A BIG DAY

 

Yesterday was the annual Wreck2Reef swim, lots of individual races from kids to a 2.5 km swim. i was photographer for the yacht club so it was a full morning from 9 till 12.30 running from the start of one race to the finish of the last, 50m apart but overlapping!  also taking pics for Wild Waves, lots of Salties wearing their wonder swimcoats!  Sunny Luke and Etta were here for Sunny's race, the 10.5km Sunset Run in the evening at 5, along the waterfront from St Leonards to Portarlington.  it was a full day and the weather was perfect, mild 23deg, overcast and hardly any wind, just enough breeze to cool the runners.  Sunny was really happy with her time, she looked fresh as a daisy as she ran in and three of the Salties who'd really put in a lot of training time, finished the 2.5km swim together, we were all so excited and there were tears and laughter.  A very happy day full of smiles and friendship.

I started the day taking pics of the fabulous Wild Waves swimcoats for their website

then spent the rest of the morning just 

photographing everything and everyone!

      First placegetter in the 2.5km, so determined to win the run up to the finish did him in!! but only for a minute

              JO has worked so hard this year on her swimming going from            swimming to the pole to finishing the 2.5km yesterday.   

everyone was thrilled for her

              

SUNNY'S RUN -  the 10.5km SUNSET RUN from st leonards to portarlington

after the swim morning we chilled in the afternoon till 5 when sunny did her run, she looked great at the start and equally fresh at the end, she was very happy with her time and i felt hugely proud of her

FEBRUARY - René's coming!!

 Exciting to think that René and family will be here on the 25th!!  

can't wait to hug these guys again, arriving for two weeks, a few days down here, the rest in melbourne and travelling around

Gathering photos of Etta for her 4 year old album.  still another 5 months to go

some gorgeous sunrises - sadly due to smoke from the continuing widespread fires in the grampians and to the west

hanky panky at the yacht club

lots of fairy wrens down on the waterfront, one has come into the clubrooms a few times, once doing an investigation of the kitchen hopping from windowsill to fridge and across the floor

Sunny and Etta  came down for a weekend and we had a lovely 

morning at Point Lonsdale where i got bitten by sandflies -  

grrr,  those bites itch for ages!

Had an overnight trip up to the Grampians to see Don - it's always lovely to wander round the property and have a walk up to the lake, so many lovely trees and birds.  this E. macrocarpa was Helen's favourite

Young whistling kite on the lake lonsdale road

the lake has dried up to about third its size 

about six months ago

IT'S A WHOLE NEW YEAR

 

IT STILL FEELS like holiday time,  people everywhere, cabanas all along the beach, cars bumper to bumper all along the esplanade. But it's nice time to clean up the garden, i've made a mosaic house number to put out the front,  and today - hooray hooray - i actually printed four plates, two existing bathers prints and two new ones.  they look weak, not sure why but maybe the blanket's not the right one or i need to etch them deeper. i've forgotten what to do !!

the water is as gorgeous as ever every morning

I have birdbaths all around the garden but the little 

honeyeaters love my blocked up guttering on the studio

Time in Melbourne

i met Sandra under the clocks at flinders street station and we trammed it out to glen eira town hall gallery to see a terrifiic exhibition of portraits by graeme drendel, lewis miler, peter wegner, mike vale and more

     

TERRIFIC CLOUDS ON THE FORESHORE

A lovely christmas day at Susan's,  great food and company and a lovely 

walk and swim at Eastern Beach with about 10,000 people. Sunny Luke and 

Etta came up the day before so we had an afternoon at the beach, and i got 

to see Etta experiencing her first real Cristmas, she was so excited in the 

morning, eyes like saucers :0)    

      everything was just delightful

    

    Salties and Yacht Club xmas breakup

a visit to the Grampians with Jenny to see Don.  

always good to spend time at Lake Lonsdale

 

   lucky shot

a new knitting project - a cropped jacket for winter in this lovely colour 'chilli' from Bendigo knitting mills

SWIMMING EVERY DAY at sunrise, always great no matter what the weather.  

pic by michelle westaway