Netball, Gardening Birthdays and 4WD.

It is a great time of the year, Easter holidays, and an ANZAC day holiday, so we get to spend heaps of time relaxing with friends and family.

We spent a lovely afternoon 4wding in the North D'Aguilar State Park near Mt Mee,  it was a beautiful day. There was plenty of things to see and do and some interesting 4wd tracks, nothing at all difficult in the conditions we had, but no doubt almost impossible if not impassable in the wet. The A Break track was the steepest of them all, would love to have tried The Hangar track but alas it was closed.

View towards Somerset Dam

The views over the Somerset Dam were impressive and the photos posted in a 2013 October blog update show the D'Aguilar range from which the above photo was taken.

Upstream of Bulls Falls

At the Bulls Falls Lookout

Emily's Birthday ice cream cake

Emily celebrated her 11th birthday during the Easter holidays, it was difficult to organise a party with friends so she is hosting her 11th birthday party sleep over tonight, it is a shame that Nan could not be here for a joint party, Emily's 11th and Nan's 70th.

Rosie's veggie garden is going great guns, the herbs and pumpkins in particular are thriving!

Rosie Green thumb

Today was the girls netball debut for the mighty Raiders! Rosie's team was up first, kicking the dew of the grass at 8.00am, she played Netta, an abridged game for the youngsters. They were enthusiastic and fired up, unfortunately the opposition were better drilled and skilled eventually defeating the Possums 12 - nil.

Warm ups are super important for elite athletes

Rosie played GD and was fantastic when we had the ball, her attack on the pill was fierce and determined, running to space providing option after option where she gathered a heap of touches and was part of the reason they didn't get smashed 30 - nil. However her execution when in defense was not up to par, she just didn't understand the defensive mindset, and her opponent had pretty much a free run, not ideal when playing GD. You could not fault her endeavour though and we are proud of her first outing.

GD with steely determination

 Emily played at 9.10 in the under 11s, her debut match on court 11 was billed as the must watch game on the card. The crowd was small but vocal and the girls were determined to make an impact in their first game of season 2014!

Emily - Goal Shooter

The Raiders got off to a blistering start, dominating the clearances and making short work of the opposition defense. A four goal lead at quarter time was reward for their hard effort and determination when the ball was in dispute. Emily got a few touches and was credited with a couple of goal assists as she lacked the confidence to shoot from down town.

Go Raiders

The second and third quarters were a mirror image of the first and the Raiders finished the premiership quarter with a commanding 10 goal lead. Emily had found her range and bagged four majors after switching from GS to GA! Late in the third term the Raiders other goal shooting option Charlotte went off after vomiting, her work rate was such that the dominant forward succumbed to exhaustion, either that or a dodgy orange at half time.

The final break saw a reshuffle and even though they were undermanned the Raiders were able to continue where they finished off in the third. The 14 - 2 win a fair reflection of their dominance on the match. Emily finished with six majors. The forward pairing of Emily and Charlotte dominated the scoring, they were ably supported by pocket dynamo Centre Lucy, WA Sophie and WD Emma.

The other defensive players had little chance to impress as possession remained in the Raiders forward half for most of the match. Izzy who played GD until three quarter time, had seen little of the ball and thrived on the opportunity to get her hands on the pill finishing with one goal. She was an inspired selection to replace the exhausted Charlotte who still finished with seven goals even though she missed the final term. The coaching staff are well pleased with the first hit out and the competition have been put on notice, it was a great win but there is still heaps of improvement to be made.

The day was spoiled a little for me by being continually reminded over the PA that no photos could be taken of the children playing netball without the expressed consent of every parent and or guardian of every child playing in the match. It is quite simply ridiculous to consider that a child is put in danger by a parent photographing their own child playing sport. I am absolutely sick and tired of this nanny state PC bullshit! When I did ask all the parents watching if I could take photos they all said that of course I could, their reaction to the decree was the same as mine - incredulity! A number said they had not even bothered asking. I am telling you now the world has gone mad! It is over regulated by do gooder twats only too willing to impose their ridiculous and over bearing rules and beliefs on others. The sooner this stops the better. Rant over.

ANZAC Day 2014

We got up at Sparrow's for the dawn service at the Bellbowrie Cenotaph, it was a beautiful still morning, about 15 degrees celcius, quite a lovely Autumnal morning for us southern types, a pair of shorts and a light jacket kept us comfortable. True Blue Queenslanders on the other hand were freezing, teeth chattering and wearing coats, how would they cope with a Ballarat dawn service?

Sunrise over the Brisbane River

Bellbowrie Cenotaph

After the dawn service the girls marched in the Kenmore ANZAC parade, all the schools in the district were represented in large numbers, along with scouts, guides and the remaining servicemen. The crowd provided them with generous applause. The march was followed by another ANZAC service at the Kenmore "Digger" who is in fact a Lighthorseman not a Digger.

Rosie

Emily

 The march was led by mounted Police, I believe the number of school kids surprised organisers as they struggled to fit all those that marched into the area set aside for them at the ceremony. This resulted in some small pauses in the march while they mustered the participants.

Kenmore RSL members

RAAF Veteran

Mounted Police

The ANZAC service that followed the march was attended by a large crowd. The service was conducted by the Kenmore State High School Captain and the young lady did a wonderful job. An army Lieutenant, who looked no older than 20 gave a short address, which included the story of a young soldier who fought and died in Afghanistan at the age of 21. The list of casualties from the war in Afghanistan makes for harrowing reading.

What stories hide behind those eyes

Veteran laying a wreath

Pullenvale kids laying a wreath

The Kenmore "Digger"

I have been reading up on stories in the last few weeks related to ANZAC and armed service. I read of Captain Reginald Saunders, I was again reminded of a video made by the Ballarat RSL about a brave man called Bull Allen, who was remembered in a video that I recommend you spend 10 minutes watching. Many many stories abound about acts of valor and bravery, of servicemen and women making the ultimate sacrifice and may we and future generations prove worthy of that sacrifice.

Lest We Forget.

School Holidays Already

Wow, it seems as though the school year had just begun and its end of term one already! The girls spent the first week in vacation care and didn't get up to much exciting, Karren has the second week of the holidays off work and they will spend plenty of girl time together up until I get a break over Easter.

We have just finished decorating the girls rooms, paint and paint and some more paint, plus some stickers and a new desk and book case were the order of the day.

Rosie's room with her new desk freshly painted in Fuchsia Falls

Feature wall in Fuchsia Falls

Toy box and Book case in Fuchsia Falls

Milly's room painted in Minted with new desk and book cases.

Owls feature prominently, bed repainted in white.

Very green but Emily is very happy with the result.

 When uploading photos to the laptop I found some photos of Emily's badge presentation ceremony. Due to health and safety concerns only parents were allowed to pin the badges onto the kids! We really are producing a generation of risk averse, mollycoddled, cotton wool wrapped kids! I try my hardest to encourage the kids to take risks, have a crack at things and take risks when appropriate. They are not allowed to run at school on concreted areas!! How do they play Basketball and Netball? Gee imagine if they fell and grazed a knee or even worse broke a bone? Don't even mention climbing trees.

Walker House Sport Captain.

Emily turns 11 next week, I can't believe how quickly those 11 years has flown by, scary really.

We spent some more time in the garden yesterday planting some grasses, more Cordylines and Bromeliads. This afternoon we took a heap of cuttings and then replanted them, heaps of Cordylines and Rhoeos planted to fill some more gaps. Rosie's veggie garden is progressing nicely, the lettuce, pumpkin and herbs are flourishing, the carrots and beetroot have just sprouted. The pumpkins are apparently giants, all we need to do is remove all but one pumpkin from each plant and they will become enormous. Time will tell!

Some  more Fountain grass planted down the driveway.

Planting more Cordylines and Bromeliads at dusk.

 I have really found a soft spot for Bromeliads and I am starting my own little Brom garden out the front, I only have six so far and I am trying to get sun tolerant ones to plant in clumps.

Bromeliads

We bought a couple of Elephant ear succulents a while ago, one didn't last but the other has thrived, we took two suckers off the main plant and replanted them today, again trying to clump them up.

Elephant ears with suckers replanted.

These Cordylines are incredible plants, we have managed to get more than twenty plants from two original plants. We simply take cuttings, whack the stems in the ground and wait for them to establish them selves again then take more cuttings. It is amazing what will eventually sprout as stand alone plants. A simple cutting of no more than a stick has sprouted. Even a couple of chunks of the root mass, no more than 30mm square have sprouted as well. Brilliant!

Cordyline cutting taking off.

The above photo shows a stick that was just shoved in the dirt. It has taken off nicely, you can see the growth at the bottom of the stick. Makes it pretty cheap to fill up and establish heaps of plants in a garden. It's not too difficult if I can do it!

Rosie's Vegie Garden

Rosie has been pestering us for months, she desperately wanted a vegie garden. On Friday afternoon she bought some mung beans home from school that she had carefully propagated from seeds. Of course these mung beans needed a home so she upped the anti on the vegie garden.

Sunday arvo I was finally worn down, off to Bunnings for some sleepers, seeds and seedlings then some dirt and the afternoon was filled by building a garden.

Fully Loaded Trailer

The trailer was once again loaded above and beyond the call and we gingerly made our way home lest we blew an over burdened tyre! A sigh of relief was heard as I backed the trailer down the drive and the real work began.

The design was basic, nothing ground breaking, just simple sturdy and easy to whack together. I still haven't managed to get myself a decent circular saw and I didn't fancy making eight cuts through 200 x 50 treated pine sleepers with a hand saw so Stihl provided a less physically intensive cutting method. Not millimetre accurate by any stretch of the imagination but close enough for this job.

The kids made themselves scarce while I cut up the timber then reappeared to help with construction. Large noisy power tools like grinders, chainsaws, mowers and whipper snippers make the girls disappear quicker than a rat up a drain pipe.

Assembly was quick and painless.

Rosie "holding" everything in place.

Ready for soil to be added.

When the unpleasant task of filling the contraption with soil began, the girls disappeared again, no surprises there! Especially given both of them are seemingly allergic to physical work. I wanted to get a cubic metre of soil to fill the bed in one trip, alas the trailer would not have liked carrying more than 1.5 tonne so I had to settle for 3/4 of a cube on the first load and 1/2 a cube in the second load which was completed this afternoon after work. Initial measurement indicated that 3/4 of a cubic metre would have been sufficient, but whilst at Bunnings, Karren insisted that I build the base two sleepers high rather than one which was my first intention. This of course increased the amount of soil required. It does of course look much nicer two high and makes it less back breaking to tend the garden.

We had to plant something once the bed was full so the seedlings for the herb garden went in, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Chives, Coriander some Chilli and of course the Mung beans were all planted.

Seedlings planted.

 The biggest challenge we face now is to keep the Deer, Kangaroos, Bandicoots and other critters out of the vegies. Hopefully the dog will finally make himself useful.

It's raining so we don't have to water today!

Plenty of room left for vegies.

On the weekend we will plant the seed for Carrots, Pumpkin, Snow Peas, Lettuce, Spring Onion and Beetroot. You know what they say about Beetroot don't you? Well you can beat an egg but you can't beat a...

It has been a while...

I have to admit to having very little motivation regarding the blog of late. I finally got into action and thought an update was in order. It has been nearly three months since I bothered last and as you would imagine quite a bit has transpired, here are some highlights.

After the new year we had a few southerners visit which was great, we caught up with the Klein klan and Mark Van de Heuvel and his partner Faye which was fantastic, we shared some beverages and a BBQ and had a great night.

We showed the Kleins around Street's beach, young Ashley showed me how to eat ice-cream like a
BOSS!

Rachael, Damian and the boys very generously shouted us a ride on a Jetboat out of the Gold Coast. We went down a fortnight ago and we had a ripper time! I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone, it is all kinds of awesome!

As you would expect we have been continuing to work feverishly on the front garden, I can finally say it is finished. Well we will still need to plant some additional plants to fill some gaps. I like to - for my sanity - consider it complete! I reckon it looks great! Knocking down the fence at the front helped open up the garden and it looks much better. I am not unhappy about the length of time taken, there was a ship load of work that went into it.

No fence!

Mulch done!

No fence

Charlie wants to come...

Looking north west

Looking good I reckon!

There are one or two little things to get done, I want to get a new mailbox, remove the pencil pines at the entrance and down the side of the driveway. All the irrigation is working as it should, the local birdlife like to drink the water that accumulates in the Bromeliads.

In the last few days we have noticed a critter digging and turning over the mulch in search of tucker, it could be either an Echidna or a Bandicoot. The markings initially indicated an Echidna but I am not convinced, to help solve the riddle I have purchased a game trail camera off the eBays interweb thingo, it should arrive early next week. Hopefully we will be able to identify the culprit soon.

Holes that look a lot like an Echidna snout

Emily had her school house captain elections a few weeks ago, she was fortunate enough to be named the Walker house captain, we were all well chuffed! Rosie has finally lost her two front teeth. Both girls are now playing netball at Graceville for the Raiders Netball Club, they are both excited about it, but by god sport is ridiculously expensive up here, it is a disgrace and makes sporting endeavour in Ballarat down right bargain basement!

Hopefully I can provide further updates more frequently!

Happy New Year

Another year has come and gone…

We were fortunate enough to have some of our family visit for the Festive period, it was great to catch up with everyone and the place was a bit hectic for a week or two, but it was well worth it, catching up after many months was an awesome Christmas present in itself! The kids of course make Christmas, and they were in fine form!

Pool Time!

The lounge room looked like a toy factory on Christmas morning and all the kids were well and truly spoilt, of course this scene was prefaced by the annual argument that Karren and I have regarding Santa's salutary generosity. I recall that Santa was not quite so magnanimous when I was a child and my predilection for Christmas was not diminished by this!

Of course boxing day was spent watching the cricket, the next four days of cricket capping off a great end to 2013 with proper cricket equilibrium returning to where it belongs. Apart from the cricket, everyone took the opportunity to cool off in the pool, in fact Pa even had a splash and I can't remember the last time I saw him swim!

A big splash awaits

Another Cannon Ball

Fun and Games

Aside from being pretty busy preparing for Christmas not much of note has happened for us since the last post at the start of Summer, a little more time was spent in the garden and one half of the front is now complete! We added some cardboard to act as a weed mat then topped with 3 cubic metres of Hoop Pine mulch. In my opinion it looks much better! The planting is still a little sparse and we will add more into the garden beds as funds and supply meet.

Looking decidedly better

We transferred a couple of Bromeliads from large pots into the front garden and replaced them with two Yucca.

Two transplanted Bromeliads 

Yucca Elephantipes

A couple more days and the other side will be transformed from this…

Messy and full of weeds

To look more like this…

More plants will come over time

As you can see from the above photos the weed and feed added to the front "lawn" has made its presence felt, amazing how much of the grass wasn't actually grass isn't it!

A few months ago we bought what we thought were Dwarf Purple Fountain Grass or Pennisetum Advena - Rubrum Dwarf, unfortunately it looks as though of the five we purchased (from Bunnings) only one was indeed Rubrum Dwarf and the other four simply Rubrum! Of course we threw away the plant labels so we can't prove that was indeed the case.

Dwarf on the right 

Dwarf on the left

So what I hear you say, well Dwarf supposedly gets to about 60cm high, the standard to nearly 140cm. This extra height takes the seed head above the pool wall and nicely distributes seed heads into the pool as the heads gently sway in the breeze and the aforementioned seed heads are a pain in the freckle to remove!

We headed off to Tamborine to do some bush walks with the kids and soon found out that a large proportion of the QLD population decided to do the exact same thing, busy doesn't begin to describe it. 

Curtis Falls

                  

Still we had an enjoyable morning walking through the rain forest with hundreds of others... At lunch Rosie saw an ad for a reptile and crocodile show so that was next on our list to visit. Furry put on an interesting and educational show that had Rosie enthralled.