Task Force 72

At the end of November, Task Force 72 held their Annual Regatta at Wentworth Falls Lake in the blue Mountains.



The members of Task Force 72 make radio control model boats at 1/72nd scale and are mainly of naval vessels from WW1 up to the present day.



The detail work is unbeliveable. They are so realistic. Some of the vessels are fitted with working radar scanners, lights etc.



The addition of sound effects makes for an even more realistic display. Sounds of gunfire, ships sirens and diesel turbine engines complete the picture.





There are even submarines in the TF72 fleet but unfortunatly its hard to take photos when they are submerged. They tend to give the ducks on the lake a bit of a fright when they surface beneath them.






Please dont ask how my model tug is going!!

Garden Colours

These are just a few photos of the garden in all its mix of colours.



Unfortunatly these photographs were taken at the begining of November and since then we have had no rain.
That is until today when we have had nearly 20mm.




Hopefully the grass will now change colour from a burnt brown to a nice green. I just hope we get a bit of follow up rain.

Sculptures by the Sea - continued

Just a few more of the sculptures. All the time they were being dismantled around us. I wish we had been able to get see them all.







This was the huge mobile crane that was taking down the bigger pieces and was a piece of sculpture in its own right.




The owner had even given his piece of sculpture a title!!!!

Sculpture by the sea - Again

As mentioned earlier, this is an annual exhibition of sculpture shown along the cliff walk between Bondi Beach.




and Tamarrama Beach.



The exhibition ended on the 19th, the day before we went to the airport to pick up old friends arriving from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. As the flight was an early arrival and Jeff and Jane wanted to try and stay awake we decided to show them the Watsons Bay/Bondi area before heading for home. Driving passed Bondi we noticed that some of the sculptures were still standing and some being dismantled so went to have a look.



Now that's what I call a wood pile. I reckon it would last us a couple of winters.





This exhibit even had the Sydney Morning Herald ready, the radio playing and a view out to sea.

Sculptures by the sea

A couple of weeks ago we decided to go and see the Sculptures by the sea that are displayed on the headland between Bondi and Tamarrama Beaches. This is an annual event and well worth the walk. We picked up Becky and Alex and headed off but on arrival found wall to wall crowds, not bad for a Tuesday. I couldn't find a parking spot anywhere, unless we fancied a walk with a pushchair for a couple of kilometers so we decided to call it a day. Then I remembered a lovely little bay that we were taken to by our niece Tanya when she and her family lived here for a while, Parsley Bay. It has everything, shaded areas, kiosk, little sandy beach and its very quiet. Alex had a ball.

Swedish space craft

These "things" are in the viticulture paddocks of the University of Western Sydny - Richmond. In the foreground are new vines with their individual drip irrigation points.



They are actually air monitering units made in Sweden which are looking at global warming and the effect on our local flora. They have a stainless steel frame with clear plastic covering. The exhaust fans are stainless steel with clear PVC connecting ductwork.



This house used to belong to an old friend of ours on the other side of the river. An ideas Jim? If you get the answer correct I will buy you a beer when I see you!!

Spring Blossoms Down Under

These photographs are to show Mia some of our flora down under.

This is the flower of the Red Flowering Passion Fruit. This is an ornimental plant and not the fruit bearing one which has white flowers. This is growing near the door to my workshop and has also put tendrels and flowers inside the workshop.



This is one of the back streets of Richmond which is lined with Jacaranda trees. The photographs are best taken on a dull day as the blue blossom stands out against the sky. Many of the local streets are lined on both sides and in a few weeks when the blossoms start to fall we will be walking on a blue carpet.



These are part of an avenue at the Richmond golf course.



This is one of the flower heads.

Spring Down Under contd.

These are Silky Oak trees. Again they are in blossom all over the area. These particular trees are on the local Uni grounds.



These are nice trees to see alongside the Jacaranda, yellow on blue, but the only ones I could find were in busy traffic areas. Yellow on Blue reminds me of a certain national flag.



When the early settlers first saw these trees the thought they were Oak trees, hence the name, but when they saw them in blossom they realised their mistake. They are native to Australia.

More Garden Stuff.

We thought that the garden needed a second pergola extending from near the back door towards the top corner of the garden. This would naturally entice anyone to walk through and view the roses. It has a slight curve in it so that it would end between the Mulberry and Persimmon trees. Its also an area where we have difficulty getting grass to grow and with the current water restrictions it will probably end up as a paved area.

A quick trip with the trusty Ute to pick up some 3M long poles and some hard digging for half a day and we end up with the poles in the ground.

The white azalea on the left is one of two standards that formed part of Beckys and Grahams wedding flower arrangements.





All the other timbers came from the original property behind use. Its all very good quality Australian hardwood, about 50 years old and as hard as iron, hence the species name Ironbark. All fixings, either nails or bolts, had to be pre-drilled.
Out came the trusty pot of purple paint and the job is nearly finished. Its my Picasso period, only purple instead of blue.





This is the view from the back door towards the pergola. The cement pavers in the foreground will be replaced soon by a timber deck finishing at the same height as the back verandah.




This is the view looking towards the back door. The log bench was cut from a limb of our big gum tree that came down in a mini cyclone a few years ago. Once the area through the pergola is paved, maybe with convict sandstock bricks in a herringbone pattern and more planting it should be a very nice quiet spot to sit with a glass of cold white wine.




To be continued.......

RAAF Air Show

In a few weeks time there is to be a big air show at the local RAAF base in Richmond.We heard that some of the F111 fighters's were practicing so we went along and parked just off the road alongside the runway. Of course, when we got there lots of other people had the same idea.

RAAF Air Show

We were under the trees to keep out of the sun and missed them a couple of times because they are so fast and just above the trees. There were two planes doing low level passes and they finished off with a 'dump and burn' which is when they burn off excess fuel. Its very spectacular and the noise has to be experienced. Its so loud that you feel it through the bones in your body.





It doesnt come over in these photos but there were two planes doing this side by side and moving so fast I had a job to catch even one!.
Maybe its best to stay further away next time.

A big blow.

Yesterday we went to pick up Alex as we were baby sitting while his parents went to the computer market. Beckys hard drive was on the way out and they had to get a new one. As we got closer to home the wind speed increased and as far as the eye could see there was a combination of smoke and dust filling the sky. The bush fire season has started early this year. By the time we got home the wind was gusting to 102kph. Lots of trees down, no electricity and debris everywhere. We suffered no damage other than fruit being blown from the trees and lots of small branches to clean up.





This is actually the front garden of next door. It doesnt look like a very big branch but it was. The Ute is now full and ready for its first outing to the tip.


Of course with the power off we had no air conditioning and it was 32 deg. Eventually it came back on after a couple of hours but as I write this there are still thousands of homes without electricity. All the traffic lights in the area are out and the police are directing traffic. Its probably the hardest they have had to work for some time!


When the wind dropped a bit, my helper and I took the wheelbarrow and collected up all the fallen grapefruits.



But look Grampy, this orange tastes better than the grapefruit.



Thanks for the help Mate!