheating than the 'real' events.

Nonetheless, it was all very entertaining!

Go you good thing!!

(Who IS that sexy bearded man??)

The Fogies teams then lined up for captain ball.

Hang on, is that Kink's new owner I see in the line-up?

Hello! Hey, Tom... look at the ball, for heaven's sake!!

...

Despite being upset during his running races, Dash was later philosophical about the competition.

"Mum, it doesn't matter if you don't win..." he declared on the way home, smoothing out the second and third ribbons he had garnered.

He smiled as he looked up.

"And guess what?

Red and green are my favourite colours anyway!

"They are for Christmas, you know!"

I agreed wholeheartedly and returned his grin.

I pondered how the season of Goodwill was already upon my son...

I turned to mention the connection to him but he had already fallen into an exhausted sleep...
...

And now as I trawl through the images from the Games, I give the final word/image to Dash's cousin, Rosie, whose happy, decorated face (I believe) completely summed up the day.

What do you think she wants for Christmas?

15 June 2008

Winter woes...

It's winter here at Granite Glen...

We've had frosts already.

Amazingly, I've not been up early enough to capture one with the Nikon yet.

Myself, I'm not so keen on the cold.

In my experience, one needs lots of doonas and a good Bailey's on ice to deal with the chill factor...

Red noses, goose bumps, dry skin...

Not fun.

I'm definitely a summer girl.

...

But recently that the one thing that I look forward to about winter actually happened.

SSB gathered some kindling and logs, and fired up the old fireplace...

There really is nothing like an array of flickering flames to warm the bones of this little black duck... it really sets the scene, a crackling fire.

Flying flames, red and radiating, heady heat, eddying embers...

Fascinating fire...
A kind of ancient magic...

13 June 2008

Yvette's eyes...

I spent an entire post navel gazing recently...thinking about the means by which I try to make myself into a more attractive human being.

It gave me a headache.

I mean, really, who cares?

Apparently me...

...

My hubby reckons I look better without makeup.

Gads, I love that man!

But I still have that foundation and mascara in place whenever I face the outside world...

My kids couldn't care less if I have my hair roots coloured or not...

Yet I become very uneasy when those nasty "blonde" locks show their true colours.

I can't decide if I need to work harder on my self-image, or let it all go to pot and say "what the hey, this is who I am!"

I somehow doubt I'm that brave.

...

Amongst the things about living in the bush that I truly treasure is that the animals - who are the ones who have to look at me the most - don't give a flying fig if I have eye bags or broken nails or uneven skin tone.
...

Like my darling Yvette...

She has burrs in her forelock, but she knows I love her no matter the state of her locks. And I may be kidding myself, but I reckon she feels pretty much the same about me..

Hasn't she got the most wonderful eyes? Dark and delicious and kind...

And for a moment I see myself as she sees me...close, trustworthy, friendly, gentle... to a horse: a lovely sight.

Well, a lovely sight with a black box plastered to her face. All Yvette wants is a cuddle and perhaps a sheaf of hay. But only if I'm in the mood. She's sweet and easy-going like that. She also likes the odd facial, but that's another story...

If I look closely into this image with my human eyes, I can see her view. But I also see that those thighs could do with some work. How sweet it would be to keep my equine blinkers on.

I reckon the world would be a better place if everyone took a good hard look at themselves, for a moment, through Yvette's eyes.

What makes you feel better about yourself?