I sit here staring into the embers of the fire. Two of my neighbours share in my reverie. The coals glow red and orange, warming us as a chilly breeze cools our necks. Our tents have been pitched for a couple of hours now and the camp is magnificent. Spoilt only by the beer bottles which lie empty on the ground, abandoned and forlorn!
Our sons chase each other around and around the tents, tripping over guy ropes. Spontaneous bouts of wrestling are fiercely contested and quickly over as tears are spilt. Followed seconds later by laughter, grunting, and more tears! Boys!
Their mothers are not so far away but we hope happy in slumber. Toothbrushes, shoes, soap, and warm clothes have been abandoned. Instead dads rules have been implemented and will be strictly applied to our camp site. Very simply, anything girly and clean will be overlooked in favour of good old dirt and slovenly ways. The way boys are meant to be!
The braai is long over. Marshmallows and Marie biscuits have been toasted to cinders. The laughter has been replaced with tiredness. The call to bed is fiercely contended by the youngsters. Loud words are spoken and the tents slowly fill with deep breathing sons. The youngest continues to fight hard but soon succumbs to the allures of sleep. Another day ends, all in preparation for the day to come.
The three old ones talk long into the night. Deep thoughts and life philosophies. Magic moments shared. Soon conversation slows as sleep calls us too. Wearily we head off to our beds. I wonder why I am so blessed. To be able to share life with good friends and neighbours.
And soon I too am fast asleep, on a mattress in a tent, in my neighbours back garden!
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A hodgepodge update
It seems like ages since I last posted anything and I am feeling appropriately guilty. So much has been going on; most of it in a state of sleep deprivation!
It gets worse; I even found myself looking forward to a kids birthday party. One of Luke’s friends invited him and I to a camp out on their family farm. Apart from my enjoyment of camping and the ‘coolness’ factor of spending quality time with my oldest, I had an ulterior motive that involved uninterrupted slumber. The lads had a roaring time as did the dads but I was happy to hear the lads ordered off to bed. I found the process of putting my son to bed so tiring that I decided to crawl into my sleeping bag to rest for a while. A howling wind, a lack of fibre in my sleeping bag, and a thin mattress ensured that my sleep was far from comfortable or interrupted. Regardless, it was the best kids birthday party I have ever attended!
The weekend also saw me taking a number of photographs of a family in my new makeshift lounge studio. I was surprised how easy it was to capture some really great portraits. Once again, the blindingly obvious that practise makes perfect shone on through! Although I am far from perfect...
Work has recently come pouring through the door. Hopefully it will keep on coming in although it does mean that my book is now on the back burner again. At least this time I know that I can pick it up at any time and carry on. I will finish it; I have a story to tell and a message to share!
Judo last night was also a revelation. I walked out of the Judoka without a single new injury, a first in many weeks. Please note that I also managed to walk and not stagger out using my two boys as walking sticks. I have a sneaky suspicion that my Judo improvement has something to do with my brain being firmly engaged again! Is it possible that an engaged brain means one is able to perform better in all aspects of life? If so, how do I keep it engaged when not fully engrossed in a project?
And the new star of our family has certainly kept us on our toes. There is no doubt in my mind that the human brain is programmed to forget the constant minding that a new born requires, the sleeplessness, the inability to reason, the complete lack of communication, and the incredible joy of having had a small part to play in this fragile new creation!
All sorts of new charity projects have suddenly sparked my interest. Just this morning I met a chap in the school parking lot who is planning to rent a warehouse to house the homeless in our town. Here I was contemplating the lack of surfable waves and this chap is trying to make the lives of at least 100 people better than ever! I can certainly see myself getting involved in a piece of that. First though, I have to get my Sir Lowry’s Village ‘fix a house’ project going. I have a number of volunteers including a builder. My mom has also made a donation of R1000 to get us started. With a bit of luck, we will be able to make a real difference in the living conditions of a family or two with that.
Dear Isabella is gentle calling me over. I must find out what she needs...
It gets worse; I even found myself looking forward to a kids birthday party. One of Luke’s friends invited him and I to a camp out on their family farm. Apart from my enjoyment of camping and the ‘coolness’ factor of spending quality time with my oldest, I had an ulterior motive that involved uninterrupted slumber. The lads had a roaring time as did the dads but I was happy to hear the lads ordered off to bed. I found the process of putting my son to bed so tiring that I decided to crawl into my sleeping bag to rest for a while. A howling wind, a lack of fibre in my sleeping bag, and a thin mattress ensured that my sleep was far from comfortable or interrupted. Regardless, it was the best kids birthday party I have ever attended!
The weekend also saw me taking a number of photographs of a family in my new makeshift lounge studio. I was surprised how easy it was to capture some really great portraits. Once again, the blindingly obvious that practise makes perfect shone on through! Although I am far from perfect...
Work has recently come pouring through the door. Hopefully it will keep on coming in although it does mean that my book is now on the back burner again. At least this time I know that I can pick it up at any time and carry on. I will finish it; I have a story to tell and a message to share!
Judo last night was also a revelation. I walked out of the Judoka without a single new injury, a first in many weeks. Please note that I also managed to walk and not stagger out using my two boys as walking sticks. I have a sneaky suspicion that my Judo improvement has something to do with my brain being firmly engaged again! Is it possible that an engaged brain means one is able to perform better in all aspects of life? If so, how do I keep it engaged when not fully engrossed in a project?
And the new star of our family has certainly kept us on our toes. There is no doubt in my mind that the human brain is programmed to forget the constant minding that a new born requires, the sleeplessness, the inability to reason, the complete lack of communication, and the incredible joy of having had a small part to play in this fragile new creation!
All sorts of new charity projects have suddenly sparked my interest. Just this morning I met a chap in the school parking lot who is planning to rent a warehouse to house the homeless in our town. Here I was contemplating the lack of surfable waves and this chap is trying to make the lives of at least 100 people better than ever! I can certainly see myself getting involved in a piece of that. First though, I have to get my Sir Lowry’s Village ‘fix a house’ project going. I have a number of volunteers including a builder. My mom has also made a donation of R1000 to get us started. With a bit of luck, we will be able to make a real difference in the living conditions of a family or two with that.
Dear Isabella is gentle calling me over. I must find out what she needs...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Mums & Bums
My weekend (1 or 2 ago) was full of laughs. Mostly the stuff of great friends and family just having a plain good old time! It was camping weekend, something that could drive fear into any hardened suburban housewife. But not my wife! It has taken years but I think she is as close as she can be to enjoying camping. Years of effort and wise investment into giant Tabard candles, canvas, and inflatable beds have been the driving forces.
Normally there are four families that band together, pitch tents, feast on gourmet creations over an open fire, and play silly games with our children. This time there were only three. One mother pulled out as she did not think her four week old baby would be able to handle the gourmet creations. Or at least thats what I think the reason was.
We have rated this particular place that we go as the best camping spot we have ever been too. Picture rolling grass lawns down to the banks of a river, giant trees shading your site, almost your own mini forest, your own ablution block, and best of all, no other campers within 500m of your site! This place is a gem, and this weekend was our second visit.
The river is fast flowing and a transparent tea colour. It is filled with smoothed river rocks, which have created their own white water rapids. These particular festivities all started with one of the boys wading upstream a bit and then floating back down to where we all lounged in the cold mountain water. Then all of the boys were at it. It did not take long before all the children had found a place further upstream to enter the river and get a fun filled river ride. Yours truly was soon forced to try out this new entertainment with my little guy on my stomach. I very quickly realised that some skill was required to navigate between rocks otherwise I found myself royally thumped. All much to the enjoyment of my youngest who thought the wild up and down gyration of my middle was my addition to the game. How could I spoil that wonderful illusion by explaining that every up was the result of a collision with a rock!
During the day, there were suddenly load raucous screams, laughter and much giggling. Some of that noise sounded suspiciously like it originated with my wife. Having a deep understanding that nothing in camping could ever bring forth multitudes of mirth, I was understandably concerned for her safety. Rushing to the river’s edge, the screams and shouts were undiminished but their source was evident. Three mums bumping and bouncing their way down the rapids on their bums! The kids could not believe their eyes! Neither could I, but I was busy feeling on the grass to find my eyeballs that had popped out of my head on witnessing this sight. With much gaiety, laughter, and yes back slapping, they ran on back through the camp site to do it all again!
This was a good weekend!!! Bring on some more.....
Normally there are four families that band together, pitch tents, feast on gourmet creations over an open fire, and play silly games with our children. This time there were only three. One mother pulled out as she did not think her four week old baby would be able to handle the gourmet creations. Or at least thats what I think the reason was.
We have rated this particular place that we go as the best camping spot we have ever been too. Picture rolling grass lawns down to the banks of a river, giant trees shading your site, almost your own mini forest, your own ablution block, and best of all, no other campers within 500m of your site! This place is a gem, and this weekend was our second visit.
The river is fast flowing and a transparent tea colour. It is filled with smoothed river rocks, which have created their own white water rapids. These particular festivities all started with one of the boys wading upstream a bit and then floating back down to where we all lounged in the cold mountain water. Then all of the boys were at it. It did not take long before all the children had found a place further upstream to enter the river and get a fun filled river ride. Yours truly was soon forced to try out this new entertainment with my little guy on my stomach. I very quickly realised that some skill was required to navigate between rocks otherwise I found myself royally thumped. All much to the enjoyment of my youngest who thought the wild up and down gyration of my middle was my addition to the game. How could I spoil that wonderful illusion by explaining that every up was the result of a collision with a rock!
During the day, there were suddenly load raucous screams, laughter and much giggling. Some of that noise sounded suspiciously like it originated with my wife. Having a deep understanding that nothing in camping could ever bring forth multitudes of mirth, I was understandably concerned for her safety. Rushing to the river’s edge, the screams and shouts were undiminished but their source was evident. Three mums bumping and bouncing their way down the rapids on their bums! The kids could not believe their eyes! Neither could I, but I was busy feeling on the grass to find my eyeballs that had popped out of my head on witnessing this sight. With much gaiety, laughter, and yes back slapping, they ran on back through the camp site to do it all again!
This was a good weekend!!! Bring on some more.....
Monday, February 18, 2008
Once again this morning has posed some creatively difficult challenges. I am learning how easy it is to get to the wall and how difficult it can be to push on through it. I have a far better understanding that I too am a brilliant procrastinator!! And yet I have no excuse, I have even had a morning surf. Speaking about my morning surf, I am trying a new technique – immersion, or at least this is what I am calling it. We sent my youngest son for swimming lessons in December for a solid two weeks. The difference in his confidence and abilities was remarkable. From a child that could not swim we suddenly had a child that could swim lengths unassisted at the age of three. My theory is if I could surf for two solid weeks, I too will have a step change in my abilities and confidence. I will keep you posted and you can count on my immersion being somewhat fun!
Another reason why the wall is so surprising is that we had a lovely weekend away. We went camping together with three other couples. Perhaps I am far too relaxed this morning and that I why I am unable to string any words together!
We camped at this beautiful little place outside of a town called Rawsonville. This is an area where the principle activity is the growing of grapes and pears. Imagine a countryside covered in vines. This is the time of year when the vines are dark green in colour and adorned with leaves. Our campsite was nestled in the mountains that crowd this part of the world. Access is by a picture skew dirt road that follows a lovely clear mountain stream up a ravine. We passed the wine farm and continued up into the mountains. At times the dirt road was only one lane wide with a steep fall off on the one side. I wondered who would need to give way if I encountered anyone else on the road, but did not get to find out. Further into the mountains, we discovered our campsite. It was rather not what we were expecting. To our pleasant surprise the camping area was covered in beautiful green grass. It had a little embankment which flattened out on the way to the river. The river was perfectly clear with a tinge of sepia. And it was all ours, not another camper in site.
With the gurgle of the stream and the shouts of playful children, I dozed off not once but twice! There is a certain peacefulness about camping. Time seems far more languid than normal and there seems to be so much more of it. I suppose it is because one is forced to rest, there is not much else to do. Much to my children’s chagrin, we departed on Sunday evening, certainly ready to return again!
Now with my procrastination at bay for the time being, I am about to charge back into my life!
Another reason why the wall is so surprising is that we had a lovely weekend away. We went camping together with three other couples. Perhaps I am far too relaxed this morning and that I why I am unable to string any words together!
We camped at this beautiful little place outside of a town called Rawsonville. This is an area where the principle activity is the growing of grapes and pears. Imagine a countryside covered in vines. This is the time of year when the vines are dark green in colour and adorned with leaves. Our campsite was nestled in the mountains that crowd this part of the world. Access is by a picture skew dirt road that follows a lovely clear mountain stream up a ravine. We passed the wine farm and continued up into the mountains. At times the dirt road was only one lane wide with a steep fall off on the one side. I wondered who would need to give way if I encountered anyone else on the road, but did not get to find out. Further into the mountains, we discovered our campsite. It was rather not what we were expecting. To our pleasant surprise the camping area was covered in beautiful green grass. It had a little embankment which flattened out on the way to the river. The river was perfectly clear with a tinge of sepia. And it was all ours, not another camper in site.
With the gurgle of the stream and the shouts of playful children, I dozed off not once but twice! There is a certain peacefulness about camping. Time seems far more languid than normal and there seems to be so much more of it. I suppose it is because one is forced to rest, there is not much else to do. Much to my children’s chagrin, we departed on Sunday evening, certainly ready to return again!
Now with my procrastination at bay for the time being, I am about to charge back into my life!
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