An apple a day...

TWO WEEKS and we'll be on holidays! We cannot wait! However, there is always so much to do before going away. We can't just walk away and leave things, like many people think we can. We are planning our two weeks of work PLUS the 10 days that Marc is away for. We have to make sure the cattle are in 'safe' paddocks with water and food as well as making sure we have enough prickle trees cut and supplement feed out to last the time that we are away.

There is a fair bit happening with my little business in that two weeks also! A friend of mine has decided to start her own hair dressing and beauty salon out here. She is very excited and I am excited for her. She has asked me to do some 'funky' photos for her. So after a discussion and throwing ideas around, we decided on a fruit theme. One of the prints I am doing for her is a series of images of an apple cut in half. I am taking a photo at the same time of the day, every day for a fortnight, or so, to capture it slowly decaying.

Here is the shot of the apple I took today, with a bit of a groovy edit




And here is a pic of the apple on the first day that I cut it with an extruded filter over the top





I am having fun doing these shots!

EXCITED!

A medium to long term goal of ours has been brought forward by quite a few years and we couldn't be happier. It is something that we have talked about, dreamt about and worked towards and now it is within grasp. We are happier than we have been in quite awhile, both individually and as a couple. This has been such a positive thing for us, that we are hoping the positivity transfers and that this last round of treatment WORKS! I am hoping, that as the saying goes "Like begets like"... "Positivity begets positivity".

I am almost finished my Proofreading course- so far I have received three high distinctions and three distinctions. I have 4 more assignments to complete and submit which I am hopeful of completing within the next couple of weeks!

The photography club that I started approximately 20mths ago has gathered a lot of momentum and I couldn't be happier. We have gained sponsors and an annual photography competition supported by a newsagents in Mt Isa. It is very satisfying to see that my hard work and commitment has finally started paying off.

My little business is also starting to gather momentum. I have had three newborn photo sessions already, with another two booked in as well as a family portrait session booked. Again, my hard work and commitment is paying off. This is a little harder to promote however as it is ME... People think that I am an extrovert, but I really am not and I find self promotion quite difficult. I have to psyche myself up, put on a 'business hat' and go in guns blazing... that's the only way to do it. If I am not psychologically prepared to promote myself- things collapse and nothing gets done. In fact, I am preparing myself now for tomorrow! Tomorrow I am going to try and market myself to get a few shoots booked in.

When I was driving home the other day from Townsville, I decided to take my time and stop and take photos along the way. I had a lovely day, however the conditions weren't conducive to taking photographs as it was bright, glarey and windy. However I persevered and here are a couple of shots I took. I added a 3D filter the images, I hope you can notice it!

This image was taken at White Mountain look out in the Burra Range. The following two images are of a lovely gum tree in flower.

And here is an image of 26 day new MR J! The wonderful thing about this photo shoot was that it was on his actual due date!!!

Have a great day!

Its the little things

Its funny how priorities change as you get older. I had spoken to Mr Fabulous in the past about putting a clothesline in the backyard. We have a little fold away clothesline attached to a wall on the back verandah, which is great provided the wind blows in the right direction and it isn't too humid! In winter, we have quite strong southerly winds, and the verandah clothesline never caught any breeze, therefore clothes would take awhile to dry. Mr Fabulous removed an old clothesline that was near the old shearers quarters and placed it in the backyard where it catches good breeze! I love looking out the kitchen window and seeing the washing on the line, spinning and flapping and drying. It really is quite silly, but it gives me a sense of home, seeing washing on the line in the sun and breeze!

Mr Fabulous has also been busy filling my existing and 2 new vegie gardens with fresh soil from the cattle yards as well as top dressing parts of our yard. It is a hard, messy job, however the lawn responds well to a layer of fresh soil and the vegies that will grow will be delicious! We have been busy watering the vegie gardens to get all the soil nice and wet before I plant out any seeds. I also need to 'plan' where to plant the types of vegies I have- some like nitrogen, some don't. Some like to be planted where other plants have been due to nutrients being left behind, some don't. I am hoping to plant seeds out this coming week end!

We still have had no rain. Winter only lasted a week and the constant heat is starting to take its toll on what grass we had left. Consequently, we have started cutting down prickly acacia, an invasive weed that causes so much angst normally, will provide enough fodder to see us through the year.













The drought's myriad affects are far reaching and the ecology at 'our' waterhole is being affected. Eureka waterhole is the lowest that MF remembers and it has split into three. The remaining water is very shallow. We took the dogs for a swim yesterday afternoon and the water is dotted with dead catfish and pelicans. The pelicans have no bottom beak. I surmise that the pelicans have gone to scoop up a bill full of tucker and not realising how shallow the water is, ripped their bottom beaks off on the creek floor in the process and therefore killing themselves.







Anyway, on a brighter note, one of MF's cousins is getting married in September in Brisbane. I cannot wait as I will have a chance to see family and friends whom I haven't seen for a long time, and of course I love going to weddings. MF is flying home early and has 'given permission' for me to have a driving holiday and 'take my time' getting home! Well, to say I am excited about that is an understatement! I have managed to book myself in a photography workshop in Montville, and I have already 'pre-booked' a few nights with a cousin in Burrum Heads. I am also thinking that I may try and book into a cooking class somewhere along the way too.

Hope you all have a great evening!!