Whether we regard our situation as heaven or as hell depends on our perception. ~Pema Chodron.

Middleton Beach

smoochers

Tim and Jemma are home...and behaving like they've not seen each other for months...very cute!

Tong and dance

A cute Italian Chef entertains us by Juggling utensils at the Central Market to advertise food week.

Middleton in the blazing heat

Maxie and I try to keep cool while Andrew tests the surf at Middleton with temperatures hitting 40+ in the city.

100 year-old sets cycling hour record mark

Proving that age is no Barrier.

"For the last five years I have decided not to go for rides of more than 100km. There is no point going overboard. I want to keep cycling for some time yet." he says

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/100-year-old-sets-cycling-hour-record-mark-33217

James mellor

James Timothy Cambrell Mellor
6/8/1983-17/2/2012

In memory of James

"When he shall die, 

Take him and cut him out of little stars;

And he will make a face in heaven so fine;

That all the world will be in love with night;

And pay no heed to the garish sun."

~William Shakespeare

Spider trees

Spiders clinging to the branches on the Murray flood plains create cloud like wisps with their webs as the flood waters rise, not as dramatic, but not dissimilar to those seen below during the recent floods in Pakistan..captured by a photographer for the Guardian.

Reflecting on life

The sands of time

A belated Xmas gift creates amazing visuals in the sand as the pendulum swings back and forth in diminishing arcs.

Cocky cockatoos

No wonder we never have any walnuts! The cockatoos just brazenly sit one legged on the walnut tree right in front of us, and...deftly use their other to firmly grasp a delicious nut,  and munch away.

Fruits of the forest...

Productive Chamber's Gully is ALSO preparing for a fig fest. So delicious if you can get them before the birds and the other trail walkers.

Three stitches

...the result of hitting the ground running,
 after getting distracted picking blackberries up Chamber's gully and finding myself late for tuck shop.

Unfortunately the blackberries suffered a similar demise to myself and did not look the greatest by the end of the trail.

Blackberries...they're back

This year another bumper crop and many scratches on unprotected limbs means that we've been feasting yet again on...blackberry pudding, muffins, blackberry brownies and delicious blackberry sauce for ice-cream. It's a pity that picking blackberries does not consume as many calories as we put on eating them.

Quicksand

Woops...forgot to mention about the quicksand.

Sisters

Bearing no resemblance to each other...or (hopefully) the fish...the sisters croon over the precious catch of the day....soon to be devoured.

Prehistoric pets

This unusual little back-bending friend is a stick insect pet of the Harrisons. Easy to look after...just need greenery.

Snake's alive

Sinbad has grown and after recently shedding his skin, his strength has returned and...although he can't bite you to death he could still have a good shot at strangling you. Bodhi thinks he's fab and Andrew and Rosanna keep a good distance away.

Holy crap...I mean Carp!

Like the salmon in Canada these carp are attempting to fly up the rushing cascade of water to the lake beyond...only problem is the water is gushing through a giant pipe...so they don't generally have much luck. Still...they can jump pretty high but unfortunately Andrew's attempts to catch them with the safety netting was unsuccessful.

A bit dotty

Check this awesome art. http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=yaioi+kusama&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=ppstT8u8FqHH0QX6pamtCA&biw=1024&bih=644&sei=rZstT_mfFoiu0QXxkM2tCA#q=yayoi+kusama&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&tbm=isch&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1&biw=1239&bih=851

Hair Braid Art

With time on her hands and a bevy of eager recipients, Rosanna get into some creative hair braiding with her cousins.

When we respect the natural cycles of life, we find that each of life's stages has a spiritual dimension.~ Jack Kornfield.

Fine Wines

This year's line up for the annual family reunion wine tasting...a fine selection and good reason to start "Dry February"

Old man Emu

Due to a good season of rain and sun the flocks of emus are larger than ever. Here is mum on the run with her teenage chicks while dad, just out of the picture stands back and watches approvingly.

It's never a REAL holiday unless you get bogged.

As anticipated during our tour of the magnificent and enormous Chowilla property we got stuck in the sand. Luckily we had enough young blood on board to push us out.

River Dawn

One of the advantages of having a puppy on board the house boat is that you get to see the sunrise when you get up to take her for a wee.

Kissing the Carp..

...then burying it.
Well, actually Tony and Kim and little 6 year old Kate,...caught 100s of the damn inedible things. Still Bodhi was pretty pleased with himself for having caught A fish at all.

A dog and a paddle

Heading up the river  past Renmark the family gathered on 2 houseboats for some wonderful rest and relaxation. Maxie and I enjoyed a paddle up the Chowilla creek as the rapid current of the river made it a little more challenging.

The Ger-to-Goers gather

A meet and great was organised at the Willow Ger to meet each other and talk about the exciting up-coming journey to Mongolia. Traditional tea was served.