Stop, drop and spray?

 

Yesterday we got to play (a bit) and assist with training activities put on by the local fire service brigades. It wss an all day affair followed by drinks at the pub. As probationers, we didn't join the fire scenarios but did help with set up. The image above and the video below are a burning building example - you need to try to put out the fire without letting in a lot of oxygen that will fuel it. There are specific spray techniques you use to get it put out safely and effectively:

For the car fire, I didn't get much info on how best to approach but you need all your skin covered in case of explosions, glass fragments and other toxins. The one I started with got abandoned after set up as two teams got called off to a grass fire

We helped with the set up and monitoring of the grass fire scenario - the goal is to move the basketball over all the pylons set out as the fire margins using just water from the hose. This meant the truck had to come with:

The scenarios involved safety set up, communication, team roles etc. The day was really rich in opportunities. We (Scott and I) did join the team building parts- get everyone over the "river" without falling in, tie a reef knot but with team members holding on the rope ends so they had to "tie" using body movements, and a blinded "put the hose parts together". The activities resembled some of the old orientation stuff we did with the students. Our group had a scout master so we flew through the rope tricks. Eventually we tied for first and then won the tiebreaker. Teams were Smokey, Ash Kickers and Odyssey, I think Ash Kickers got the point for best team name (fair enough). 

It was a great way to meet the teams from neighboring communities and work together. Due to the relatively small size of the rural volunteer groups, big fires often call in multiple communities. The same groups are coming to another field training this Thursday.

 

On the farm, the days are getting noticeably longer, The potato bits have gone in the garden bed but not much else has. Still working on pruning. The poor overgrown Abelia bushes got hacked. We have four. Ideally, you trim out the older branches and leave the flowering younger branches. However, most of these were so thick, that doing that left a big empty core. So two are now "restarting" (no flowers this year):

One basically got left as is for bird habitat:

And the youngest one got somewhat pruned:

Working on the bird of paradise now. Startled a small toad and a hunstman spider. Definitely have more to do to get the dead bits removed. This is a "before" pic:

It won't be as drastic a prune as the abelia, I hope. The agapanthus is creeping in, as well, in the image above. Evil stuff! South African plants often thrive here but also often become invasive. We are working on removing them over time. 

Some of the days have become warm enough for the blue-tongue to show! The one that came out is greyer and thinner. Scott thinks it might be a different one. I am going with winter starvation and skin shedding. 

 

Good thing is I can consider myself correct until we see two at once. 

Birds have also been pairing up and starting nests. We now have a plethora of kookaburras and a pair of satin bowerbirds. The bowerbirds are really cool but also eat more of the garden produce. This pair is down by the creek so the fruit trees there will be the ones mostly in peril. 

This kookaburra was in the formal garden. They eat snakes (and bugs) rather than fruit so he is welcome to hang out. 

Meantime, we are keeping the home fires burning!