More bonsai...lucky me!

Got a call from a friend of mine the other day.  He had just moved onto a new farm and the previous owners had left a little bonsai...this is what he told me.  When I arrived at the shed, I was greeted by a monster tree in a crappy pot that was totally overgrown with grass and weeds!  No idea what it is tho... my forrester father-in-law can't even ID it... here it is anyways. Anyone who can help identify it will recieve a complimentary e-kiss or e-handshake depending on what you prefer! 

And here is my display table that i made in my garage...really!

Have a groovy day now!

The Root

Bonsai delux...or so I think

These are my latest bonsais...having such an awesome time doing them, I thought I might share them with the world.

Thanks to the GoodWife for being so patient as I have tended my trees more than I have tended her lately...Love you!   Check me out on Flickr...

The End of the Dream...or is it?

Have you ever been in that fantastic wash of a warm sleep, and the dream-strip (my version of a film-strip in the subconscious) has you smiling a stupid grin of contentment?  Has it ever been so good that you are sure that this is what heaven is made of...all the feelings that are coursing through your veins and finding lush comfort on your minds sofa? 

Has it ever been so good that when it is brought to such an abrupt end by a dog's frantic bark that you are sure your heart will seek shelter somewhere around your belly button while the rest of you is left to find oxygen elsewhere?

Welcome to the start of the school term!  A baptism of fire, brimstone and a swimming gala!

Having come from a high school, I was used to being the delegator-style-teacher.  Giving children instructions to complete a task and then leaving them to carry on with it was my 'thing'...and it worked well.  That is, it worked well until I decided to teach at a Prep School.  These children demand a much larger pound of flesh than any high school student could dream of taking.  Every ounce of energy is poured into every minute of every day and there is never any letting up.  I did, as did many other people I have spoken to, think that teaching in a prep school environment would be less stressful...HA HAA he he HAAAA HAAAAAAAAA he he HahahahahahahahahHHHHHAAAA!  HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!! Oooooooh!...sorry bit carried away there!

But I will admit something that is true:  There is and old saying that states that the relationship between effort and reward is directly proportional.  Too true!
The smiles that you get from a child that has done something right for the first time, or has succeeded beyond his or her expectations are priceless.

This is a fantastic job!

Something missing...

Have you ever woken up in the morning and got that feeling that you had something important to do, but cannot for the life of you remember what it was?   What was I saying again?  Ah yes...I just had a cookie and that helped remind me....THE BLOOOOOOOOOG!!!!!!!!!

I really feel a bit ashamed and rather empty that I haven't blogged in the last month and a half...sorry all my adoring fans, but I have had the most hectic December since the beginning of time...  And not hectic bad...hectic good!  It's a new year, and the goodwife and I are in new jobs, living in a new house with a new TV, new couch, new fridge, new stove and an ever growing new hole in my pocket...I must get that mended.

We had a phenomenal holiday in Mozambique, and I will say that if you are ever keen to spend some money on a truly awesome holiday, go and spend it Dugong Lodge in Inhassoro.  It is about 1000km from the South African Border post, but if the 2 day drive doesn't sound that appealing, Pelican air fly a daily flight from Johannesburg via Skukuza to Vilanculo.  The drive is then only an hour to Dugong.  It is Idyllic...that's all I can say...

L8R

Big swim at Midmar - Part 3 - The conclusion

Last night was crazy!  We had all had a fantastic supper of pootjie and rice and were relaxing comfortably by the now dying fire and admiring the beautiful lightning over the hill when the wind began to blow.  And did it blow!!!  We all ended up using our bodies as sandbags trying to keep our main tent from becoming the next and cheapest weather satellite as the wind pounded us...that settled, now for the rain!

Needless to say, we all woke somewhat bleary eyed and not in the mood for the last day of swimming.  After all the rain, the water was a lot colder than that of the previous three days, but once the skin goes a little numb, it seems to insulate rather well!

We completed the day by swimming across the front of the dam wall (a seriously unnerving experience) and were then met by the thunderous applause of the camping grade 5's on the slipway.
Well, I have to say: well done to me!  I took the average number of strokes that I usually take in a 25m length of the pool, and did some sums and came to the following conclusion: I took around 18000 strokes over the four days...and my shoulders seem to remember every last one this evening...OW!!!

One lap under the belt...
How many big laps have you done?

Big swim at Midmar - Part 2

Days 1 and 2 down and we are half way.  Little bits of me are strating to peel off and I am losing kilograms as fast as the kilometres tick by.  I must say that the children from grade 6 and 7 at Howick prep are swimming out of their socks.  They really are soldiering on despite the rather nippy water.  Anyways, 13km down, twelve to go.

The day's swim, just a hair under 7km.

Day three...things should have completely fallen apart by the end of this day with there being little more left of me but my spirit...this sort of thing wasn't made for people like me!

Big swim at Midmar!

Tomorrow is the day that my complete lack of training has set me up for. 
About a month and a half ago I agreed with a collegue of the GoodWife's that I would accompany him and some of his school pupils for a marathon swim.  As the days have drawn nearer, I have been more and more convinced that this decision was not one of my better ones. There is a large dam not too far from here called Midmar.  It is the home of the Capital K and Midmar Mile swims.  Incidentally, the Midmar Mile won a Guinness last year for being the largest inland, open water swimming event.  It saw very close to fourteen thouand swimmers last year!

Well, to complete the Midmar Mile, you swim across one of the bays, which is ...yes, a mile wide... we, the brave are going to swim around it in four days.  It is not a massive feat, but it's not easy...

Here is a map of the dam,

Compliments of Google-third-rock, this is day one.  We start at the big red square and finish 7km (4.3miles) later.  Yes I am sure I will have enough energy at the end of the day to keep you updated, so follow along.  If you are in the area, stop by, the kids and I would love your support!

What challenges do you have for the week?