Helloooooo? Is there anybody in there?

Well...it seems Karen, Ben and I are taking the plunge into the world of bloggland. This is just the beginning. Hold on tight. We will take you on and adventure involving fire (with flames), dogs, cats, fish, rugby, babies, paintings and whatever other weird and wonderful stuff pops into our heads or lives..... Let's kick things off with some photos. You will find below some interesting things, or at least interesting to us, so take a look and tell us what you think .....................

First the fire photos. The first photos are of the hazard reduction (a controlled burn done in cooler months to reduce high levels of bush fire fuel) that was conducted by the Fualconbridge Rural Fire Brigade (RFB). This was assisted by other RFBs including Valley Heights, Winmalee and the National parks and wildlife service. Some of the flames were well over 6 metres high!!!

The helicopter pictured drops incendiary devices in the areas that can not be reached on foot. They are like ping pong balls that, when activated, undergo a chemical reaction that causes them the burst into flame. They are simply dropped out of the helicopter and off they go!This is a photo taken at the Blue Mountains Championships of our Captain, Stewart, officially being handed the keys to our new category 1 (big) fire truck. Last fire photo, I bet you thought that would never end! This is a crew of us from Faulco RFB manning one of the checkpoints at the Six Foot Track Marathon. This is now one of the top ten marathons in Australia and attracts runners from far and wide.

Next, a couple of paintings I have done....

A photo of the boys, Bazal and Murphy the cats. Murphy is the white one. He is our wedding cat, we got him just after our wedding from the Katoomba RSPCA.

Next, a photo of the Mooflower in bloom. This thing is strange. It only flowers at night and is only supposed to flower once a year. Ours has flowered 5 times this year. The blooms have the most incredible scent.
If you look really, really closely you will be able to make out Ben in the centre of this photo. This was his first game of Rugby Union. They played against a team of large islanders that would make Mike Tyson look like a dwarf, so I can't blame him for staying way out there away from them all!!! In all fairness he was actually staying in his position on the wing...lucky for him.And lastly....this is our future bundle of joy at the 12 week ultrasound....No longer a jellybean, now a peanut. We had an appointment today with the doctor at Katoomba hospital and he is very happy with the way things are progressing. It is all very exciting for us.
Well....as Peter Cundall (Gardening Australia on ABC) says...that's your bloomin' lot. I will put some more stuff up as it happens and when it is not so close to my bedtime. Oh, and I am sure Karen will be putting in her bit, and Bippo (Ben for those of you that don't know).

Adios Doritos!