Summer 2012/13

It seems an age ago that we pulled into Charleyong for our last camp of 2012.   In an unusual turn for us, we didn't go camping over the summer school holidays, but it didn't mean we were any less busy than usual.

The boys continued to grow like weeds over the summer holidays, enjoying all the fun and excitement of visiting family, Christmas, visits to the coast and a few weeks without school.  They missed their friends, but we did manage to host a New Years Day Recovery gathering at home, for friends in the neighbourhood to drop in during the day.

Ready for a run to the coast!

We spent a fair bit of time tidying the up around the house before the fire season started. A couple of old stringy barks had died so needed to come out. I could have hooked up Terry and the trailer, but our "Wheelbarrow" - the mighty Mitsubishi Mirage and box trailer were already hooked up and ready to go - so we used them instead. The boys thought it was hilarious as we piled the timber higher and higher in the trailer.

The boys also laughed when the combination of dry grass, bald tyres and slight slope nearly caused an end to the entire enterprise.  However with gentle driving and a bit of momentum we made it to the wood heap and added to next winter's firewood pile.

The wheelbarrow is loaded to the hilt during dead tree removal

The hot dry weather brought with it bushfires in our region.  A grassfire just to the north of our property brought home the need for a fire plan... and fast.  It also highlighted the importance of being able to assess whether the smoke you can smell is from a fire nearby - or from hundreds of kilometres away.  The Rural Fire Service have released a great app in NSW called Fires Near Me, and I cannot recommend enough how good this app is.  It works on any smartphone and allows you to see how close the fires are to your actual location.  If you don't have a smartphone, you can follow the link here: http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?cat_id=683

I was extremely thankful to have completed the Rural Fire Drivers course late in 2012, as one callout was very hilly country near the Abercrombie River.  Some sections of the track we were driving were extremely steep, and careful wheel placement was required to keep the tankers upright.  It was almost a blessing that most of the driving we did was in the dark!

One of the many fires burning across the state

The holidays were a great opportunity for us to unwind.  I read my first novel in years, and even the pooch took some time out - after chasing the kids on their bikes so much that she wore her pads out! 

The pooch - milking the sore foot for all it is worth!

Don't fear people, we haven't forgotten about camping, we just took a pause, because this time next year we will be on the road.  We figured we will be right into it all soon enough.

At last the planning will start in earnest, vehicle and campers will be prepared and made ready, and we will get stuck in...  I cannot wait!