At play with boxer dogs...

At play with boxer dogs... alongside some work, eat, and beach! 

The month in Moore Park Beach was wonderful! 

WORK

Work? Too boring to write about ... prepping for online training, training, blogging, planning for the van, mowing, raking, cooking, baking, pool cleaning, house cleaning, budgeting ... the mundane things of life. But without work, there can be no play.

PLAY

The Boss kept his eye on things. 

His apprentice, Junior, took chances where he could! Always needing an upbraiding when he forgot his proper station in life. 😁 

But, daily, around 5 pm, the Boss had a hard time of it, when Junior reckoned it was playtime. Ears and ankles were bitten, until he relented and sped around the yard, wrestling, to accommodate youth, and to finish off Junior's (undying) energy for the day.

Exhausted after a hard day's play

Junior had decided to test the boundaries with these foreign sitters ... on the first day! Before sundown, he destroyed his bed! 

He was left sharing a bed with The Boss for the rest of the month. And The Boss likes his space! 😁 

We bought him a squeaky chew ball ... hoping it would keep him (squeakily) occupied. It kept rolling into the space under the house, then he'd look all forlorn at us. "Sitter ... gets me ball! Please!" Those eyes... who could resist the expectation in those eyes. For the 100th time. 😅

Where that ball is now, we couldn't tell. 😂

Continuously ravenous, we've had to ration these two voracious dinner-seekers. But they were so good when it came to feeding time. They'd patiently wait, all eyes on the hand with the spoon!

Evenings allowed a little extra luxury .. and did they use it! Ooooh ... such comfort! Not their indoor bed, it was the sofa that was waited for all day long.  

In the first few days we couldn't believe that dogs could snore like humans. 😅😄 One night The Boss was having a dream and right through his earphones AJ could hear the sound effects of, probably, catching up with the cheeky neighbour-hound who runs too close to the fence. It's The Boss's fence, didn't they know?! 

Then the rain came! Three. Long. Days. And. Nights. Ugh!

For Junior, no chance to play off all that vibrant energy. The Boss... well, he just went into hibernation!😴 Well, just short of. Impatiently they would go grab a pee when I told them to. Speedily taking care of the matter, between bouts of constant soft rain, not relishing the water dripping on their backs. Neither did we. 😆 By midday on the second day, the damp dog smell would even extinguish the wonderful diffuser fragrance in the living room.

Muddy paws on the floor and rugs. 😮Muddy feet on the sofa! 😣 "Oh my", says the sitter ... "what will your ma and pa think?" "Hmph!", says The Boss, grunting back into hibernation. 

So comfy!

If the pillow goes to the floor, he goes after it.

Junior? Well, the rug copped it! The Boss copped it (around 5 pm one afternoon the living room ornaments were vibrating on their shelves – two wrestling boxers are not easy to contain. 😂) They sleep outside on the patio at night. So, their bed copped it! 

Their bed replacement copped it! Then when there was nothing more to chew, the potted plants began to appear unpotted by the front door. Tomatoes, still green, picked off the bush and half-chomped. 

"Junior", says I, "why are you so naughty?!" 

"Who me? Says who!" 

And those eyes go all mushy. My heart melts, so I smile. His tail wags his body.😄 Surprised, he tries to keep his composure, but winding and tripping he's all around my legs. Licking. Laughing at me. Tongue and gob lolling, as I head for yet another shower. 😅

Then, the patio chair cushions copped it. That was when we prayed, and said, Father, enough already... please stop the rain. We need to hand over the house as we found it, not all chewed up. Help! 

It took another day ... but it ended. 😅 And were we thankful?! All of us! 😉😄

Barf! Barf-barf, barf, barf!! Barf-barf! Barf! It went on for 5 mins before I registered that Junior may be barking mad at something. Thinking snake, I rushed out alarmed, praying that I wouldn't have to deal with an Eastern Brown or something equally as deadly. There was this little ... overgrown chameleon, no, lizard? 🤔 No, monitor? No ... wait ... (runs to Google), aaah ... Eastern Bearded Dragon! 😅😍 It was just after the rain had stopped. Its body heat needed replenishing, so it was trying to bask in the weak sunlight peeking through the clouds. It couldn't flee, didn’t have the energy. AJ called the dogs inside while I donned the workman's gloves we found in our 'new' old SUV. I lifted the little guy onto a rock in the safety of the pool enclosure. 

Needless to say, the pool area was very enticing for Junior, until, leaving him in the house, we decided to pick up said dragon and deposit him safely in a tree, away from those brown prying eyes. 

A week later, barf-barf, barf. Barf! BARF! Again, it took me 5 mins to register the alarm-bark. 😆 Running outside, we found big-daddy Eastern Dragon, all hooded and defending himself from Junior. Thankfully, Junior decided the sound of breakfast was more enticing, so daddy dragon had a chance to flee. 

Beautifully camouflaged

Seriously, these two boxers have been a treat!😄😅 An absolute joy to care for. 

Our other form of 'play' was, of course, sightseeing in the Bundaberg and Moore Park Beach areas. But that is a blog post for another day. 

EAT

Apart from meals at home, we've enjoyed a few delicious outings ... 

#Tinaberries

Catch-of-the-day from a fish and chips outlet, with Bundaberg ginger beer. (The Brewery visit will be in my blog post on 'things to do in Bundy'.) 

Breakfast at the River Cruz Cafe, next to the Burnett River, under the most magnificent (wild fig?) tree.

And tea at the enchanting Pink House, in Moore Park Beach, constantly spraying ourselves with my 'midge water', as I call it. 😄

For the first time since landing in Australia, I baked. Well, the rain did help bring on the urge! 😆 Rusks (aka South African beskuit) on one day, muffins the next, and a strawberry shortcake on the next. Must've been the gorgeous open-plan kitchen that is so conducive to baking – a baker's kitchen. 

On the day I baked the rusks, Junior decided that breakfast hadn't been enough, so he helped himself to a bite of the cooling rusks while we were elsewhere. So clever! He picked his moment, all right. 😁 

Licking his chops, he looked at us, guiltily, from the dog-bed, surrounded by crumbs. The Boss was snoring away on the sofa.

Four days later, Junior discovered the rusks in a packet on the dining table, while we were chatting in another room. Oh-so-neatly he lifted the packet off the table and carried it to his bed. Again, The Boss, deeply asleep, lost out. Junior managed to make the neatest hole and worm one rusk out of the packet before AJ came upon the scene. The look he got as the rusks were carried away. So hurt! You could almost hear him say, 'Seriously? Finders keepers, you know!' 😂

Yeah right. That's what you thought, Junior. Hehe. 💕😅

BEACH

Moore Park Beach is just gorgeous. We have enjoyed walks at low tide, at high tide, and in between. 

We have had coffee next to the waves and a devotion early one morning, perched on a soft dune, hearing our Father say ‘trust Me’, and yet again, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13 v 5). He knows our weakness – that gnawing anxiety for the future.

Image by Lisa Caroselli from Pixabay 

We watched in amazement when volunteers were relocating turtle eggs, freshly laid, to a spot that would be safer, away from the high tide mark, to give the eggs, all 160 of them, a chance to hatch.

Turtle conservation volunteer, relocating eggs
to a safer spot.

She must've been a big momma, to make these tracks in the sand. 

Turtle tracks up to the nest and returning to the sea

What a privilege, even though we missed seeing her by only an hour, to see the volunteers at work. We had visited the Mon Repos Turtle Centre two days before ... so we understood more fully the impact that these volunteers have on the numbers of these endangered species. 

Each tide delivers interesting finds, as the sand shifts and the waves roll in and retreat again.

(c) S Brandt

Memories of my youth in Athlone Park, on the Natal coast, came rushing in. Every beach visit was a joy. A chance for reflection and marvel at God's goodness and to enjoy His amazing handiwork.

Moore Park Beach, God willing, we'll be back one day in our van.

The beach, the birds, the garden, the plants and even the trees shedding their bark and giving us a load of work, have made this stay memorable. 

Eucalyptus shedding its bark;
important for keeping the tree healthy.

But, the cheeky boxers will remain in our hearts. The boys. The Boofheads. 

Boofheads? Well, ok ... affectionately, we say, Boofheads, we luv ya! ❤♥💕😄

Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate all our followers. In a week, we collect our caravan. The next post will be from Gympie, as we reveal our van to you all. 

Until then. Be blessed. 🌼

Work, Play, Eat, Beach!

Where are we? Moore Park Beach

Hervey Bay to Moore Park Beach

Life's a Beach right now

Twenty-seven days of beach-village life, home-sitting for a couple who have engaged us solely for the care of their two boxer dogs. Of course, the garden and house need attention, but the boys are the main attraction this month! And aren’t they just adorable?

‘Boofheads’ they were called, with oodles of affection, by the owners. After 2 days we could see why.😁 They have blustered and bandoogled (my word 😆) their way into our hearts already. They are super-alert, intelligent, energetic balls of solid muscle, fully believing they’re lapdogs! On the first day, I misguidedly thought I would sit down with a cup of coffee to relax on the sofa. Ooomph… there he was, slobber and doggy breath in my face, trying to curl himself into a comfy ball on my lap. Pinned down, I groaned and shoved … and moved nothing! He was there to stay. 😅😆 AJ had to come to the rescue.

We find ourselves ensconced in a lovely home decorated in beach-cottage style. 

Relaxing hues of blues, and shades of sand everywhere you look. Shells, painted wood ornaments in the shape of turtles, whales, pelicans, fishes and more. 

So delightfully earthy, oceany and relaxing. 

This month is a God-given gift, while we await the outcome of the claim on our insurance for the Ford Ranger. Until today, no word. It's almost 3 weeks after the fact. We were forced to use the caravan savings to buy the 20-yr old Landcruiser  that our Father provided (too many favourable facts coincided for it to be mere chance), so that we could get back on the road. AJ had spotted the 'For Sale' sign on the vehicle next door to us in Hervey Bay, just as we began our stint there. A week later, he noticed the sign had come off the vehicle, but it was still there. Four days after our accident AJ went for a chat with the owner. The rest of the story is amazing. In short, it is in mint condition, has all we need to tow the van with, including a UHF radio to chat with 'truckies', and comes with low mileage for its age. 

We are hoping for claim settlement soon. Yes, we have had a setback in confidence, and we feel nervous on the road, but we pray that, with time, the nervousness will pass as we make our way (for extremely short distances) to each stopover for a few days or to the next house-sitting. The caravan’s handover date was rolled back for yet another month and is fixed for 12 December. We can’t wait! 

S Brandt (C)

Back to Moore Park Beach – a tiny village on the shores of the Coral Sea, named after a famous cattle farmer in the region, IsaacMoore, who passed away in 1969. It is situated 90 mins north of Hervey Bay where we were last month, and 2½ hours from Gympie. It has a population of 3,000+  and by the look of it that number is rapidly increasing; on a drive to view the area we saw many new houses being built on the outskirts of the settlement.

Sadly, the Surf Lifesaving Club on the beach is in ruins and deserted. I wonder why? Nowadays, the beach is patrolled by a roving lifeguard. The beach runs the length of the designated coastline, hemmed in by the mouth of the Kolan River Conservation Park in the north, and by the mouth of the Burnett River in the south. 

At high tide the sea comes right up the beach leaving almost no space for walking, but at low tide it is just beautiful. In summer the beach is used by loggerhead turtles to nest. It would be so cool to be able to witness that, but I don’t have much hope as we are not here long enough, the summer months having just begun.

Moore Park Beach has caravan parks on the beach, B&Bs, a few convenience stores and a couple of coffee shops. The area is popular with anglers, bird watchers love the surrounding wetlands, and surfers enjoy the waves.

Here at the house mosquitos and midges are many because there is a wetland lagoon just across the road. 

We spray ourselves profusely when we are outside, but inevitably we get stung on a spot that we missed. There are many outdoor tasks, so we brave the critters and hope for the best. Our mornings begin with a walk on the beach. Then we complete a few jobs to keep our hands on the property so that things don’t run amok while the owners are away. There is a pool to enjoy on hot days. In the afternoons we tidy up around the house again, water pot plants, and play with the dogs. It is an absolute blessing to be able to stay here for a month.

As we move towards the hotter summer days we are thankful for an A/C to cool the living room. The dogs take full advantage, begging to come indoors mid-morning to mid-afternoon when the temp begins to cool again.

Once again, we will work on a bucket list of things to view/visit/explore in the greater Bundaberg area. For example, everyone knows the famous Bundaberg Ginger Beer, right? The factory offers tours, so that one is a must. The botanic garden looks interesting, and an Aviation museum is close by which AJ will revel in. Various other attractions make Bundaberg a popular tourist destination. It is a 20 min drive through sugar cane fields. We'll take the trip into town when we can to explore more.

In Hervey Bay I had begun a blog post which featured things to do in Hervey Bay for over 60s, but its progress was interrupted by the vehicle accident and events afterwards. I hope to complete it soon. And to do the same for this lovely area too.

Until next time, thanks for reading. Be blessed.

AJ and Sandy. 🌼