Christmas was a pleasant fuzz of alcohol, good friends and lashings of ginger beer. Oh no that’s the famous five perhaps it was just the first two. Apart from the fish the whole family went over to Julian’s for Christmas Eve and the plan was to come back for THE DAY early doors. However as with most plans involving Kylie and Julian it didn’t quite work out that way as we had rather a late night, Hol had a later one by the way, we had our traditional bacon and eggs, Hol had eggs and then the traditional game of backyard cricket started. In Australia everybody has to plat this variation on the great and noble sport. Within this variation every family has variation within variations. So score a hinder, for example and you are out, hit a six by bouncing it off the lobelias, hit the shed on the full and its caught one handed and you are gone. Knock granny’s ashes off the shelf and you get banned for the season oh yes and the dog can catch you as well. So the Kylie and Julian variation involves water bombs and the ability to catch them without getting soaked. It caused much hilarity Amber wasn’t impressed and it was a bit hot for yours truly but Charley loved it until a ball hit him in the middle of a good chew on the bones of Julian’s deceased cow, which we enjoyed too in massive steak form, Hol had an egg. I think as much as we enjoyed the Christmas the dogs thought it was wonderful as they had the company of Emma the aged one and Mr. D’Arcy also quite aged but full of gummy pugnacity, he has only four teeth but that doesn’t stop him putting our two dogs in their place. Charley especially just loved the abundance of rabbit in various stages of decomposition. In fact, it is like the bunny equivalent of the Body Farm. They are, in the chuftsters view all worth a chew and if they are really far gone and chew followed by a good roll in the miasma.
So the festive doldrums were encountered in the time between Christmas and New Year were relieved this year by Hol booking a cottage in Deans Marsh close to where the big bush fires were over Christmas when nearly 200 houses were lost. It can be a terrible country when it’s so dry and I guess in a few months there will be floods or other such disaster.
New Year’s Eve was spent quietly in the company of Inke, I must be getting old cos I watched some, in my opinion remarkably poor, fireworks from Melbourne. I think Sydney was better much as it hurts to say so. The Rat didn’t do any this year as it was a total fire ban and there’s enough bush and grass fires about without adding more grief to the proceedings. Sorry Ian not much birdy stuff just too damn hot to do much. However I did manage 36 species at Deans Marsh including a lone Black Kite which is quite unusual around Victoria. Anyway enjoy the photos.
So the festive doldrums were encountered in the time between Christmas and New Year were relieved this year by Hol booking a cottage in Deans Marsh close to where the big bush fires were over Christmas when nearly 200 houses were lost. It can be a terrible country when it’s so dry and I guess in a few months there will be floods or other such disaster.
New Year’s Eve was spent quietly in the company of Inke, I must be getting old cos I watched some, in my opinion remarkably poor, fireworks from Melbourne. I think Sydney was better much as it hurts to say so. The Rat didn’t do any this year as it was a total fire ban and there’s enough bush and grass fires about without adding more grief to the proceedings. Sorry Ian not much birdy stuff just too damn hot to do much. However I did manage 36 species at Deans Marsh including a lone Black Kite which is quite unusual around Victoria. Anyway enjoy the photos.