Tuesday, November 13, 2007
GRAMPIANS: VERSION 1.21
The next morning brought some well appreciated dryness.
It brought the very pitiful sight of our crucified chicken that was sooo tantalisingly close to being done, yet had to be abandoned due to the torrential downpour.
By the time we attended to our forlorn avian offering it had its arse chewed out by a currawong.
Snorkmaiden and Melissa took advantage of the drier conditions in taking their leave for the more civilised pastures of the farm and Melbourne respectively.
The precipitation eased progressively during the day, just enough for us to hold the inaugural Grampians Regatta.
I imparted some of my childhood skills and knowledge to the 11 year old Jade and mentored him in the construction of a pine bark sailing craft.
It was to start a whittling trend that lasted for two days solid.
At one point Keli, Jade and myself were engrossed in the shaping of miniature boats, employing a Swiss Army knife ( Jade ), a kitchen knife ( myself ) and a cane knife ( Keli ), completely indifferent to the rest of the campsite's goings on.
And we all sported cuts on our thumbs, a mark of true dedication to our craft.
The first boat I helped Jade create was an utter success.
We put it in the creek and it sailed true upstream, against a strong current for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour!!
So unheard of for such a small craft of simple construction!
The rest of the day was spent going off for short sojourns around the surrounding bushland, discovering old steam powered mill engines and generally relaxing with the aid of some ice cold alcoholic beverages, appreciating the lack of rain and eating some fine food.
That night we constructed a lean to made of tarpaulin to shield the fire from any potential rainfall, which never eventuated and spent the evening celebrating the dryness of the night with some fire stick twirling ( thanks Jade ).
A much needed day of rest and recreation after months of pent up Melbourne angst and stress.
The currawong chewing out the chicken.
Jade and the chicken.
The inaugural Grampians Regatta Mark I.
The old steam engine.
The fires had left their mark, but new life was abound.
The tarpaulin fire cover and Jade's fire twirling.
To be continued..............
.
It brought the very pitiful sight of our crucified chicken that was sooo tantalisingly close to being done, yet had to be abandoned due to the torrential downpour.
By the time we attended to our forlorn avian offering it had its arse chewed out by a currawong.
Snorkmaiden and Melissa took advantage of the drier conditions in taking their leave for the more civilised pastures of the farm and Melbourne respectively.
The precipitation eased progressively during the day, just enough for us to hold the inaugural Grampians Regatta.
I imparted some of my childhood skills and knowledge to the 11 year old Jade and mentored him in the construction of a pine bark sailing craft.
It was to start a whittling trend that lasted for two days solid.
At one point Keli, Jade and myself were engrossed in the shaping of miniature boats, employing a Swiss Army knife ( Jade ), a kitchen knife ( myself ) and a cane knife ( Keli ), completely indifferent to the rest of the campsite's goings on.
And we all sported cuts on our thumbs, a mark of true dedication to our craft.
The first boat I helped Jade create was an utter success.
We put it in the creek and it sailed true upstream, against a strong current for 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour!!
So unheard of for such a small craft of simple construction!
The rest of the day was spent going off for short sojourns around the surrounding bushland, discovering old steam powered mill engines and generally relaxing with the aid of some ice cold alcoholic beverages, appreciating the lack of rain and eating some fine food.
That night we constructed a lean to made of tarpaulin to shield the fire from any potential rainfall, which never eventuated and spent the evening celebrating the dryness of the night with some fire stick twirling ( thanks Jade ).
A much needed day of rest and recreation after months of pent up Melbourne angst and stress.
The currawong chewing out the chicken.
Jade and the chicken.
The inaugural Grampians Regatta Mark I.
The old steam engine.
The fires had left their mark, but new life was abound.
The tarpaulin fire cover and Jade's fire twirling.To be continued..............
.
