..the season to be jolly..

..trala la la la..

Last Sunday, B celebrated her birthday with live music and close friends at our local jaunt. At one time during the day I sat by the pool just listening to the music, when I saw a little baby girl wandering around the pool without a parent in sight. I'm not good at baby ages, but I guessed her to be about 3years old, and she was still wearing nappies. I warned those around the pool to watch out for her and carried on chilling.

Not long after that I heard this scream behind me. The baby had fallen in the pool and was going down fast. I jumped closer and managed to grab her by the ankle and drag her up and out of the water. I held her by her waist facing down and she brought up a lot of water. About 30seconds later her dad finally made it over and took her away. I guess I should have been thankful when he offered to buy me a beer later.

This Sunday while I was out walking the dogs on the farm, I saw a cow in the distance lying down watching us. The minders must have forgotten about her last night and she stayed in the veldt overnight. I took the dogs back first(they get a bit excited around farm animals, and think they have to hunt them all down), and then returned to fetch her. As I neared i saw that she had a calf on the other side of the fence to hers. It must have been newborn, because it was very unsteady on it's legs.

I'm not sure how they got seperated, but I decided to go around and fetch him for mommy. I managed to catch him quite easily, but to carry him all the way around was a mission of note. The bugger must have weighed50 or so kg's already! With the two reunited I sat for a while enjoying the moment before returning home.

Mother and baby back in the kraal.

Two good deeds in one week!


Hope father Christmas is taking notes.

Enchanted Forest

Breath of Air

This manipulation took me all of last week, and then the weekend to sort out the Gremlins.

There are six different photos of which I include the links to the originals.

Pillar by ELENADUDINA[link]
Model by Fotovizions[link]
Blue Green Planet by Goblin Stock[link]
Background sky by Superior Stock[link]
Steps by Cinnamoncandy[link]
Hyena by Pieter Hugo Photography[link]

Half.. waiting to heal..

Cover of the 'Half' calendar series.

The idea for the calendar started as a Photoshop experiment in Photo-manipulation. With every attempt their is a visible improvement, and I hope that once I master all the techniques necessary for the look I'm aiming for, I can put together a 'half' decent calendar.

Off-road 101

Since buying my scrambler in May I've travelled quite some distances in an around my area. I maintain a slow and reasonable speed, because I try and stay alert for photo opportunities. It is also difficult to scout for interesting places and concentrate on rocks, holes and branches at the same time while riding. So eventually I found a happy medium between speed and alertness.

However, I was soon to learn an all together new interpretation of speed.
This weekend while I was enjoying a beer at our annual beer fest, I was approached by some guys who wanted me to join them on a ride on Sunday. I know three of the seven are very experienced riders from whom I could learn a lot, so I eagerly agreed to meet them early the next morning.

I have never in my life had such an experience. The guys ride as if the Devil himself is chasing them, and I had some difficulty keeping up at first. But, once my brain registered, and my eyes became accustomed to the speed, my depth perception soon improved and I was able to keep up with them quite easily.

We did some technically difficult grades, which ranged from hill climbing to forest riding and crossing rivers and ravines. All the time I was learning new techniques and the guys were never short on advise which could help me improve. At the end of the day, we had completed just over 80km's; all on dirt. It felt like 200km's!

This was going to be of immense value to me when I leave for my trip to De Aar in December.

Here we are at the top of a hill which was once("believe it or a not) a ski-slope. Yes, someone actually thought it would be a good idea to chisel a flat piece of ground out of the rock-face, smooth it over with some carpet and teach people to ski.

The slope is about 120meters long and you have to open up the taps and maintain a steady speed to reach the top. Of course the only way out of there is back down again. Pretty hairy, but very satisfying when you manage to reach level earth again. From this camera view you are looking down the slope.

The next ride is in two weeks time, and I'm looking forward to see where we'll be going this time.

Signal from Neptune

Second of the 'Half' calendar series.

Bush Camp

B has left a big hole in my weekend activities after she flew to New Zealand last Monday. After sulking for at least ten minutes on Saturday, I decided on a whim to go camping in the mountains behind our town.

I grabbed a few things and left home at about 3 in the afternoon. After finding a nice spot on the leeward side of Perdeberg(Horse Montain). I made camp and started gathering wood and stones I'd need for the night.

I spent most of the night staring at the stars counting satelites and enjoying the night sounds. It was very relaxing. That was until the early morning hours when the wind shifted and cold weather moved in from the east. I froze my butt off, but it was still worth every minute!

I only took my tents top cover, covered the bike and made my bed underneath the motor.

Scouting for the Desert trip

I took a trip down to Koppies in the Free-State to scout out the railway line in preparation for my trip to De Aar in November/December. The idea is to follow the line by bike from Sasolburg via Bloem and Kimberley down to De Aar without using the tar roads, where possible.

From what I saw on Google Earth it's not only possible but could be a very interesting trip, as there are some excellent sites not visible from the main roads. I've already discovered a concentration camp north of Koppies and an old abandoned Escom factory.

This pic was taken as I crossed the Vaal and entered the Free State.

Power Station South of Sasolburg

Abandonded Escom Factory, Kragbron

Vredefort Concentration Camp

Blockhouse ruin, Koppies.

I'm looking forward to the trip, and I know it's going to be harsh, but why else would one do it?