An Arty Farm Image

While we were at the farm buying our new ponies I was able to photograph some old farm machinery which I thought looked so interesting. I have made this image into a painting using Paint Shop Pro X. I think this would be great printed on canvas and framed.

Baby Lambs

2 New Ponies

Well we now have 2 new Ponies - we actually only intended to buy one but they had 2 for sale and they were both such good friends and both sooo cute. Well you can justify anything right :)
Annie is the white one (short for Acanthus) and Misty is the Bay who looks like he has a lot of Shetland in him. Annie is trained for Harness and came with a Harness and a carriage. Both of them are very quiet and can also be ridden. Annie's feet need a bit of work but we both feel that she is worth the effort as she is a beautiful quiet little pony. While we were at the farm looking at the ponies we saw 2 beautiful little new born lambs and I couldn't resist a photo :)

Another Heritage LO: Summer 1949

I enjoyed doing this LO yesterday - a group of photos of my mother and father taken just after their marriage in 1949. :)

It's Showtime

We arrived back from our holidays last Sunday and straight into a really busy week. A long Carriage Club meeting on Monday night, a RDA Committee Meeting for Alan on Tuesday night, RDA on Wednesday and then the Gympie Show opened on Thursday. We went on Thursday as we were rostered for a 2 hour stint helping at the RDA Snack Bar (Drinks, pies, sandwiches, hot dogs etc). We were able to look around and watch some of the Dexter Cattle judging as we know all of the people who were showing Dexters. Then on Friday night we were back again as our Carriage Club were doing a demonstration. Alan didn't drive but we were all there to help out and it turned out really well. Alan groomed for our President Ken and Ken's horse Sparky bucked all the way around the obstacle course so they were good entertainment for the crowd :o)

After this we stayed to watch the firework display which was really good. It lasted 15 minutes and was also set to music. I was taking photos and some turned out OK but none of my carriage driving shots were any good. Partly my fault I think as taking good images in the dark is tricky. All in all a very busy and enjoyable week.

A Holiday at Bargara Beach

We have just returned from a wonderful relaxing week on holiday at Bargara Beach. For anyone who hasn't been there I can really recommend it. We stayed in the caravan park opposite the beach but there are also loads of other options. We went with 2 other couples and we all took our bikes - there is a great bike/walking path from the caravan park right through Bargara town, along the beachfront and round to the natural rock swimming pool. We went out on our bikes every day and came home via the coffee shop - well we had earned it :) Luckily we had great weather. We had 2 dinners out and some lunches, we read books, walked on the beach, slept and enjoyed `happy hour' every evening before dinner. All in all the perfect holiday :)




This is Alan asleep after lunch and a long bike ride which obviously wore him out - he was building up strength for later on in the day when he had to get up and open a stubby or 2 :)

Something that really intrigued us was Council's ingenious method of catching coconuts

and thereby avoiding litigation. (They can hurt if they drop on your head) These baskets
are designed to collect the nuts, when they are full someone just climbs up, pulls the string and out they fall :)

This is the beautiful beach at Neilson Park just opposite the Caravan Park where we stayed. This photo was taken on a weekday afternoon last week and as you can see it is very quiet :) This beach is patrolled in the summer months. From just north of here is a walking track that goes to Mon Repos where you can see the baby turtles hatching in the evenings between November and March.

Doreen and Peggy 1947

This photo was one of the ones sent to me by Patti - this is my mother Doreen age 19 in the Summer of 1947. It was taken while she was in Hamburg with the British Navy. I got a tad carried away doing the flowers in this one but I like the result. It looks like it was a beautiful, peaceful Summery day and I wanted to convey that feeling :)

An even busier Weekend

On Friday afternoon after the protest meeting we headed off to RDA to pick up Gabe the RDA Carriage Horse and the carriage. On Saturday morning we were up at 4.00 am for the second time this week to get 2 horses and gear loaded and head off for the RDA State Championships in Nambour. We had to be early to groom and decorate our horses. Gympie RDA had 2 Drivers, 2 Whips and 2 horses competing. We had a really enjoyable and successful day with wins in the Turnout, Dressage and Cone driving for our Drivers Darren and Mark :) Alan and Sheena our Whips also won in Dressage and Cones. We were swapping Bobby and Gabe around a lot as we only had one carriage so it was a very busy morning for the `pit crew' which I am a member of as a groom :) This photo shows Alan, Mark and Sheena with their trophies and Darren in the background.

After the presentations we dropped our horse Bobby off at our place, delivered Gabe and the Carriage back to RDA, whizzed home for a shower, packed our camping gear and food and headed off to camp overnight at the property of 2 of our Carriage Club members Jim and Helen. On Sunday they were hosting a Carriage Driving `Combined Driving Event' on and around their property. We arrived after dark and put up our tent using the headlights of our truck (yes we are mad) . Then finally we were able to relax and sit around the camp fire while we cooked a barbecue and enjoyed a well earned drink :) On Sunday we were up early again at Kookaburra Dawn. We weren't competing in this event but Alan decided to act as a groom for Ken and I was taking photos. A C.D.E. event consists of competition in 3 areas - Dressage or Equitation, a timed Cone Course and a timed Marathon with obstacles. The distance and number of obstacles varies. This event was 10k with some hills, on and off road and included 3 obstacles which involved driving through and around trees (very tricky). Needless to say the experts drive really fast and it can be a real adrenaline buzz. This photo shows Alan with Ken driving Sparky at the end of the event. Their drive was pretty sedate in comparison to some but they cantered up the hills and trotted all the way. Sparky is fit but he was glad to reach the end :)

A Busy Week

I can't believe it is May already and the weather here is still very warm. It has been over a week now since my last post but it was probably the busiest week of the year so far for us. It all began on Sunday 23rd when we went down to the coast for a family gathering and barbecue. We stayed overnight and then on Monday some friends arrived to pick up one of our horses. They are going to borrow her for a while so that will be one less mouth for us to feed and she will get some much needed exercise as well. :)

Tuesday of course was ANZAC Day so we were up at 4.00 am for the Dawn Service and then Alan had a full morning of Light Horse activities. No photos as I had to do some Carriage Club Treasurer business and then Coralie came over for some tutorials in Digiscrapping and photoediting. She stayed for lunch and then we got back into it. We both had a lot of fun :)

Wednesday was a big day for RDA as our Carriage Driving Team was putting in our final practice for the RDA State Championships on Saturday. Then on Wednesday afternoon the Dam Bombshell hit. The State Government announced that they are going to be building a `mega dam' near us in our beautiful Mary Valley. :( It seems that 872 properties will have to be resumed. Our property is unaffected but we are personally affected as so many of our friends are now faced with the loss of their homes and livelihoods. Financial compensation is no compensation as most will not be able to find anywhere to live locally and of course they love their homes. When you live on acreage your land and the environment is more important to you than the `bricks and mortar' So on Friday we went to the first protest meeting and there will be another huge local gathering tomorrow night. I am feeling pessimistic (not like me) because the water situation is becoming desperate in Brisbane and the government will just push on. Wherever they put a dam people will be displaced. This is a LO which I did using an image of the large Dam on our property.