Visitor in the Fernery

We have a visitor in our fernery - a gentle Senegal Dove.
Mind you, the Doves haven't done the plant in the hanging basket much good. They have also raised a question about watering. To water or not to water, that is the question.

For their part they also have problems. It's not the best of all possible worklds for them. For instance, one big problem is a nasty eyed raven ("That bird of ill omen"). We've tried to discourage him but he is persistent - who will be the winner?

I Thought you might also like to see our golden bush - don't know its name, but it is an Ossie native. It shares the garden bed with Ruth's valuable parsley (planted by Jenny) and a riot of pink flowers that grow like weeds

The Family

Here are three of the beautiful people in my life. I sat in the car at Point Lonsdale - you can see the water of the Port behind them - and photographed "The Aged Ps" and Ruth.

We had a good day out during Phil and Judy's few days in Geelong. We dined at the Riptide restaurant at the Bowls club at Queensclif and then ran along to Pt Lonsdale. Phil and I watched the shipping while Ruth and Judy did the Op Shop. Itwas a pleasant day out with beautiful sunshine.

Next day, Jenny and Ted joined us at Abervale for lunch and an opportunity of watching Rachael's DVD on the wedding of the year. Marvellous Rachael! Of course you are marvellous but what I meant was that the DVD was marv! Good to meet up with Greg and hope to see you down here soon.

Correct wear for floods

The floods in Qld, NSW and Vic have been terrible as we all know. We know too that, as Dorothea Mackellar has it, Oz is a land of "ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains."

Back in 1900 my grandpa, he was mayor of Echuca, faced the problem. It's a terrible pic, I know, but at least he knew how to dress for the occasion - top hat, frock coat and trousers rolled above the knees. Good old Caleb Vines!

Still Christmas with January half gone!

January may be halfway to its end, but we still have evidences of Christmas - Poinsettias. Accoding to legend they gained their colour when a poor girl in Maxico with nothing else to give to the Christ child, placed on the altar green leaves she had gathered on her way to worship. Ever since the leaves have glowed red at Christmas. Nice story and nice Christmas gift still with us with January's end in sight.

Another appreciated Christmas gift was the visit of Jenny and Ted and Judy and Phillip who motored down from Sydney in their new Mazda. Our various electronic gadgets benefitted from Phil's visit. We enjoyed a great meal at The Lord of the Isles. It included chocolate bread and butter pudding that was nothing like mother used to make! Photo by courtesy of our attentive waiter.

Bless you all and have a greast year!

Bowls and all that ...

I've been telling you about all the refurbishment that has been going on in our Village. These pics signal the opening of the resurfaced bowling green. As past president/secretary/enthusiast and now life-member, they asked me to open the green by putting down the first bowl. That meant a few words to the assembled bowlers, and then the all important business. It was a day of rain but we had a clear period for the occasion. You can see the wet on the green. The fellow watching to see that I did it right is the manager, Ian Pendergast. A good fellow but doesn't know how to pronounce his name properly. Insists that it rhymes with eon instead of as in ion. To coin a phrase, it takes all to make a world.

All new at Abervale.

We haven't been on a cruise, or visited some distant land, but we have had our quiet share of excitement here at Abervale. I don't mean getting my hair cut - altho that's part of the story. Here I am in the upgraded hair-dressing salon. Our hairdresser, Sue, wanted me to be the first customer for I had been her first custiomer when the Community Centre first opened in 1988- I did have a hair cut or two between the two dates. Not only inside but outside there were changes. The bowling green had a make-over. Sadly I can no longer demonstrate my skill at the intriguing sport of lawn bowls.

Here is a scene of confusion taken during building ops.

But to return to inside the Centre. We are quite proud of our library. It is fed from gifts from all sorts of places and has quite a range of good novels, biographies etc.,

Here is a view of the re-designed interior - don't miss the waratahs in the fireground! On the right are the billiard tables with a cofee bar, and at the back the dining area. Meals are supplied for any who want a relief from home cooking..

And here is the new front of the centre. Those who have been here will hardly recognise it. The landscaping is not yet complete, but when all is done, it should look quite impressive. There have been additions to the Centre. It includes a gym, up-graded offices and reception area, a computer room and craft room.

Such excitement!

Darkest Tragedy!

Don't be taken in by the brightness of the wattle on the right of the picture. The general drabness of the scene strikes the right note. The pic represents the 'stiff upper lip' in the face of tragedy. A tragedy that makes the WFC and Global Warming just blips on a passing screen. It may well be found that many riots and uprisings around the world are directly attributable to the despair engendered by this tragedy! The unthinkable has become fact, the impossible has happened! Before 95 thousand spectators the Geelong Cats were bundled out of the semi-final leaving it to two negligible teams to fight it out for the AFL Grand Final next week end.

I know you will all be shocked by this news, but nil desperandum as we Bengali speakers say. It means 'wait till next year' - always supposing that there will be a next year! After all if the Cats can be bundled out at the semi-final, anything could happen!