Whoops!

See one lazy post and now I have lots to tell you!

Firstly here is my mad sis on her mad horse already. It was just a quickie, to ride him up from his paddock. and I'm sure she was partly doing it to to get that first remount over with, but still, mad.  Horses and horse people have this in common: Neither has any sense of self preservation!  :D

Fionn's leg is still not great but it is slowly healing.  It really was a very bad cut.

I saw these photos go by my facebook feed this week. Archie, my smart-arse young pony who went to be a trick horse, at his usual best, being a pain in the butt down at the beach.

 
And using a mattress for a head-rest in the gooseneck.

He was an odd horse to live with: He was truly afraid of nothing and if he saw something new, he would canter towards it.  Very unhorse-like!  He is having such an interesting life now with Louise Crosbie. It suits him far better than living here with me and one aged pony.

We had a lovely bonfire night at a Brigade friend's block on Friday night.

Although for a while it was more like Armageddon than a bonfire, because Gogs lit up all the Grass Trees.  Don't worry, it doesn't hurt them.  They quite like a bit of a tidy up of all the dead bits, and these hadn't been burned for a very long time.

This was an amazing scene:  Sun setting through a burning Grass Tree.

I was brave and played my guitar for a while while people chattered, then we ate an amazing dinner cooked by the young fellers.  I don't know, I've never met 20-year-olds like those two young blokes. They totally have their shit together, as I'm sure they would phrase it!

Saturday morning we had Fireys.  I haven't been to my bushfire brigade for a while. The joy is somewhat lacking lately due to the nasty politics, and there's been other stuff to do. It was ok, though. A lot of my fave people were there so that was nice.  I'm sure, come the season, I'll be ready to turn out to fires, but for now a bit of a holiday doesn't hurt.       

Saturday arvo we set off our own last bonfire.

It was the last day when our shire could burn bonfires without a permit.  It's good to have it all done.  (And let's not mention the three huge ones we have up the block. They can wait till next year!)

This was a weird photo of Andyroo.  Smoke, or his natural angelic radiance?  Maybe he had toothache?   :)

Sunday we had Incident Management Training with my other brigade, the Darling Range Coms brigade.  I got to do a new job for me; placing T-cards, which means you are welcoming in, and helping keep track of, every vehicle that arrives on the fire-ground at a big fire.  It was interesting and I got to see a lot more of the big picture than you do while working the radios.

Taken from my spot at the T-card entry desk.  It is not all serious at the training. There were a lot of jokes flying around!

This was my spot, but I was out of it to take the photo.  

Some Hazard Reduction burns have begun happening but I haven't put my hand up for one yet.  I've been feeling really tired and overstretched.

It's ok, don't think it is my lyme coming back, I just need to learn to pace myself better, and it would help if I could stay out of the chemicals more, because breathing perfumes, washing powder enzymes, outgassing plastic and all the rest just creams me.

Unfortunately, people equals chemicals these days, so if I want to not breathe lots of toxic stuff, I would have to be come a hermit again, but I really don't want to do that.  Just need to find a better balance, then take my knocks as they come.  That or start wearing my fire mask everywhere!  

I'll leave you with this pic of a mud-brick shack sitting abandoned on the block near Gogs's.  I wonder what tales it could tell?