Oh, and I got a better moon shot...

...while I was taking pictures of the fire!


Later tonight I'm going to try the Southern Cross again!

The fire grows...

Fortunately, the wind didn't pick up, but that hasn't stopped it from spreading...

Fire on the mountain.

Took this picture a few minutes ago from in front of the house, looking west:


This can go two ways; either the wind will drop this afternoon and it will smoulder overnight and maybe peter out, or the wind will pick up this afternoon, blowing it over the mountain and into the valleys beyond.

I would prefer the first, but the second is very likely. Fire is the biggest 'natural' disaster potential here, with hot, dry and windy summers.

Setting crescent.

Unfortunately still a bit of heat haze in the air, but still worth a shot.

Found on the roadside.

I picked this dead butterfly up off the side of the road this afternoon. Quite a biggy, wingspan 121mm.


And a closer view of the 'eyes' on it's wings:

Re-sizing photo's.

So far, most of my pic's have been 600x400 pixels, but I've now changed that to 900x600 pixels, so you can see more (sometimes I might post larger ones). All the pic's that appear on the blog page are 400 pixels wide, but have an embedded larger version available.

If you haven't noticed yet, you need to click on the image to see the larger view (try the one below, also from this morning's drive!).


So, more pic's, and in more detail from now on!

'night!

Traffic jam!

Went for an exploratory drive this morning, but got stuck on a jammed up road early into it. Sheesh, Sunday traffic!


A roadside view, behind the mountains from where we are:


And a virtual beer (or even a real one next time I see you), to anyone that can tell me what this town name means:


"Town" is being generous, I think there are about five houses, a pub, an "Algemene Handelaar" (General Dealer) and a "Plaas-Dans Saal" (Farm Dance Hall), the parking lot of which seemed to indicate that it was a very popular place!

Sunset.

A nice one tonight:


Taken from the back garden, westerly wind blowing forming clouds over the beach about 10km away.

Stars.

A pic from tonight, the Southern Cross (not sure how it will look on your screen, but looks OK on mine):


About 30 sec. exposure - the first time this constellation's appeared over the eastern horizon (which is why it's pointing up!) at a reasonable time. It will be with us for the next six months at least!

Oh, and I now have my (official) Skippers Ticket! Now legally allowed to drive a boat on the sea!

What weekends are for...

Having fun!






Oh, and if any family reads this today, it's the First Mate's birthday tomorrow!

Sunrise.

Taken from the front gate this morning (click on image for larger version).

Enjoy:

The joys of dog ownership...

The First Mate was wearing these yesterday, and this is what was left when we woke up this morning:

Minor observation #1...

...they are still playing the same music on the radio.

It's like a time warp; move back to South Africa, move back to the '80s!

Uuurgh!

Our home!

Thought I'd show what it looks like here.

View from the street, showing the front of the house:

A view from the stoep (that's "porch" or "veranda" in other parts of the world):

And the back garden:


Notice the nice boat! Taken it out twice now, and both times other skippers have commented on what a nice boat it is.. ;) - note, none have them have asked me to build one for them yet... :(

The boat goes faster that it should. Dunno why or how, but theoretical top speed on a 17" pitch prop at 5500 rpm is 53km/h. That's assuming no slippage (which always happens). So how come I'm doing 55km/h? Magic boat? Must be! Anyway, I'm more than happy with it!

As to the skipper's ticket, did my eye test (I can see) and medical (I'm not dead) so now only have to tally up my hours to get approved. After that, skipper for life - no re-tests, unless I want to extend my range. For now, I will be limited to one nautical mile offshore. I'm going to up-rate that to 5 miles (a bit of navigation theory needed, but not much).

Oh, and for those up north, only 34ºC here today. Starting to acclimatise: I put a coat on at 22º.

Skipper's a skipper now!

Called my examiner today, passed everything! Now all I need to do is get my medical and eye test done, and I will be a certified SKIPPER!!!

In the mean time though, we haven't been holding back with the boat usage - "Three Summers" got launched on the 29th of last month, and managed to achieve just a bit under 55km/h on the river. Not bad for a 17" foot boat with 'only' 60hp!

Me, happy? You bet!


Quite a nice river here, about 8km from home (slipway is 3 blocks from our house) to the lagoon which we unfortunately can't get to due to a sand bar, but much between here and there to keep our attention, mostly bird life (saw a fish eagle today!).

New Year's day was spent on something a bit bigger!


I tried fishing for the first time in about 25 years - caught nothing, which is just as well, as I wouldn't know what to do with it if I had!

Spent the day today again on "Three Summers", did about 40km up and down the river, trying to sort out trim and ideal throttle positions, and have settled on 35km/h@3500rpm as a perfect cruise speed - fast enough to be planing and making progress; slow enough for conversation on board. It seems we're getting about 5km per litre of petrol, which is better than the boat above, which uses about 3 litres per kilometre!!! I know which I'd rather feed!!!!

So, anyway, that's news for the beginning of 2009 - may it be a good one for everyone!

(Knackered and sunburned) SKIPPER!