The coming week

7 Day Forecast

Friday
Sunny
Min: 18°C Max: 39°C
UV: Extreme

Saturday
Mostly sunny
Min: 18°C Max: 39°C
UV: Extreme

Sunday
Mostly sunny
Min: 20°C Max: 40°C
UV: Extreme

Monday
Mostly sunny
Min: 18°C Max: 36°C
UV: Extreme

Tuesday
Mostly sunny
Min: 18°C Max: 37°C
UV: Extreme

Wednesday
Mostly sunny
Min: 19°C Max: 40°C
UV: Extreme

Thursday
Mostly sunny
Min: 22°C Max: 41°C
UV: Extreme

Not sure how much work will be done.

I might head to the local pools now that school has gone back!

I would flee to Sydney, however Dad beat me to it, something about an Auction including a evening discussing wine with Dad. He also was just written up in the 50 Wine Stars of 2008!

I blew up a water pipe....

It wasn't really my fault, most of the vineyard blocks have one valve to turn on the whole block. However we have a dozen short rows which all need to be individually switched on. Dad told me to switch them on. For the first time. So I turned all the valves.... While Dad didn't tell me which way was open, there are often a few clues. The pipes always make a bubbling noise when you open them up. They did this. Also there wasn't a wet patch around all the vines, suggesting they were already open. So I assumed they were closed. The next morning I arrive to find water gushing everywhere. And not even flowing into the vines, but down to the road. Apparently the valves were already in the "open" position. Oops. Took Dad a few hours to dig up the pipe and replace the burst piece. Now I know.

For Xanthe

Congratulations

My grandparents recently received letters from the Queen, the Prime minister, the Governer General, the leader of the opposition and the premier.

They celebrated 60 years of marriage.

watching the weather

It is really interesting being on the vineyard. You pay attention to the weather. If it's really hot, really cold, really windy or really wet, you notice, mainly because you can't work. But there are many other things I notice. Where the sun sets, it changes quiet a bit over the seasons, where the moon is and how much light it is producing - important when you are walking home in the dark. You also notice how localised weather is, a neighbour had hail at budset which decreased the size of his crop substantially. We didn't get it. He is only 1 km away from us. I also love watching the wind in the grapevines, with all their flexible branches or canes, you can see the wind traveling around the vineyard.

I find it interesting anyway.

Time Zones

I think Thailand has a better time zone than Australia,

When I got a drunken call from Australia, while in Thailand, the 4 hour time difference made it amusing, when I get then from Australia, in Australia it's not so funny.

Mercury soars

The cold water runs warm, the bathroom faces west so the toilet seat warms during the afternoon, I love taking cold showers, I work only half the hours I would like to and I cant sleep at night.

I had forgotten what summer was like....


Unfortunately the heat combined with very little spring rain is also stressing a lot of the vines. Ill have to go drop more bunches.

I did finish dropping the bunches in block 1. I gave the snake 48 hrs to leave. Even then I was a little nervous... seems silly now....

I recently had my first "beer while watching the sun set" of the year. I haven't been drinking this year, not due to any new years resolution, but because I have been on antibiotics and I really wanted them to work.... the doctor at the emergency department gave me the wrong ones, well not wrong exactly but not strong enough, which should have been obvious as I couldn't open my mouth to eat..... anyway here is a photo from that sunset.

Sorry Dad, I've found a new job

The perfect job

Near death experience....

well not really but it could have been.

I have been de-stressing grape vines, we have a block, block 1, which has not developed well over the last few years, mainly because we haven't had enough water. Many of the vines are weak. Some were only just re-planted a few months ago. Those that are a little older are trying to produce grapes. For some this is not a problem, for others it is very stressful. The vines put most of their reserves into the little bunches of grape, but some of these vines need those reserves for themselves and therefore get very stressed. I have been walking up and down the rows, removing bunches of grapes where I can see or can anticipate stress. Some vines show stress though yellow leaves, others through "shot berries" - very small berries, but others vines are just small and are unlikely to cope.

Yesterday, over the back of the vineyard, near some rocks, I heard, over my music, something rustling in the grass. Removing my head phones I listened more carefully. It was just as Dad had described, the noise of a snake moving through the grass. We mainly get one type of snake around here, the brown snake, second most venomous in the world and a very aggressive snake. As I continued up the row, I kept my head phones off and kept looking back. I'm sure it was as scared of me as I was of it. But it is more capable of killing me than I it.

Dad recently told me I need to keep bandages with me at all times in case of a snake bite. However he never actually got around to giving me the bandages. So I am fairly certain if I ever encounter a snake and am unlucky enough to be bitten I am sure it will occur at the back of the vineyard where no one is going to find me, so my options will be to stay where I am and hope that someone drives past - very unlikely or walk back to the house, during which time the venom will travel around my body probably killing me. I really should get a phone that has reception out here.....

As I was coming back towards the house - I completed that row but decided the other three could wait for another day - I encounter a large number of spiders and their webs, at face height! And to really make my day, I found a large number of bees were swarming near the house. All in all some very good reasons to stay inside!

Welcome 2009.

I'm looking forward to a fantastic year.

NYE celebrations nearly didn't happen, for Dan and I at least. We decided to have a very low key celebration, ie didn't plan anything. We popped some bubbly while watching the 9pm fireworks from the balcony. Then Dan decided to freshen up before heading out. Unfortunately, after making him self look beautiful, the door handle wouldn't engage the lock, trapping him in the bathroom. This immediately gave me flash backs to my 8 hours in Suzanne's bathroom. Luckily for Dan I was there and he had his phone. I passed Dan all sorts of tools under the door, thankfully the gap was large enough and when removing the handle didn't help I call the emergency number. A security guy showed up, but after uselessly playing with screwdrivers he decided the only thing he could do to help was give us a number for the building locksmith. Dan decided that we would miss the celebrations if we followed that path so took it upon him self to remove the door from its hinges. Thankfully the whole experience took less than an hour.

Once free we left the flat and headed towards the city. We stopped by a friend’s house. We had been invited around but that was before Dan found himself trapped in the toilet, but his friends had gone home and he had given up on us so was in bed. We woke him up for some more bubbly and after a few rounds of toasting the New Year Dan and I ventured off towards Stonewall.

As we walked through the door I was handed a free pass but Dan had to pay, he was mock-horrified that I received a free ticket to the gay club while he is the one who is gay. We danced for a while, however after an hour or two Dan and I were separated and I subsequently received a message telling me he was trashed and in a cab on the way home. I continued dancing with my new found friends for a few hours before one of the "gay" guys - I know I am making assumptions, but he was in a gay bar with a number of friends who were all definitely gay and he is a flight attendant - tried to get me to go home with him. Very odd. I safely made it back to Dan's and was thankfully able to wake him just before my phone went dead.

We woke up around lunchtime and headed back to the pub, the Erko this time, and played the drinking game all over again! Dan and Scott got drunk quiet early so I went over to Randwick for more beers....

Before being locked in the toilet

Following day
I guess thats what you need in a lolly jar on NYD
randomly, on the way home...