I got out of the office!

Dave and I took the doggies to Bay of Rest night before last to hunt mud crabs and wander around the mangroves at low tide.  It was a perfect evening - nice enough even for me to wear a t-shirt and shorts!  Of course, that also meant that we went through half a can of Bushman's to keep the mozzies and sand flies at bay, but it was a small price to pay. Be warned, there are a lot of photos in this post, so maybe go get a drink while you wait...

The Girls were super eager to be in the "big" car - they know that we're going somewhere good and for a long time when we take it. They weren't overly impressed with all of the pitstops we made before getting out of town but they got over it


Dora and Til both love to run like crazy beasts over the mud - it's impossible how much and how far they flick.

Could Dora be happier?

MatildaLily is pretty happy, too

Sometimes Tilly gets the "crazy eyes" thing happening when she tries to entice Dora to play harder

It's actually pretty nice for me when we head out here. The dogs generally follow Dave around and leave me alone, bar the odd flyby at 7 zillion miles per hour. I tried to buy a pair of boots before heading out but they didn't have my size and so I was barefoot again. I'm almost always barefoot but at the mangroves it really reduces my mobility as there are all manner of spiky things in the mud AND there is the very real danger of stepping on a stonefish. Since where we go is about an hour's drive from town (and the hospital), I do try to be careful. So, next time I'll have my boots and will be able to explore more of the area - which might turn out to be a bad thing if the doglets decide to hang with Da Mama. Dora did grant me a pity cuddle, but she didn't hang out long

That was a long-winded bit of nothing to explain that I busy myself pottering with little stuff while the three of them wander off. One would think I would be a smartie and bring a macro lens, but nooooo, it was my Canon 100-400L and my baby Canon A720. And the batteries, including the spare set I remembered to bring, were essentially flat on the A720. Surprisingly, the 100-400 didn't do a horrendous job on the little mud crawlers I found





Dave found a crab out of his hole and I eeked a couple of shots out of the dead batteries

and I found a fireworm - tres nasty - right by the car. Glad I saw it before I stepped on it

I like that there's no one around. At least there hasn't been the times I'm out there. We let the dogs run and play and do doggie stuff without worrying about them flicking mud on someone or ruining someone else's fishing time. They always find plenty to amuse themselves with...Til has this mud thing

Happily, she also loves to run through the relatively clear water so most of the nasty, sticky, stinky mud washes off

and Dora is very curious, giving things a good sniffing and maybe a lick or two for good measure (blech!)


and there's always the Run With Sharp Objects Event

the Run at Full Speed Towards ______ Event (fill in the blank with whoever is not paying attention to her)

and the I'm Not Annoying, Am I? Event

While the Ridgies do their thing and Dave attempts to fish or find mud crabs, I like to see how badly I can screw up shooting birds in flight.




I always feel a little bad coz I have no idea what any of these birds are called, but I find that feeling passes before I can work up the energy to surf the net to find an ID.

Dave has a special little holder-dealio for his fishing rod, so he gets to leave the rod to its own devices as he wanders off doing something else

Sometimes he has a helper

and sometimes he's all alone

and sometimes he's with me!

We stayed until the sun sank from the sky,


then drove home and ate leftovers. It was a great adventure!