Basketball Grand Final

Bonnie's basketball team played in the grand final tonight, and they came out victorious. Bonnie's basketball skills have really improved during the season, and she contributes well to her team. It was a well deserved win, and a very tight game. It was the defending that defined the game, as the scores reflected.
Next season Bonnie will have to play with older kids, which will extend her even more. This time she was one of the big kids!

Hugh at school.

This is one of a series of photos I took for the Darkan Primary School to celebrate its new status. The school is no longer a district high school, so all children over the age of twelve must go away to school to continue their education. Most high-school age children were already going to boarding school, and we have sent Sophie away in year seven this year.

I haven't been blogging about the farm much lately. It is not that nothing is happening, but just that I haven't had time to blog. It is after midnight now, and I have another very busy week coming up. I have been spending time doing my photography in my studio in town, and I have had a few days tied up with children's activities. Sophie's swimming carnival was last Tuesday (she is not a strong swimmer so only swam 25 metres of freestyle in a 150 metre relay race), Bonnie's swimming carnival last Thursday (she was equal runner-up year 4 girl) and Bonnie's basketball final last Tuesday evening (her team is in the grand final on Tuesday night).

I have Stephanie from France helping me in the house (thank goodness!) and there are two French guys (Yannick the cook and his friend Fabien) helping Roger on the farm. They have drenched sheep, pulled weeds, taken down a fence, and tomorrow they will start to put up a new fence. Most of the time I am not here to photograph them working!

On Friday we all went to Wagin to the Woolorama (the agricultural show), and Roger and I went again on Saturday. We saw lots of displays, Odette won $3 for a picture she exhibited, and we were well entertained. On Friday night we all had a go on the "bucking bull" ride and I am glad to say I survived for ten seconds and didn't injure myself! Of course I didn't have my camera to take any photos for proof.

Monterey Deep Thinker

Last week Roger attended a bull sale and bought a Murray Grey bull to add some new genetics to our cattle herd. The bull is called Monterey Deep Thinker, which prompted me to suggest that he had better do more than just think about it. Otherwise the name Sophie came up with might be more appropriate - Monterey Deep Freezer.
Yesterday the bull arrived on a very big truck which was on the way to somewhere else.

This is my first view of the new bull.

There were some friends to greet him in the yard.

Odette, Bonnie and Stephanie ( from France) watched the bull arrive.

Roger with the paper work.

Always in France

While we were in France in 2008, I was excited to see the Google car with cameras recording images for the Google street view feature in the streets of Sainte Marie d'Alloix. I wrote about it here. I thought it would be a long time before we had Google street view of our place in Australia, but in fact we were on street view before Sainte Marie d'Alloix was. Street view is available for the town of Darkan, and for much of Gibbs Road. It doesn't come right to our front gate, but to within about 5kms of our farm. Not many people drive past our front gate, and I guess for the same reason that the street view cameras didn't.
Some time last month Sophie found out that the Sainte Marie d'Alloix street view is now functional, and as I suggested at the time, Hugh's little bike is parked at the top of the cul-de-sac at 9 montée des vignes. It was fascinating to compare the photo I had taken with the street view image.

The photo I took with Hugh's bike near the mail box.

The Street View picture with Hugh's bike.

What I hadn't predicted was that WE are also visible in the street view. You can see that our faces have been blurred, apart from Hugh and Odette, who are smaller and are wearing hats, so the software probably didn't recognise them as faces. (You can click the photo to zoom in.)

Me with Hugh and Odette (in pram) with Sophie and Bonnie behind, screen shot from Google street view.

So now we will always be in the street in Montée des Vignes whenever anyone browses the Google maps street view of Sainte Marie d'Alloix!

Boarding School

Sophie has gone to the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School and Matthew has gone to the Agricultural College at Harvey. They both started on Monday, and Bonnie and Odette had their first day back at Darkan Primary School on Monday too. So it was a very busy day! Thankfully we have two helpXchange helpers here to help us out, so they put Bonnie and Odette on the school bus and picked them up again in the afternoon. And they minded Hugh during the day.
Roger, Sophie and I left early enough to make the one and a half hour trip to Bunbury and get there between 8:30 and 9:00am. The car was loaded down with suitcases and bags containing everything that Sophie will need for the boarding house and the classroom. Except the guitar for guitar lessons - which we forgot.
We unloaded all the luggage and carried it to her new home, then Roger left to meet Matthew and his Mother on the highway. They travelled to Harvey to settle Matthew into the Agricultural College. Matthew had organised a king single sized bed to accommodate his 185cm and 85kgs. That didn't leave much room in the cubicle! They were provided with lunch before the parents left Matthew to his new surroundings and I met Roger back in Bunbury. We did a few chores before going back to BCGS to see how Sophie's day had gone.
Apart from one mistake the day seemed to go smoothly. Apparently Sophie and another girl went to the auditorium with the rest of the year sevens, but didn't realise that they were supposed to go back to the year seven centre. So they stayed there, all through a boring session explaining year 8 and 10 options! They felt like noodles when they realised! But there are bound to be a few mistakes when getting used to new routines.
After Sophie was all unpacked and we had her room looking lovely with her new bed linen and things, we joined the rest of the boarders and their parents for an early barbecue tea.
And then it was time for us to leave.
And that is when Sophie's eyes started to get watery and she didn't want to let go of me. I was very glad that one of our friends, who has a son in the same situation, took Sophie to sit with them and we walked off. Just had to go!
On the way home I texted Sophie and she sent back a colon and a closing bracket :)
I also texted Matthew, but he didn't send anything back.
Then this afternoon I had THREE calls from Sophie. First she was bored - she didn't know what to do and she couldn't play with her sisters like she usually does after school. And her room mate was doing laundry! Sophie assured me that she wouldn't do her own laundry when there is a laundry service provided at the school. Then, she rang to ask about me going to visit on the weekend and reminded me that I had to ring the boarding master. Then finally, after dinner she rang to say goodnight, and she said the food was so nice that she ate too much and had a sore tummy.
Sleep well Sophie.