Dreadies lost and found

Hello folks! Sorry I didn't post for so long....
I'm working Monday to Saturday in the Horse Rehab and on the weekends in the hotel, so I I have pretty much never a day off work. It's not really an excuse though... I still got some leisure hours... so, sorry ... :)

But I can say I had some adventures.

A horse ripped one of my dreadies out and I didn't even notice it until I found the dreadlock lying on the ground three days later. (Can you believe that? No more nerve endings in my scalp *oh-oh!*)

Neglected stallion Leo arrived in the rehab in a very poor condition: underfed, feet in poor condition, and mane in dreadlocks!
It was my job to give him a bath (with dishwashing  liquid haha) and a haircut. So, one horse stole me a dreadlock, another horse donated me some!

My Mama sent me a package from Germany with this content:

Original German tissues!!!
And nose spray in case I get a cold or hay fever!!!
And enough baby ass cream for the next ten years!!!!
Now I really don't have to go home for a while ;) . Thank you Mama :)))))

A picture of one of the spiders that lived with me in my cabin... it's just a huntsman (relatively harmless) but I still check my shoes every morning before I put my feet into them.
There were fleas, too, but I ruthlessly killed them.... I'm no flea welfare!

One of the rehab horses... does she remind anyone of anyone? ;)

And.... I finally got on George again, and together with Katie we went out to see how we get along... and it all worked out well, George was georgous and did what I wanted, in the speed that I wanted...
The next day I went out with him alone. And he was even lazy... I had to push him to not just stop walking... BUT THEN. He suddenly remembered that he used to be a race horse, started running, and like "Oh wait... I'm good at running! Running is great!" he bolted off under me in his best race horse speed. JESUS that was sooooo fast!!! The fastes I ever galloped on a horse. And I could NOT stop him, he wouldn't listen. He even ignored that the path took a corner and ran straight on into the bush, found himself facing a tree, and made a sharp turn back to the path. That's where he lost me....
Thank you, dear George, for giving me some decent bruises and letting me walk home in shame!
And Thank  God that I didn't get seriously hurt.

Kitty is still the sweetest... Love her purrpurrkittyfurrypurry.

Well, I've got open eyes,
And an open door,
But I don't know what I'm searching for.
I should know by now.

Well, I've a big old heart,
This I know for sure,
But I don't know what our love is for.
I should know by now.

Well, I'll wait in line,
So I can wait some more,
'Till I can't remember what I came here for,

But I can't leave now,

Cause I've a light that shines,
And a love so pure,
But I don't know what to use them for.
I should know by now.

Well I spent my money,
I lost my friends,
I broke my mobile phone,
3am and I'm drunk as hell,
And I'm dancing on my own,
Taxi-cabs ain't stopping, and I don't know my way home.

Well it's hard to find a reason, when all you have is doubts,
Hard to see inside yourself when you can't see your way out,
Hard to find an answer when the question won't come out.

Oh everyone's filling me up with noise,
I don't know what they're talking about,
Everyone's filling me up with noise,
I don't know what they're talking about,
Everyone's filling me up with noise,
I don't know what they're talking about,

You see all I need's a whisper in a world that only shouts.

jamocrifj

Feeds and rugs and horse poo

Hello guys :) Another busy week in the horse rehab went by

 and .... I could tell you interesting stories about how I'm getting better in preparing the horse feeds and stuff... how I started to settle in the valley and got a bit used to the work and know all "my" horses' faces and names...

But maybe I'm too lazy to do that (and convinced that most of you wouldn't find it very interesting anyway..)

So I show you pictures of some four-legged beauty here

That's Elvis!

Jock

Diva, she's such a sweetheart... my favourite girl! She gets the prize for the softest nose

In our feed room there lives a possum.. since one year he steals the horses' apples and carots every night... living the great life!
Because he is so used to people, he's half-tame and took food out of my hand... and I even could carefully stroke his face! How cool and cute is he...

I named him Paul the Possum.

Beaver lodge

Helloou!

It came to me at last, that thing everyone was silently expecting to happen for a long time already... last week I gathered together all my stuff spread over Dom's house and moved away from Buddina - at last!
Now I'm living in a little cabin in a hidden valley near a big lake, with the edge of the forest on one side and  horse paddocks on the other side.  We named it "The Beaver Lodge" (don't ask why). I'm sharing the beaver lodge only with a big spider, and my closest neighbour is the horse Stigsy.

It's a rehabilitation centre for horses, owned by Wendy who knows a whole lot about training horses and all kinds of therapies for horses, like bowen therapy, laser therapy, massage, accupuncture and accupressure... together with Katie, her "apprentice", she runs the place. At the moment we are looking after 24 horses.
I just managed to memorize all their names, their habits and their feed plans, who is in which paddock and why they are here: Most of them are racing horses, being trained or being on a break right now, some are injured and here for treatment, some are just babies growing up and having their first lessons, some are pregnant, some just live here, ... most of them are really nice, some are a bit cranky, some are just so sweet, and all of them are utterly beautiful. And they all smell good. Guess who missed horses.
And when I want, I can get on this one, George, who is not only a nice dude, but maybe the most well-trained horse I've ever sat on -

I tell you, I think I scored again, big time. Ridiculously lucky, once more.

Finding the position, applying for it, being invited to check it all out, and confirming to move in and do it - it all happened within 24 hours! Before that, I had planned to go to a place near Toowoomba and do workaway, and I still feel sorry for calling this nice lady and telling her that I'm not coming because I found a better and more convenient position... but well, there is another year for me to come! ;)

Altough the first days after I moved away from Buddina were hard, I admit - I went from lazy, sunny, happy weeks in good company and comfort to a life in a cold cabin, getting up early, working, cooking for myself again, having mostly horses for company ... being lonely for my Buddina people, for my Kitty! And for the contact to the outside world via Internet.

I couldn't even watch SCHLAND win the soccer World Cup!!
(SCHLAAAAAND!!!! SCHLAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!! SCHLAAAAAAAND!!! #ausrast)

But it's all good now. When I think about it, I couldn't have found a better place - I get my 88 days for the second year working holiday visa, I can work with horses, so I'm pretty much doing something that I did as a hobby for most of my life, I can do horseback riding on a great horse, I meet new people and learn new things.... and it is not far away at all. For Aussie conditions just down the road from Dom's place, so I can visit him, Kitty and Kiwani on my work-free Sundays, and also really close to my cleaning job, which is awesome because so I can keep doing it and making money.
This is what I will be doing until September... until I go to another festival, see the Lion King Musical and then fly off to Bali, Indonesia. Don't ask me what will happen after that, I will make up my mind... but there is one thing that I definitely keep in mind all the time... the Woodford Folk Festival on Christmas... :)
.....

But before I left to work in the horse rehab, there was one more thing... not to be forgotten... the Beards concert!

Who told you to shave off your beard?!

The Beards concert!
Since I saw them playing on Bluesfest, I was a fan - listening to and singing their beard-related songs, stroking beards whenever I could get my hands on one, thinking seriously about opening up a Beard Accessory Store, trying to enlighten my beardless Dad (I know, what a shame...) because you know, if your Dad doesn't have a beard, you've got two beardless Mums..... admiring the beards of random strangers and telling them "Damn that's a nice beard!", advice all the beardless people that they should urgently grow a beard, and of course trying hard to grow a decent beard myself... but being a girl, all my efforts were in vain and I had to rely on convincing paint-on beards. What matters is that I tried!

The gig itself was of course great - very funny and beardy! And so many good bushy proudly worn beards everywhere... Beard heaven *_*

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So young, full of running
Tell me, where is that taking me?
Just a great figure eight or a tiny infinity?

Love is really nothing
but a dream that keeps waking me
for all of my trying
we still end up dying
how can it be?

Don't say a word, just come over and lie here with me
'Cause I'm just about to set fire to everything I see
I want you so bad, I'd go back on the things I believe
There, I just said it, I'm scared you'll forget about me.

So young, full of running
all the way to the edge of desire
steady my breathing
silently screaming
I have to have you now.

Wired, and I'm tired
think I'll sleep in my clothes on the floor
maybe this mattress
will spin on its axis
and find me on yours.

Don't say a word, just come over and lie here with me
'Cause I'm just about to set fire to everything I see
I want you so bad, I'd go back on the things I believe
There, I just said it, I'm scared you'll forget about me.

Too many changes, I'm a bit overwhelmed, sorry people! I'll write soon and hopefully have internet soon agaon. But I'm good, I found a new friend called George:

21 years - time to curl up and dye

My my, hey hey,

 do you remember who turned 21 last Monday?

Alright, me! Gulping gargoyles, I feel like I just turned 17 a little while ago, and now I am seriously twenty-one? I can't believe it...

At the same time, this 30th of June marked the day when it's been exactly one year that I left a whole life behind - parents, childhood, friends - ever-available company and security - I traded it all in for what people might call "the ultimate freedom".

One can argue about that - if it was really the ultimate freedom I got or just another sort of golden cage - but no one can change it now anyway, and one thing is for sure: I don't regret a thing!

There's a little shout-out about that on the end of the post.

So my birthday: 2 cakes (one from Kiwani, one from Blair), 2 books (one from Dom and one that came per post from my Anna Blume in Germany), a pair of eco thongs from Travers, a skype date with my parents, a big dinner feast and a sunset over the sea and at least 21 hugs and cuddles and Happy Birthday wishes and countless lovely messages and wishes from good people who thought of me... I really can't complain!

Watch out for the little cute girls with the big knives! :D :D

And then... welcome to the "Curl up and dye Hairsalon"!

With Dom's and Kiwani's help I bleached some more dreadies and looked, according to Travers, like a gladwrap bride... ;)

And because the long-awaited BEARDS gig is coming up next Saturday, Dom thought he's gotta do something with his beard... and so he dyed it. I couldn't convince him to make some little beard-dreadies and bleach them, too...

And on the weekend we went for another paddle with Gombar the canoe, this time up the Mooloolah River and with Kiwani for pretty company 

#I'mdying #I'mfreezing #Canweturnaround #Ididn'tsignupforthis #Ican'tpaddle #Letmetakeaselfie

#soldiercrabs!

Oh... and I walked into Dom's room and I got a very delicate snapshot of Dom and his secret affair, the vaccum cleaner "Hetty".... 

Well, I think she sucks!

We painted some more on Laurie the car...

this is Dom's work and I think it's lookin' great!

With Kitty's purring help, I also doodled a bit

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Birthday-thoughts - Shout-out! #roooaaaarrr!!

Just look, just have a little look on where I was at one single little year ago.
I was SO enthusiastic, young, wild, free, bursting with wanderlust and hunger for adventure and new big things. I was full of questions to  big to ask anyone, too big to even put into proper words. I was reckless, I was bold, I was naive, I was scared and I was brave, I was so goddamn energetic. I felt like I could do anything, and what is true, I COULD do anything. I left a whole life behind, a whole childhood, parents, friends and safety, everything. It feels like there was no kid in the world that was more lucky and more independent and more - more in the spirit of being 20. I was sooooooo 20!
I was so happy. I forged my own luck, or I just had the fate to be so very lucky, I don't really know.
I was so grateful, I still am, sooo grateful. (OOOh sooo thaankful, OOH soo thaaankful! #Nahko)
I still feel like "Gratitude" should be my second name, I still feel almost desperate because I just don't know how to express, where to put all my happiness and gratitude.

Because I had the most awesome and wonderful year of my life - so far!
There is no other way to say it - it was filled with wonder and adventure, beautiful nature, vastness and new insights in little things, the marvels of new friendship, very special kinds of love of which I never seriously thought that they would exist in reality.
Beauty in things you can see and even greater beauty in the things you can not see.
How could I not be above all clouds with happiness and full of gratitude beyond all measure.
Dear God and Great Spirit, Buddha and Pacha Mama, all you stars and suns and moons in my universe, believe me, I am so happy and so grateful!
Don't you ever think I am not, don't you ever think I take it for granted or don't value it... I do.
I got what I asked for, and more.

Did I grow up? I'm not sure. Maybe a bit, but I'm definitely still young! Definitely still barely more than a kid.

#peaceful silence.

Paddling into the Black Mirror World

Hello friends of life and good times!

I'm apologizing for the delayed blog post, but as a compensation I have some good pictures from our

40 km canoe trip on the Upper Noosa River :)

Dom here had been wanting a new canoe for years (his old one got stolen!) and last Tuesday, we looked up second hand canoes on Gumtree (something like ebay), just for fun - and there was one very cheap beautiful canoe for sale, just a few km away from us and in very good condition - and even in my favourite colour red! There was no big fuss about it - we called the seller, and 15 minutes later we were at his place, loading the red canoe on the roof rack of Dom's car.

So fast it goes!

We dubbed the red canoe "Gombar" - that is an aboriginal word from the Gubbi Gubbi tribe - the tribe that is native to the Sunshine Coast area here. With boyish pride Dom painted the name on the bow, together with a watchful eye, to make it look a bit like the canoe in the book about Native Americans/ Indians which we are reading at the moment :D

Of course, once  we had the canoe, there was no stopping us in planning another camping trip - but this time travelling on water instead of on roads, and with our own paddeling arm power instead of a motor!

The destination was soon clear: The Noosa Everglades in the Great Sandy National Park up north, near Noosaville.

The plan: launch the canoe on Lake Cootharaba, paddle across the lake and into the mouth of the Upper Noosa River, and then onwards until we had enough, find a pretty campspot and spend the night there, and paddle back on the next day.

So off we went! The first time I sat in a canoe for me!

The whole area is just sandy and swampy, with lots of melaluca trees, 

paperbark trees, massive smooth and shiny ghost gums, cyprus pines and heaps of reeds. The river flows so slow that one can hardly see the water movement, and it is pitch black and still like a perfect mirror. 

 Can you imagine how beautiful and peaceful it is? I stared at these ever-changing, yet always kind of the same looking banks for hours on end and never got sick of the serenity and beauty of the place.

Usually it's really quiet there - if there are no german tourists giggling and splashing their paddles...

Evening paddle

 In the sunlit bush itself there were not many big animals - no kangaroos or koalas, because it's all so wet and swampy. Just birds, all kinds of birds, feral pigs (we saw just the tracks) and goanna. One was at home in the big gumtree just next to our campsite.

I left my arty fingerprints on Gombar the canoe as well

After a few gallivanting bushwalks, a pasta dinner, a night under starry clear skies, a warm kaba and a cold swim in the river on the next morning, we packed up and meandered downstream again.

Just in time to watch the sun set over the lake and spill the most amazing colours all over sky and water.

"Over there, near that beaver lodge!"

"Can you show me se weyy to ze ooshen? Ze ooshen!"

"Wouldn't you call this meeaaaaandering?"

"Bullsharks!"

Sighhh......

And now... because you can never have enough photos of the cutest little hardcore purrer in the world!