Saturday at Mount Wilson

Blondie is a friend from my Alma Mater days. A country girl, a boarder and a key player in many parts of my life, she lived for many years on a station west of Broken Hill but, in the face of continuing drought and an exodus of people from properties all around them, she and her husband decided to sell up and move closer to Adelaide, rainwater and a decent social life.

They have a magnificent property overlooking the coast with cows, olive trees, some grape vines and a hangar for the aircraft they're in the process of building. Yes, you heard me! Mr Blondie is a pilot and keen collector of World War 2 transport memorabilia. He has the plans for a Spitfire and has recently imported a genuine 1947 US Army Jeep but in his shed he is building a light aircraft. Once complete they plan to fly around the country at their leisure!
Alright for some :-)


On Saturday we were up at their place for a barbeque when one of the guests announced that he had to 'fly'. Literally.

A mob of them walked him up to the airstrip.

 I stayed back at the house with another couple and tried out the zoom on my new PAS camera.

Here's the wide angle shot....

And here's the zoom....

Before I could get too cocky, the throb of the engine told us that departure was imminent. I readied my lens...

  Brilliant huh? Oh well, I did get it in frame as it disappeared into the distance. 

Don't think I'll be giving up my day job any time soon.

Here's the Fingers of God breaking through the clouds later in the day after a walk which nearly killed me. There are bloody big hills on their property!

Oh and here's a shot of Blondie being the perfect hostess, doing what every modern farmer's wife does well, loading the dish washer!

On a completely separate note: here's my new office at Himself's work. Yes indeed, once a week on my day off from school, I will be a fully fledged member of the company, charged with paying bills, filing and keeping the books in order! I am pleased to report that I have filed all those piles of paper you can see on the desk.

I am sure they won't be the last.