Saturday morning with the Fireys.

Andyroo and I are still involved with the local volunteer bushfire brigade.  Saturday mornings are regular days where we go over the vehicles and make sure everything is ship shape.  I thought you might like to come along for the morning.

First thing is to open up the big doors.

Then we get out the clipboard and begin to work our way down the list.

If there are two of you available, one of you does the checks while the other one carries the clipboard.  We take turns so we can both learn the vehicles well.  We actually did both vehicles this week, the .14 and the Light Tanker so we both got to do the practical bits.
 

You check oil and water and such, then start the vehicles and drive them outside so noisy sirens and pumps and things can be checked.

I'm not licensed to drive this baby yet but I can pull it out onto the front standing.

Once we have the pump running we also get to check all the watery bits.

I did of course manage to spray myself in the face once and another Firey as well.  (Sorry Warren!)  Since it was rather cold, this wasn't as much fun as it would be in summer!

There is a radio check-in with the local control centre for all vehicles and stations, so for a little while you sit in the cabs and wait your turn to do that.  Not surprisingly, volunteer fire brigades are very common in Western Australia, both around the city edges and in the country.  Tens of thousands of people around the state are out on Saturday mornings doing just what we are doing.  

 
After vehicle checks, it was back inside for cups of tea and bikkies, chats, and snuggles with Harley the First Lieutenant's dog, who is a rescue boy and loves his dad so much he prefers to be with him all the time. It makes us happy that others at the station are dog lovers just like us. We feel right at home.   

 After that we often take the vehicles out and do something interesting like some four wheel driving in the bush that is part of our area to cover, but this week we didn't.  Too cold I think.  Yes we are wooses for cold here, and it really isn't that cold.  

In other events for the weekend, Bunyip Dreaming has gone out to my first readers!  As usual, an exciting time for me.  Will they enjoy it?  Have I fallen into any major plotholes?  Will the characters have depth?  Will my readers finish reading the book feeling happy, fulfilled and wishing there was a sequel already?

I have to refrain from trying to guess if they are reading yet and just get on with other things. So, while I wait for news from my readers, I can begin work on the cover art for the book.  I don't want to give too much away with this cover, so I am thinking alien landscape at night, with maybe just silhouettes of people and beasts to tempt the imagination.  Hmmm... time to get out the sketchbook again already!