Hi everyone,
Cooler day here: an oddish sort of day that felt like being in one of those Crazy Cars some of us had as kids where every wheel revolved on a slightly eccentric axis.
The day started a bit crummily with a frosty exchange with the old boy that somehow arose out of the fact that United Energy had cut a lock on the property at Mt Martha to respond to an unspecified 'emergency'. He's been similarly a bit unhappy that the Country Fire Authority can do the same when fire fighting. It feels like somehow he holds me to blame for this sort of thing because I'm a lawyer and an SES volunteer. Despite this, we were able to work together to feed out some hay and get a smudge bar ready for the tractor. It's just hard when you find yourself losing respect for someone you know you should respect.
Lunch came around and I opened a long-forgotten jar of brined vine leaves (they go awesome well as wraps for bacon!). Post lunch the parental units went to town to buy Scourban for a calf - in case we needed to get it and bits mother in I set feed in the yards and ran a trough of water. I also fired up the computer and transferred the current instalment of child support to the ex. I guess this means I can arrange a Skype date with the girls. The ex has never made Skype conditional on support payments, I should say, but I just can't feel right about trying to be a father when my first duty as a father - to support my darling girls - is something I'm struggling to do. It's like eating dessert before dinner itself, in a way.
Just after I'd done all that I received some stellar news: I was asked to attend a local enterprise tomorrow afternoon for a legal officer role. I'm really excited for this and have a good feeling about it!
As I had some alone time I also decided to try something I'd thought about for a long time: I did one of the video ballet classes I downloaded from YouTube. Yes, I know it must sound bizarre for a 37 year old man to be experimenting with such a thing. I don't care: my hands are comfortable with a chainsaw, a rifle, a fountain pen and a steering wheel; why should they not wish to get a feel for another art. Certainly I'm confident enough in my manhood (and thick-enough skinned, which is much the same thing) not to give a damn what others may think. Anyway, it was surely an interesting experience. Two things struck me. First, I got an odd but strong sense that dance may be able to express things that music alone cannot and that prose could not get within cooee of. Second, I was struck how many of the postures and positions are for all the world like those I learned in karate years and years ago (in case you're wondering: my highest rank was Shodan-Ho, attained Dec. 1994). I'm rather looking forward to learning more!
The dog and I went back around the cattle at about 4pm; all was well. The light let me take a picture of a cut tree with an oddly twisted pattern on it.
The other thing I spotted was this photo below. I can't help but wonder what's been tunnelling into the tree to generate that heap of tailings!
SES training this evening - a really productive and instructive session in Z-pattern pulley systems. Put into application it was stunning to see how much we could move: two people had no problem pulling a Nissan Patrol uphill with the system in operation.
It was bloody cold this evening while we were messing about with ropes and pulleys. I have to say, when I hit back here I was a bit jealous of the warm spot the cat has secured in from of the fire!
The cat's no fool!
With that, I think it's bedtime. Big day tomorrow!
More as it happens
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