Time flies. Five days have gone by and I’ve hardly noticed. I was on my own here Friday, Saturday and Sunday while Alan went to Bunbury and Perth, with the whole weight of the farm on my shoulders. Oooh, it was hard work. Not. Watering the plants and picking the ripe tomatoes kept me busy enough. Alan grows all his own veges, and very nice they are. It inspires me to try it myself. He’s an excellent cook, too. He goes to far more trouble than I do. This is real country cooking.

What is it? I believe it’s a New Holland Silvereye.

This is a blue wren.

The loudest noise here is the bird song. It’s beautiful.

Lotsa birds. These are noisy.

Cowaramup Bay.

As you can see, it was actually rainy and blowing hard, but very nice. The weather is all over the place – hot over the weekend, wet and cool yesterday. We all want it to rain properly.

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I found a service station in town with a workshop, so I’ve booked my car in for a routine service tomorrow morning. Alan knows the mechanic and says he’s a really nice guy. I could tell even in the brief time I spoke to him. My car is running beautifully. Cruise control in the country is fantastic.

I can’t help noticing how friendly everyone is in the shops. That’s country life for you.

Aaaaah, Margaret River. This is fantastic. I haven’t been here for so long that I’d forgotten what it’s like. I’m sitting on the back verandah writing this, internet as fast as if I were in Perth, cooooool breeze, birds singing, light fading, looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Best of all, Minnie took the trip easily and has settled in happily. I was worried she might not take the car trip well, as it’s the longest she’s ever been in a car, but she was sniffing around and exploring as soon as I got here and is very happy on the lawn. I’ll keep her on the lead tonight, but she’ll be fine.

Plenty to do here and places to see. Augusta is on the agenda with Alan.

A quiet moment last year.

I wrote about long term space travel in the post below. This was from a comment I made on Radio National’s web site, i.e. I posted it. For some reason, they never published my comments. That’s a pity, because I was hoping to get some feedback from other readers. It took me about 20 – 30 mins to write that. Oh well.

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I said I switched back to TomTom from Garmin. Well, the difference in the software is not just a little difference, it’s huge. I think TomTom is far better. I’m glad I made the move.

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I saw the doc yesterday about my fatigue. He gave me a good check over and found nothing wrong. It’s just stress. I can see that. I’m feeling a little better now. Boy, this has been an ordeal, though. If I’d known two years ago what I was unleashing, the Pandora’s Box I was opening, I would never have started. With the benefit of hindsight … if only I could have foreseen the future. I should have been content with my lot. Take note, folks.

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One good thing about staying with my friends in Scarborough is that the three kids next door have adopted Minnie. They range from 18 months to 4 and 6, and they love coming over to play with her. She responds – she loves the attention. When the eldest boy realised I’m going away next week and taking Minnie with me, he said, “I wish you lived here.” That was nice. I assured him I’m coming back, but there’s going to be a permanent parting soon, I’m afraid. I’d better make it quiet.