Rainbow Seed Camp Mission

This weekend we went out to the Rainbow site to start setting up the seed camp.

After a mammoth packing adventure, (how much stuff can one family need for three days??) We set off on the 3 hour drive.

When we got there, we started by putting up signs and markers on the road, so family can find the way...

We drove in on the entrance road, which is actually a 4WD track... but Sunshine made it! Man, that van is the best car ever! First she managed to tackle Puzzle Road, now she's slogged through the mud and bumps of a recently-washed-out four wheel drive track!

Once we managed to get into the site, we had a walk around, set up a Welcome Centre / Seed Camp kitchen, complete with a wood pile, shit pit with signs, and a beautiful spot next to the river. Though I imagine if we get serious heavy rains again the spot should be evacuated...


Hanging around near the Welcome Centre, we also saw a Red Bellied Black Snake, which are poisonous, but not aggressive unless provoked. So we just stared at each other for a while and moved on. But it was a nice reminder to walk gently on the earth, and maintain awareness.


Not too far past the Welcome Centre, we came across the most amazing natural amphitheatre. A perfectly flat semicircle of ground, ringed by a steep slope that could easily seat several hundred people :) Performance stage ready-to-go!


A little ways after that we came upon a nice open meadow, a good size for Main Circle near the river. After walking the site and not seeing any better Main Circle option, we painted a little sign and left it at that.

But the clincher was right next to the main circle; a little rivulet of sweet fresh water running down from the mountain!

It tasted great, and the stream came off a hill that looks high enough for a good gravity feed system, and providing several potential spots for main kitchen along its banks, not too far from main circle :D

PERFECT!

We went on walking till the track ended in the river. Actually, there is a ford, and the track continues on the other side, but its not an easy crossing; freezing cold water (which I was happy to immerse myself in for a minute, but Purple and Littletree wouldn't even go deeper than their ankles, it was so cold), and it was about 50 metres to cross.

In this picture, the point that looks like the other side is in fact only half-way... its just little islets in the middle. No doubt some intrepid folk will camp on the other side, but we suspect that the majority of the gathering will be before the ford. Also possible there's some more interesting spots further upstream on the same side of the river, but finding that will be the privilege of someone who isn't walking with a 4-year-old ;)

Anyway, here's some more beautiful scenes of the site for those with pixel fixations...

Dead Wallaby

When we came home from town today, there was a big surprise awaiting us... a wallaby had gotten itself stuck under a pole and died :(

We had just missed the show, but Belle said it was quite dramatic. Anyway, it had a little baby in its pouch, about 1.5cm long. poor thing. Here you can see a picture of how the Joey looked in the pouch.

Anyway, the girls were very interested in looking at it, we showed them in its pouch, the teeth and claws, and everything. Then we buried it. Well, we took it a bit of a hike from the house and left it under a bush, and the girls threw camelia flowers on it.

It was quite an 'educational' experience, anyhow, I learned some things. I'd never looked into a marsupial's pouch before. Even though I know its not really like that, I still have this cartoon image of a kangaroo's pouch being like a big pocket stuck onto the outside of her belly. But really, from the outside you cant see that the pouch is a seperate part of the belly, and the opening is almost closed. It did stretch very wide open though.

After all the excitement, we settled down for Purple's birthday dinner, which I wrote about in a seperate post, somehow feeling that the death of a wallaby and his birthday... didnt quite go together. Well, maybe they did ;)

Purple Birthday

Today was Purple's birthday. He's 37.

When Littletree woke up, I told her that it's Aba's birthday and she replied excitedly; "birthday!? what about sharing? I like cake!"
LOL

We didn't really do anything to celebrate, and the day started out with the gas bottle running out, so we had to go to town to have it filled.


Belle and Ana came over for dinner, I made a yummy curry. For a birthday cake, I made a stack of pancakes layered with strawberries and maple syrup whipped with coconut cream. As we dont have a proper oven so I cant bake real cakes :(

Of course, the birthday cake was really for the benefit of the girls, and since we didnt have any candles, I lit some sparklers for the girls. They sure loved that!

Bathtime!

Littletree is in the bath!

You might wonder why that is a cause for celebration, but that would be because you dont know that its her first bath in (I think) 16 days. at this point, I start to lose count.

She doesnt want to have a bath. I shrug. We comment on how grubby and stinky she's getting. she shrugs. Until this afternoon, after a day of playing naked in the garden, she had some itchy hives on her legs. So, she agreed to get into the bath. With all her barbies.

I hung the Barbies on the line to dry, I think it makes quite a nice image...

Of course, now she doesnt want to get out of the bath.

I shrug.

Spoiled Bumblebee

Someone sent me the link to this video on YouTube... I actually applauded my computer. This guy has some other great songs too, check them out!

Be a Good Mama

I just shouted at Littletree :(
I immediately apologised and hugged her. I said it was wrong of me to shout and I'm really trying to be the best mama in the world.
she said:
"I dont want you to be the best mama in the world. I just want you to be a good mama to me"

[sniff, sniff]
:')

My New Baby

Okay,

This is the moment you've all been waiting for! My New Computer!
Its an HP dv2305tu. Its very SHINY!

For you tech geeks out there who know what it means, she has
1.86GHz Intel Dual Core,
1024MB DDR2 SDRAM,
80GB HDD
LightScribe 8x DVD WR+ dual layer
14.1" widescreen WXGA brightview HD screen
1.3MP built in webcam
Wireless, Bluetooth, 5-in-1 card reader, QuickPlay with remote control,
some other cool stuff.
and its shiny :D

I'm slowly getting to know it. It's much smaller than my old computer, well, maybe about the same size, but thinner and much lighter. and faster. definately faster. My old faithful, Jasmine, was about 6 years old.

I'm not too excited about running Vista, but I'm getting used to it. Vista is very pretty, at least. If it doesnt work out for me, I'll give Ubuntu a try.

Anyway, there are many things I like, many things I'm not excited about... mostly, its just comparing the new one to the old one, which, while old and not so fast, was an IBM ThinkPad T30, and therefore very good.

Like, the screen is one of the glossy kind. I'm used to matt. Glossy is supposed to be good for better brighter colour, good for gaming and watching movies. But it reflects. You can see in the pic how much it reflects. The viewing angles are okay though. not quite as good as the ThinkPad, but better than many.

Same with the sound. Its loud enough, though not as loud as the old one. However, I shouldnt compare; my old computer had a really good speaker; we could easily listen to music and stuff. I was surprised in the flood when Naughty put a movie on his Toshiba laptop, but it was so quiet we couldnt hear it from just a couple of metres away and he had to use the speakers in his van.

Here you can see them side by side. You can see how HP is smaller, and shinier.
And below is how they look closed. Yep, Jasmine is well-loved and personalised, HP is just shiny.

The keyboard isnt quite as comfy as the old one, though I daresay I'll get used to it. I just need to type a teensy bit harder than before. I'm getting used to the touchpad mouse, which I think is a very good one. Though I do sadly miss my old TouchPoint mouse :(
I took a few photos sids by side, to make comparisons. It seems to be the thing to do ::shrug::
Here's the side view and below is the rear view. Yep, Jasmine was a port-monster!

Sometimes it does strange things that I dont know why. Mostly, its just lots of fancy high-tech stuff that is a little too space-age-sci-fi for me. Like it has all these media controls that you just brush your finger over gently, rather than pressing.

Also, the screen only opens to 130 degrees, rather than Jasmin's 180. and all the weight is at the back. So, its a nice computer. There's nothing actually wrong with it, I'm just not used to it yet. and I've yet to discover all its ins and outs.

Big thanks to the people (no one) who donated to my fund! LOL

A Brief Moment of Hilarity

Okay, so I stumbled onto this auction on eBay, its getting pretty famous now, but if you haven't heard about it, its HILARIOUS. seriously, check it out.
As I dont know how long item descriptions are kept on eBay after the auction ends, I've copied the description here... anyway, its a pack of Pokemon cards that ended up selling for $142.50US...

Everyone keeps asking me about my new computer... I spose I'll get to that later.