The old shearing shed

 

It's almost a year to the day since I started out on my road trip immediately after the death of my wife,Val.

The first stop was in Stockinbingal, inland New South Wales, where I stayed with old friends, the Berrymans, on their farm.

This photo was taken early in the morning and shows their old shearing shed. I was prompted to put it on the blog by farmer, Keith, recently telling me  that the old shed is having a comprehensive makeover to comply with current health and safety requirements and the shearer's expectations and requirements. 

So adieu old shearing shed -I captured you for posterity on a beautiful April morning a year ago.

Cooling off

 I took this photo on 1st February when I was visiting a friend, Laura, in Kiama, south of Sydney. It was a very hot day -as I drove on the M7 west of Sydney earlier in the day the car was showing an external temperature of  35.6ºC. It was also very humid. Late in the afterrnoon we drove south to Gerringong and  I spotted these swimmers walking carefully across the slippery rock shelf to an ocean swimming pool to take a cooling dip.

Beach bug

 Very tidy, fully accesorised VW Beetle spotted parked on Terrigal Esplanade last Saturday morning. 

I've only driven a Beetle once and that was a very long time ago. All I remember is that it was incredibly slow.

 Well the rain did not stay away. We enjoyed a few days of glorious weather-our usual weather for the time of year-and then a rain bearing depression moved in again laden with water. Yesterday and overnight here in Terrigal we had conditions which reminded me of being stranded in Hong Kong during a typhoon back in 1974.Torrential rain was being blown sideways by fierce wind gusts.A few places in the roof leaked.The gutters are not designed to drain that volume of water that rapidly.Water was coming off the back of the house like a waterfall.

The sun is out but for how long. Not long-it's raining again now. We are all over this. Bushfires, then covid and now flooding across many areas of the east coast.

I took the opportunity between showers earlier to give the 911 a tub and a chamois. It has not been driven since the 18th November. It was too hot and humid to be driving earlier, then I went to Noosa and now it is the big wet. Also I have had a major problem -aka old age -with my back  and the 911 is not a back friendly car particularly getting in and out. I have just had a third injection into my back yesterday and early signs are very promising. Maybe he hit the exact spot this time.

I managed to start the Porsche relatively easily although a car thief breaking into my garage would probably have gone away disappointed. I backed it out with the trickle charger still connected but no obvious harm done there fortunately.

If my back is really better and the weather stabilises I should be able to get out for a drive soon. At least it is clean and ready.