A bit of a mixed bag.

It has been a long week. We have been working hard and have finally managed to break the back of the evil luck we have had with the helicopter's serviceability...we actually had three out of four cabs flying at the same time!!! It was short lived...but it happened!

The rains have come with a vengeance. There have been some torrential down-pours with thunder and lightning to add to the fun...no flooding yet...

I had a bit of a small triumph this week...I finally managed to get a picture of one of the monkeys that keep coming into our hangar and causing a bit of mayhem:

Click the Pic!

They have always managed to be out of range when I get my camera out...but not this time. These monkeys would be awesome if they didn't leave smelly little monkey presents everywhere...

Speaking of smelly little presents...with the rain has come new life. There is blossom on the trees, there are flowers in the newly grown grass and there are far too many of these:

Click the Pic!

You won't see what they are until you click the pic...and even then you'll struggle. They are a small swarm of beetles. I like to call them 'coco-pop beetles' because they are about the right size and there are a lot of them. The picture above shows a small pile of them after one night and under one of the many windows. Every window was like this and the inside of the hangar was like a snowstorm when the lights were on over night...MILLIONS OF THEM!!!

Fortunately, help was at hand in the form of a rather energetic toad:

AWFUL PICTURE ALERT!!!

Unfortunately, the awesomeness of the toad was nowhere near a match for the horrendous camera I have at my disposal...couple that with poor light and we end up with the poor excuse for a photo above.

It is with a heavy heart that I must report the demise of a dear friend...This friend carried me across some of the harshest of terrains and for hundreds of miles...It is my mate the CALM lorry. Sadly, it has become beyond economical repair and is now obsolete...so it has been loaded onto a truck and taken to a new home...

Click the Pic!

A sad end for an awesome piece of military hardware.

On that note...I will say tarrah.

See you through wind-swept clouds of purple blossom!