Kites away!

About time I posted some kitesurfing pics, especially now that I'm a little better at it than a giraffe doing karaoke. My gear arrived in full - the board some 2-3 weeks after the kite, plus this weekend was the South Australia Freestyle Kitesurfing championship in Grange. Did I enter the competition, I hear you say? Nope, I thought it was time to give the younger kids a chance... ahem...

Running and falling trees

After many months of laziness and procrastination - interspersed with occasional bouts of swimming, kitesurfing and basketball - we have now joined the Adelaide Running Crew - yay!

This morning was the first time I attended and by 8am it was already 32C. By the time we finished the run - for me a measly 4-5 km - about 30-45 mins later, it was 35C and was forecast to reach 40C later in the day. This being Australia, we fired up one of the public bbqs in the park and enjoyed a couple of hours dossing, drinking, eating and generally reversing all the good effects of the run.

It was a memorable experience in its own right, but that's not where it ends.

About half way through, we heard a massive crash nearby - one of the very large trees in the park, not 50 metres distance from us, shed a half-ton branch from a height of about 10 m and basically totalled three cars parked underneath it. The park was full of people, lots of children in the paddling pool a stone's throw away, so it's a small miracle no one was hurt.  

And that's how you learn about life in Australia, trial and error. Never park your car underneath a large tree, especially when it's this hot; apparently the sap can get so heated up it almost explodes and can take down a whole tree within seconds. 

See the pics of the crash below. The guy in the foreground is Richard, from our crew, and the unfortunate, forlorn owner of the green and white car, a carefully restored and much loved piece of car history; he was ringing the emergency services. C'est la vie...

The tree above, with the stump where the branch came off

You thought that was hot? Try this for size!

Holidays... with pics!

It was our first Christmas in Australia as our home. Leaving aside the usual weirdness of fir trees, carols and reindeer in a hot climate, the best part, as always, was getting away.

Kangaroo Island was first, with Malcolm and Barbara visiting all the way from sunny England, then Port Lincoln for just the two of us lovebirds.

The pics are here and here. Enjoy the blue, green, yellow, red and white!

Yeah, that's hot

Forecast for today, 14 Jan. Yesterday it was 30C at 9pm. We put some wet laundry out about the same time, it was dry by 11pm - all in complete darkness :-)

Rain

I've just been reminded of how I used to like the rain. In the UK it's a non-event, an everyday annoyance. In a dry climate, when the rain comes, it's a relief. The air is scented with green ethers and one can sit under the eaves and look out as the drops fall and puddles form on the ground. And when it goes on through the  night, you sleep well; perhaps the morning is somewhat cold and then the sun is warm again.

I much prefer rain that way - all the more valuable because it's rare.

Pete is a mother

Remember our pet huntsman spider, Postman Pete? He is still hiding out in the letter box, despite the occasional bouts of bad weather, daily intrusion by the real (human) postman and us peeking in to check up on him. Him? Well, not quite, because Pete is a mother.

A couple of weeks back, he spun a thick, white web under which was a soft white cushion of what could only be little baby spider hatchlings! Hundreds of them, perhaps thousands! Since then he - and she shall remain a he - has been sitting atop his brood looking menacing, and we've been slightly more cautious when checking our post.

Here's a pic of the one BIG happy family :-)