Benji – Page 9 – Edgar's Page

Travelling, Easter and a great escape

29/04/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I made an interesting discovery today – the WaWa is not a good distance traveller. The Beach or the Wetlands are ok but travelling the 20 miles to the lighthouse are not so good and after a while

Out at the lighthouse area. Wawa wont look at the camera..

she starts to get a bit unsettled and fractious. Perhaps if we persevere and extend the distance a little at a time, she might settle down over the longer drive. At the moment the Beach and the Wetlands are her limit. We drove out to the Lighthouse and spent some time around there. It was fairly busy with quite a lot of tourists and shack people there for the Easter break. That being so we did not spend a lot of time there – although there were no dogs, which was good. We did go down onto the rocks and I carried the WaWa over some of the area – I mean, she does have wee legs :o) She is getting as bad as Benji and will not look at the camera. However, Benji seems to blend in with the surrounding rocks, so it’s not a good place to photograph him. On Tuesday we went down to the

beach, which was surprisingly quiet. There were some people there but I expected a lot more since it was a warm, sunny day and it is the school holidays. Today, on the other hand, (Wednesday/Thursday night/morning) it has been chucking it down all night. No dogs out today and I think they are so upset about that they have just stayed in bed. I seem to be the only one of the three that is in any way concerned about not getting out.

This Saturday STRATCO, our local hardware store, are holding a Barbecue and Cake Stall. We (RFDS) have been asked to do the Cake Stall. It’s not our usual thing, but we did this some months ago and it was very successful and STRATCO negotiated with the car club who brought some vintage cars along inspection. There were games and face-painting for the children – so all up, a fun day. I missed the last one since I was out of town. Annabell is doing a load of baking for this and I’ll take her stuff down on Saturday morning. Some of it has already been pre-sold. Annabell is a good cake maker.

I think an engineer has bought the house over the road. I saw him out most of this week rebuilding the front garden and planting flowers. The reason I noticed this is that wherever he went and whatever he did he used a tape measure – I mean the distance between the plants was precisely measured. I thought it was bit overmuch but who knows.

I have the WaWa on a diet and I really didn’t realise how much weight she had lost. 6am this morning, at the corner of Busch and Fairclough Streets, chasing a WaWa who escaped from her harness and thought my trying to catch her was a game, was interesting! I had to tie Benji up to the fence and go after her on my own. Took a while, but she came to me and I was able to get her home – making sure I didn’t tug her in any way until we did get home- and I did adjust the harness.

In a discussion with Annabell I used the term “my dogs”. She responded with “you don’t have dogs – you have a dog”. She is, of course correct, the WaWa is really not mine. It certainly feels like it and the WaWa is acting like it is, but it is still Sooah’s dog. I was asked to look after it for three months – over a year ago now. It’s a very frustrating situation and the best we can do is simply to act and treat the WaWa as if she is part of the family but keeping at the back of my mind that if Sooah returns we will have to give the WaWa back to her. Neither of us are too happy about that after this time, but that was the arrangement, however, the general consensus within the church is that she may not be coming back. Struth, it’s like a Norwegian Saga – it’s never ending.

Dogs, Emus and Daleks

16/04/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

On Saturday 8th April, there was a tribute music festival to a local singer who died recently and, whom I am ashamed to say, I never heard of. Anyway, the RFDS was asked to provide the Barbecue for the event and we were happy to do this. I was not rostered on but I went up in the early afternoon to see how things were and if they needed anything. Everything was ok, but I was still very concerned because over in the far corner was this creature. They said it was “Friendly”but I was unaware that there was such a creature in the universe as a “Friendly Dalek”.

The warm weather looks to be over and we have started to hit the skids as the temperature for the coming week does not rise above 26c. The mornings have been a bit on the cool side so I should think about changing into a heavier jacket when I take the dogs out. Probable a good thing that the trip to Quorn took place when it did and when the weather was warm and sunny.

After church today we had a management meeting, so it was a while before we came back home. One would have thought that we had been away for years, WaWa went ballistic, the tail going like crazy. I bent down to pet her and she practically jumped into my hands, so I picked her up. The tail was still going and she licked my face and my head and my ear and my face, then my neck and all Annabell could do was stand and watch in amazement – this was the WaWa that just two months ago would have torn my fingers (and she did) to shreds if I tried to touch her. After a little while I decided enough was enough and I wanted to go and look after Benji – he is not being neglected. The WaWa is an “inside”dog and I

spend a good amount of time outside and Benji is always with me. The beach is with both but Road Trips are me and Benji. In fact it has been warm and sunny outside and the Benji and me were working in the garden for the morning and early afternoon – until Annabell came back from the Coffee Ladies. Next week is to be in the mid 20c, so we might be able to get out and about for a few hours. I think sometime next week a second trip to Quorn might be on the cards. This might be the last one because I think the lady was only booked in there for four weeks and that’s almost up. We don’t know what will happen after that. Quorn only accepted her on the understanding that it would only be for four weeks. At the moment Quorm will be very busy with the Easter Traffic and the Pichi Richi Heritage Steam Train running over the entire long Easter weekend.

Victoria may have Kangaroos, but we have visiting Emus. Thus far this week we have had three different pairs of emu wandering the streets. The police, along with Wildlife Protection have had the task of getting them back into the wild. Motorists were not “emused” at the traffic chaos they caused. These photographs are from the” Whyalla News” Whilst they were here they decided that since it was a nice day they would have a wander around the beach – more problems for the local police. There was one just around the corner from the house that the RSPCA and the Wildlife people were trying to get into a pen and then back into the bush. And no I did not take the camera since I figured Cortza and her people had enough to do without me getting in the way with a camera. As it turned out the Emu had a slight injury which Cortza wanted checked out by the Vet before they released in back into the bush.

Swans, Beach and a Day Trip

08/04/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There are now four pairs of Black Swans at the Wetlands

Up until fairly recently there were areas that were a sort of sanctuary – Benji went there and the WaWa stayed clear. One of these areas was my bed. Benji curled himself up at the back of my legs and slept there. However, over the last week or so the WaWa has become my BFF and she now— gasp— sleeps with me. Thus my bed is no longer a Benji Sanctuary and if he goes up on the bed she stands and barks at him. Oddly enough, she is quite calm sleeping close to him at night – although she is closer to me. She still walks quietly beside him when we go out walking in the morning and at night. I know it’s old hat but still no word about if or when Sooah is coming back and this Friday it will be a year since she left Kongsoon (WaWa) with us. It could be months or it could be another year, or never, we just don’t know. However the WaWa is settling down and we can do a lot with her and the coffee ladies have sort of adopted her and when I

kept her in my room, they asked for her, so I let her out and they were happy with her running around them and letting them pet her . Everyone has noticed the difference in her this last while back.

For a while there was only one pair of black swans at the wetlands. Now there are four pair and we really do hope that we will get to see some little black swans in the not to distant future. Today at the beach much of the seagrass is back but there was more than enough clear sand to be able to play in and we even got to go into the water for a bit, although Benji is not keen and I had to coax him. Next time we go down with the intention of going into the water, I’ll take some treats with me and see what we can do. Other than that it was a great afternoon and the dogs enjoyed playing and chasing in the sand.

Due to lack of aged accommodation here one of the ladies from our church has been moved to Quorn – about 80 miles ( 130 klms) away. One of her friends wanted to go and see her before she went home to Adelaide tomorrow, so I decided to take her. Lovely day, good drive and a fun-filled conversation.It’s not something I can do every few days or even every week, but I will encourage people to visit her as often as we can so that she does not get depressed by feeling isolated, particularly as she has no family here in Australia. The drive from Stirling North to Quorn is not the easiest of drives for us “Townies” with the long winding country road through the Pichi Richi Pass, and the lower Flinders Ranges, but it’s not too bad – bit tight in places, but not too bad. The lady we went to see was bright and cheerful and seems to have settled in fairly well. She has a room at the Quorn Country Hospital and she says she is well looked after and the staff are friendly and very nice. It is a typical, single level, country hospital. It was a good visit and the only tears were when it was time for us to leave and make our way back home. When a bed is available here she will be moved back – but she understands that this could take a while. We did a bit of shopping in Port Augusta before heading back home.

The WaWa – all change.

31/03/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

In all of my life I have only ever bought one dog from a Pet Shop. I have to truthfully say that I have looked and liked what I saw – but then, I didn’t know any better. I bought this dog from the Pet Shop, because I knew the owner, she was also a dog groom and she also ran boarding kennels. We called the dog Chienne – I know some people in France use this as an insult but to me it just simply meant what she was a Female Dog. This was almost sixteen years ago. She died at just over fourteen years of age. She never had a day ill in her life and the only time she had to wear a “Collar of Shame” was when she had been to the vet for “The Operation”. She was a lovely dog, dearly loved by everyone who came into contact with her, particularly the Love of Her Life – my youngest son, Andrew. She also helped to fill an interesting matchmaking role, but that’s another story. My reason for reliving all this, is not to inflict sadness on myself, but to state a point – and the point is this – in my life I have only ever had one experience of a pet shop and that experience was very positive. I do not for one second doubt that many

Puppy Farms are dreadful places and should be closed down. My heart aches when I think of some of these poor animals. However my only experience was a positive one and it is very difficult to set that aside. Every dog, including Benji, was a rescue dog. Only Chienne was a Pet Shop Dog and she was one of the most lovable dogs I have ever lived with – and to be honest it took me a while to stop calling him and at times referring to Benji as Chienne. That’s how imprinted she was on me.

The WaWa and I have become quite close to the point where I can go to her, lift her up and she snuggles into my neck. In my wild erratic fancy, I had visions of her searching where would be the

best point to sink her teeth into, but that’s being unkind :o) I can also sit down on the floor and when Benji is not around I can sit and play with her, scratch her ears and her belly and pet her back and head. Tippysmom was spot on when she said that it will be an incredible wrench if /when the owner comes back and I have to give her up. I never meant to get attached to her but I have – and that’s a concern.

I have been working outside – even in the high temperatures we have had this week – because I want to get as much of the garden finished as I can. At the moment I have completed about half of what needs to be done and I would like to get most of it finished this week. For the gravel I am using Granite Chips – not cheap but they look good and they hold their colour for a long time. Other stone chip seems to fade after a while whereas Granite does not. The Frangipani are coming along well as are the four Mandevilla / white /pink and two red. All very nice and should last until about mid-May, which is when I head off to Mount Gambier for four days. I water and feed the flowers and plants before I go and hope that will be enough to last them until I get back. And before you ask, the answer is NO.

A post ago I used a photographs of snow in Neilson. The photographs was taken in the morning, and by mid-afternoon the snow was all gone. It didn’t last long apparently.

Still no word about what is happening with Arrium. As far as we know there are two buyers interested – One British and one South Korean. The uncertainty is such that there are so many houses

for sale around the town; a number of houses foreclosed by the bank and I know of at least one house – a big house – where the owners just packed up and walked away, leaving everything to the bank. As I said before our major shopping Mall, once advertised as the largest outside of Adelaide, has 18 empty shops. However on a positive note we believe that a large retailer will be moving into the larger of the empty shops ( 3 in 1) soon. Good in that it is a large area and will take away the empty look from that section and also that it will provide jobs.

Yams, Walkies and Snow

24/03/201724/03/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

During the course of an afternoon, Annabell will ask me if I would like a coffee – chocolate biscuit or scone. Now I know I have casually mentioned in some posts that I like scones, but in a situation like this I will choose to have a scone rather than a chocolate biscuit. You see, I can’t share a chocolate biscuit, but I can share a scone with my Associate. You have to think of these things :o) This afternoon, being Thursday, I did as I promised I would do, I got out the Mandoline / Mandolin slicer, sliced the Sweet Potatoes and put the slices on two baking trays and put these in a 120c oven for three hours. After about halfway I’ll go and turn them. I just hope, after all this, the dogs like them and they don’t end up in landfill – or I end up eating them myself. Don’t balk – it’s sweet potato not actual dog food. If this does work, I might give the Peanut Butter recipe a go.

I lift her leash and her tail goes off like a wee helicopter. Last night I put her on Annabell’s lap while I got Benji ready and she was not happy and Annabell says she was watching my every move and when I came back in with Benji on his leash she was straining to get down. Once she was down on the floor she made straight for the door, ready to go. The difference is remarkable and this morning I was sitting on the floor giving the WaWa ear and belly scratches. She is a changed little girl.

I am not altogether sure what is going on but for the last three days there have been police and police cars all around this area. There was five officers went into a house three houses away, two more officers on the street and parked outside our house was one of the police cars. I mean even if you are a law abiding citizen ( is there such a person?) having a police car practically parked outside your door is a little bit disconcerting. I thought of an escaped convict but that would have been all over the news and it was not a drug thing because had that been the case there would have been vans and chemical containment vehicles there and there wasn’t – so I don’t know what’s going on. I know their dogs keep escaping but that would not involve what must be half the city police force.

Yes daddy, I will sweep up – but first – The Nap..

Benji seems to have put his paw down in revolt “no more photographs with me and the WaWa”. Every time I stopped to try and take a photograph he came quickly back and went behind my legs. He did this every single time when we were out yesterday afternoon. On Wednesday morning when the coffee ladies are here I’ll take them both down to the Foreshore and see what the beach is like and see what happens there. If the seagrass problem gets too bad, the council send in front loaders to clear if away and use it – with other stuff – for mulch.

On Sunday I had to quietly call Annabell through – there was Andrew sitting on the chair, the WaWa lying lengthwise along his lap, and he was scratching her and playing with her. When he stopped scratching her belly, she hit him with her paw until he started again. Sadly I was too stunned at what I was watching to get the camera and I was also afraid that if I moved, it would break the moment. Unreal is a much overused word, but that’s what it was. I have taken advice and early this morning when Benji and I go for our long walk – I decided to take the WaWa with us. She was willing and walked most of the way . I did carry her for a little bit, but mostly she did it on her own. The photograph of

This was taken in Neilston not far from Glasgow today.

Benji – I did not set this up, he lay down beside the brush himself. This other photograph is for Denver in Colorado. It was sent to us this morning by a friend who lives in a place called Neilston, outside Glasgow. I thought you would like and appreciate it – and my life insurance is up to date :o)

Update, the house mentioned is now empty and there is a notice on the gate “This property is under Security Surveillance ” same notice as the house the bank foreclosed in another part of our walk route. It’s really quite sad and the Sacked Arrium Management has a lot to answer for – but then they have gone so they never will.

Traffic Comments and Walking with WaWa

16/03/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I think daddy set up this bed for me. Isn’t he kind..

A long weekend has just concluded and things will get back to normal. Anyone with any degree of intelligence, stays away from Adelaide at this time – unless there happens to be a specific reason for going – conference, Adele Concert, International Cricket Match, and so forth. Even at the best of time Adelaide traffic is heavy, but then as I keep saying, 15% of the land mass is occupied by 85% of the population – give or take the odd percentage and South Australia is bigger than most European countries and bigger than Alaska. We are fortunate in that we do not

have the traffic problems experienced by other places – mind you there is only one other place in South Australia- Adelaide, so generally our drivers here in the north are still largely courteous and considerate, although we do find with younger drivers that no one has really impressed on them what that lever on the right of the steering wheel is for. That’s the one that goes backwards and forwards and makes a strange clicking sound. Other drivers find the sound soothing, strangely comforting and just leave it on. Other than these little quirks, driving here is good. I find the drivers in Adelaide, rude and impatient and very intolerant – but then, I suppose that’s no different from any other major city. However, the roads into Adelaide get so congested that it doesn’t take much to bring traffic to a halt and create a major back-up. An event – whatever – and half the city is closed down. I’ve been caught up in that once. Never made that mistake again. On a long weekend like this everyman, woman and their dogs head north and the generally quiet Port Wakefield becomes a major bottleneck since all traffic – coming or going – has to pass through it. One slight problem and the traffic can be banked up either way for quite some distance. But to compare our traffic to the USA or any other major European City, is just plain silly. The entire population of South Australia would probably fit into one of the Boroughs of New York.

The family were here at the weekend and they were amazed at the changes that have taken place with the WaWa. John came in and she started by barking at him then

jumping at him, so I told him that she wanted him to pick her up. He was reluctant to do so, but then he bent down, put his hand under her and lifted her up into his arms. He was amazed at how she was. Andrew came in later and she did the same thing to him, barked then jumped at him and I told him to pick her up. Andrew thought it was a bit of a joke, but on assurances from John and I he bent down and picked her up. She snuggled into his shoulder and he wandered about the house for the next half hour with the WaWa on his shoulder. The boys just could not believe the changes in her in a week. I am very pleased that all our patience is starting to pay off and she is becoming what she really is – a friendly, lovable and playful little thing. First few days of our walks I carried her part of the way, now I don’t and she walks the whole distance. We generally walk within the bike lane. I pick up her leash and her tail is going fit to create a hurricane I have to admit though in the early morning when I have Benji out on his own I don’t mind his stopping at every tree, bush and clump of grass to have a sniff – it’s the almost forever NCIS investigation of every blade of grass in that clump that gets me.

We are hearing from Sooah a bit more frequently now and she has responded several times to the photographs I put on line, which is very good and I am well pleased. I think she must have been reading from the start and was upset by the fact that the initial behavior of her dog was causing me problems. There are still problems with Benji when they are in the house, but outside of the house they are more like Big Brother and Little (adopted) Sister and the play and walk well together. Something we need to work on. I have to say that the changes have been quite remarkable, but very welcome. Now if I could just get her to stop ambushing Benji ……………………….

Past, Present, and Future.

10/03/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I think both here and overseas, one of the major talking points is the weather and how strange it has been – we expect winter snow – and we get none / we expect summer heat – and it’s limited to a couple of days. We had a heatwave a few weeks ago when the temperature topped 44c. Last week, and this week we were warned of another heatwave and possible power cuts – neither of which happened. I took Benji out this morning, turned round and came back inside and changed into a heavier jacket. True it was still dark, but it was cold – not winter cold, but cold enough for a different jacket. Temperatures have been warm to very warm. Using the term “Hot” would be – for us here anyway – a slight exaggeration. I look on the weather people as I look on the South Australian Government – take everything they tell you with a large pinch of salt.

When I was growing up in the 60s there was a pioneer couple appeared on Television – black and white, of course, we didn’t have colour until the mid 70s – anyway, this pioneering couple were Armand and Michaela Denis. As far as I know they retired in 1961, but their films and the Wildlife TV Programs were shown well into the 1960s because they were pioneers in Wildlife Filming, setting man of the standards. If I remember correctly I think one of their TV programmes was “On Safari” Interesting in that the Denis couple were closing their career just as another broadcaster was starting his – David Attenborough.

Took Benji and the WaWa down to the Foreshore for a Beachie. There is a small problem here – in order to have a beachie you needs a beach. Today was not a good day with about 10% beach and 90% seaweed. Oh a Beachie is South Australian for a romp around the beach. Depending on the weather we might go North sometime this

week. This morning we didn’t go anywhere. Generally I get up with the alarm, get dressed and the Boy and I go out for our morning walk. Well, I got up and I got dressed and I got ready to go out, but he refused. I don’t know what was wrong with him, but he just didn’t want to go out. In fact when I produced the leash, he looked and went back to bed. Going back to yesterday, it’s not really seaweed on the beach – it is seagrass, which is a different thing altogether. The area of sand in the photograph is all there was and the photograph makes it look much larger an area that it really was.

Lots of rumbling – like thunder – the army is back playing in the Play-Pen again. Apparently there are some War Games going on. No idea how long this will go on or how long they are here for. I have not seen any army people around the place. The photograph is from when they were here last year and conducted Operation Hamel. —- Sorry about the caption, I couldn’t resist it. I’ll try harder next time :o)

This morning I sent yet another email over to Korea (South) and at the moment it has not bounced back. Of course this is not to say that it wont during the course of today, but at the moment it’s looking fairly good. The Coffee Ladies are here this morning and they were here last night. They are lovely ladies and many of them have dogs so they don’t mind Benji and the WaWa wandering around – which is good. They pay the host a few dollars each for coffee, tea and cookies, but what remains they save and bank for the year and this is donated to several charities. Last year they presented me with a cheque for $1000 donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, $1000 to Riding for the Disabled and $1000 to help with the medical bills of a young boy who was involved in a serious accident and requires a number of operations. So, they do good and sometimes someone brings scones, or Annabell makes them – I likes scones……. I can be bribed so easily :o)

This morning (Friday) I opened my mail box when I came back from our walk and there was an Email from Sooah. She is doing well and loves the photographs I have sent her. She says that it looks like Kongsoon ( WaWa to us) and Benji are good friends and she is pleased. ( Shush – our little secret!) She says she hope to see us soon – but that could just be politeness with no

indication if and when she is returning. However, the note did sound positive so that was good. I will keep sending and even although things bounce back from time to time, I wont give up. At the moment no one is really sure what is going on – there is still major uncertainty in the town and our Shopping Mall – Which was once billed as the largest outside of Adelaide – has 19 empty shops. There are so many houses up for sale it’s unreal – there is an offer ( two I believe) for Arrium and the Feds have made it clear that if the buyer is not willing to commit to a long term future for Arrium and the Steelworks and upgrade the outdated equipment, then they would not be inclined to give approval to the sale. At the moment there is still some hope that things will settle soon and we can get on with life. ==== Past, Present and Future / The Past was exciting / Present full of uncertainty / Future has limited hope – but still hope)

Salt Lakes and Camels

13/02/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

After the week out and about with Benji it rained most of the day Sunday and almost all day Monday. Today (Tuesday) wasn’t too bad and we were able to get out to the beach this afternoon. I love this since it’s a school day and the beach is empty – not a soul – well a few teenagers in cars but no one walking along the beach and I discovered that the Benji doesn’t like the sand – He Loves It ! He loves running on it and he loves exploring the seaweed. Once we got away to the very far end of the area where there are never any people, because it’s too far away from children play areas, I took him off lead (leash) and let him romp around on his own for a little while. Playtime over we made our way back to the main area again and went to the

Foreshore Cafe for some Ice -Cream. After the cafe we drove to the Wetlands and had a short wander mainly to get to the cold water fountains – the Boy had a drink and I had a drink from the peeps fountain. By then I felt that it was starting to get a bit warm so we cut over the bridge and back to the car and home. I did notice on the bridge that some people have started this French thing about locking padlocks on the bridge sides. I wonder how long that will be allowed before the Council get out the Bolt Cutters. I also took some photographs of the Black Swans and what I thought was a baby swan. However, when I looked at the photograph later you can clearly see the markings that it is a small black duck who just happened to be close to the black swans.

The next week is not going to be a great week and I don’t think the Boy and I will be doing a lot of wandering and I think the picnic is out for the moment:

Wednesday 43 / Thursday 44 / Friday / 43 / Saturday 41 / Sunday 39 (Subject to change)- that being so I don’t think we will be out much. In the morning I will bring all the pot plants under the extended carport and at least give them some shade and make sure that have water as soon as we get back from our 5:40am walk.

I did just that, gave the plants some water and carried them to a spot under the pergola. At least I have tried to keep them from being burned by direct sunlight. Friday and I have to drive to Adelaide. Tomorrow (Thursday) I will check oil and water and make sure I have extra water with me for the car – and for me. At the moment the Benji is unhappy because we had to go out and we left him at home. I had to go to the optician for my new glasses and to leave Benji in the car in this heat (42c) would have been a death sentence – but of course, he doesn’t understand that – he just knows that I am going out without him.

The drive to Adelaide was interesting in that I took a couple of photographs of some unlikely visitors to this part of the world. Yes, they are common the further north you go but not so much in this corner of the planet. It was interesting that so many people – me included – pulled up and got out of the car to take photographs. There was quite a herd of them scattered across the paddock. But that wasn’t the only interesting things this weekend. The highway passes through the small town of Lochiel then continues on to Port Wakefield. The industry of Lochiel is the salt lake. Normally these are covered in water but this time, perhaps because of the extreme heat, as I passed through there were people walking out on what was lake but now was dry land. The remainder of the lake was a bright pink – which does not show up too well. Some of the

photographs are not so good because a cool change was starting to push through and the wind was fairly high. I tried to steady myself against a tree so some of them were not too bad. The lake, incidentally,is called Bumbunga and was part of the Micronation “Province of Bumbunga” – which is a long story of recent South Australian History.

When the meetings are over I am always happy to get back in the car and head from home. After this meeting I couldn’t wait to get back in the car and get the A/C on full – the A/C in the church wasn’t working and it was pretty hot and sticky. By the time I reached Lochiel and Lake Bumbunga, the cold change was sweeping in and there was a fair wind. The temperature crashed from 40 – 21 and it will stay down for most of this week.

Driving with Benji.

05/02/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The other side of the hilols is where we are bound. — The other side of the distant hills is where we are bound.

Tuesday of this week was not such a bad day with regard to the weather – warm, humid and overcast at times, but nice for a drive with the Benji. Trying to think of someplace new around here is difficult, but I realised that we had not been out to the lighthouse – about 23 miles away, so that’s where we headed. When we came to Australia my brother in law took me fishing and we drove along this road in his Jeep. Mind you, this wasn’t a road then, merely a dirt and gravel track that only an SUV could negotiate. A lot has changed since then – as you can see. The reason for the change is that the road is the main highway out to the Santos Processing plant ( should have taken a photograph!!) at Point Lowly. It is the end of a 660 kilometer pipeline from the Moomba Gas Fields and from here is is shipped to places across the Asia-Pacific region as well as supplying the gas requirements for South Australia. An important plant, so it requires a good quality road – and it is!! However, it is like most roads in and around this area, flat land; not a lot to see. Anything that was worth driving out to is now out of bounds and part of the restricted army playpen. An access road was constructed during the building stage and then rebuilt when the plant came on line. We drove past the processing plant out to Point Lowly and the Lowly Lighthouse. By then the boy was anxious to get out and do his business – then we went wandering. It was quiet and peaceful and there were no flies around, which was a bonus. I did see three

people – a family out for the same reasons I was, but no dog, thankfully. We spent quite a while just wandering about the place. The lighthouse is, of course,

securely locked up. However wandering around the area I had a thought and it was that I could put the camp two burner stove in the boot, pack some food for

him and me, a small metal kettle, a container of water, coffee – and we could have ourselves a little picnic. Ransacked the garage – when I got home – and found that we had an old metal kettle from years ago that we never use. It’s a heat on the stove kettle, not an electric one. I also found a small pot and a small frying pan, so, in essence, we are ready to

go whenever the mood takes us. Probably go back to the lighthouse so we are still within striking distance of home in case of any mishap. My next meeting is in Adelaide next week so we will see what we will do after I get back from Adelaide.

It was a reasonable day today so I decided to make up for Sunday and take Benji and I back down to the beach to wander along the sand – and have the Ice-Cream that we missed. It was a bit on the windy side so there were a few wind surfers out on the water. We walked for a fair bit along the beach then came back and had our ice-cream, sitting under the cafe umbrella.

That was Thursday,-today Friday we went back to the wetlands and had a good wander around there. However it was starting to get a bit on the warm side and the Boy was panting a bit – even after a drink of cool water, so I decided not to go back to the beach but to go home. I was going to take him over the new bridge but after I put my hand, palm down, on the metal base of the bridge I decided that it was too hot for dog paws, and went around the pond to the car and then home with the A/C on full. At the moment he is curled up beside my chair. TeeHee, it’s been a busy few days for the boy.

Fangorn, Road Trip and Benji

31/01/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Conducting a funeral is never fun, conducting two in one week is even less fun, particularly when one (Today / Friday) is conducted in a 43c heat. The funeral on Monday saw the church packed to capacity but the funeral today was even bigger and we had to erect a gazebo outside and have extra chairs in the shade. There was more than 170 there because that’s the number of Orders of Service ( O.O.S.) I printed and the ladies distributing them at the door ran out and I couldn’t print others because the church photocopier can’t process A5 paper and that part of the O.O.S. I printed at home from the computer. Even with the two reverse cycle Daikin Air- Conditioners running at their coldest, it was still sticky in the church – so many people. Lunch in the hall was relatively easy and the two big A/C units there did keep the temperature at reasonable levels, given the number of people Anyway, that’s it and although we told our friends in the Funeral Service that it was nice to see them, we really hope not to see them for a little while longer than four days.

When I came back from Mount Gambier I really didn’t have time to do much, subsequently I didn’t download the photographs from the camera. I

Coming Home - Saturday — Coming Home – Saturday

didn’t go to the blue lake or the sinkhole gardens this time but I have heard that the possums are back in residence again at the sinkhole gardens so I will get down there next time – which should be in May. As I said, the weather was odd so you will see that reflected in the photographs of the River Murray – both sets taken at the same spot – one Friday – one Saturday – and there is quite a difference between the two. The Friday is a bit misleading since that was really the residue of the Thursday night storm and by the time I reached the Forest of Fangorn – well, Penola Forest – but it looks like Fangorn!- the weather had, surprisingly, cleared and it turned out a really nice day. Driving through the forest area is always interesting – just watch out for the big timber trucks. Although trucks are not all I watch out for – if I ever see a person in a long robe, a pointed hat and a white beard, I’m outta there! By the time I reached Naracourte the weather was really nice and driving was enjoyable.

Part of the Forest of Fangorn - well, Penola anyway — Part of the Forest of Fangorn – well, Penola anyway

The drive alongside the forests is always very quiet and considering the amount of traffic i.e. heavy timber trucks, the roads are in very good condition. I didn’t have time to go to the Winery this trip since I had to be in Mount Gambier for Friday afternoon and didn’t have a lot of time. I rather like the wines of the Limestone Coast. Most are small wineries and not readily available in the larger regional shops – or, indeed, in many of the shops outside the region. I like Browns of Padthaway T. Trellis Shiraz, which is a small family estate, but I like most of the wines of this region more so than the Adelaide Hills or the Barossa. I also like the wines from the Margaret River in Western Australia. If you go into any of the bottle

shops most of the stock available is from the larger, well known wineries and little of other regions.

The weather, as seems to be usual at the moment, is very changeable. I took Benji out for a drive this afternoon and we went out to Point Lowly – about 25 miles from here. As Annabell often says, he doesn’t care where you go, he’s with his daddy and that’s all that really matters to him. I assume he enjoyed the drive – he settled down on the front seat and lay there all the time. He never seems to want to sit up or stick his head out of the window, just sits quiet and peaceful. The weather out at Lowly was a bit cooler and a bit more windy and some of the photographs I scrapped because they were out of focus – or fuzzy. It’s like a lot of driving

around the area – not a lot to see.

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