Brewing up with Him Outdoors

It's his second-favourite pastime, so we had a day of capturing the art of brewing in the garage.

Measuring malt grains

Pale, crystal and chocolate malts

The yeast strain

Grain selection

Low-tech equipment

Hops!

Mashing in

Helping out

Sparging or lautering (if you prefer to be German)

Spent grain

In the be(er)ginning

Receiving approval from the brewer's assistant

Spring flora and fauna

Here are some more pictures of spring doing its stuff in our garden.

Namadgi

I have hurt my back (stupid 10km races on road!) and am hobbling and wincing with movement in that tragic 'Yes, I'm over forty now - laugh all you want but it will happen to you one day' way, so we chose the woodland loop from these enticing options.

Gudgenby Hut is an 1845 slab hut recently rebuilt as an interpretive shelter. Originally one of the ACT's oldest European structures, constructed by Scottish immigrant Charles McKeahnie, the hut was dismantled in 1964 and the timber slabs were stored in a shipping container. The hut was rebuilt using the salvaged materials of the original edifice and traditional methods and building techniques carried out by the rangers at Namadgi National Park. 

Interpretive panels, photographs and audio stories tell the tales of the early settlers. The new technology contrasts with the skills used by pioneering families before electricity, to overcome challenges such as managing stock, extreme weather, isolation, transport, schooling and medical help.



Gudgenby Hut





Original timber slabs from the hut, covered in newspapers





Long-necked turtles peeking out of the pond



There is a dodgy little bridge along Smiths Road. Even children know it is not safe to speed over it!

 

Tidbinbilla Deep Space Station

In an attempt to get as far away from election hooplah as possible while living in Canberra, we paid a visit to the Deep Space Station where we saw live footage of a rocket failing to launch. Could this be prophetic?

From 1957-1969, seven deep space tracking stations were built in Australia. There were three around Canberra at Honeysuckle Creek, Orroral Valley and Tidbinbilla. Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station played an integral role in the Apollo 11 mission, providing the first pictures of man walking on the moon in July 1969.

Orroral Valley was used to support Earth orbiting satellites and supported the cooperative USA-USSR Apollo/ Soyuz project in 1975 when American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts linked vehicles in Earth's orbit and carried out joint experiments in space.

Tidbinbilla was developed for communicating with deep space probes and to add support to the early manned missions. It is the only NASA tracking station still operational in Australia today.

The Canberra Space Centre not only offers views of the largest antenna complex in the southern hemisphere, but plenty of exhibits about space exploration and memorabilia. Screens show images from the Solar System and the progress of various bits of space hardware as they orbit the earth.

I was particularly interested in the personal effects, such as the tootbrushes and the food. Clearly the basic functions of eating, washing, and cleaning your teeth take on different complexites without gravity. There was an example of toiletry facilities that I was non too keen to experience, and the pea soup didn't look particularly appetising either. I did, of course, try on the space suit though!



They always said I was a space cadet



Baroomba Rocks

A spot of over-indulgence last night led to a sore head this morning. But a brisk walk up to Baroomba Rocks in Namadgi National Park wth Him Outdoors soon cleared that up!



Golden wattle (Acacia Pycnantha) in bloom



Spring hopes eternal

Spring is coming - slowly but surely. I love the inevitability of seasons and wouldn't want to live somewhere that didn't have them. Here are some images from our back garden.



I see a dragon in the grape vines



Even Chester is happy. One might even go so far as to say smug.


Did you say Chester or Cheshire?