Just wanted to give a small report on our trip to Broken Hill to image with Trevor and Bird.
Let me first say that Trevor, Cheryl and family have been very hospitable and very gracious hosts. They have welcomed me into their home and provided a great place for us to image, talk and relax. They are all really great people and deserve high praise. Trev has a great observatory and has the enthusiam of a 20 year old. Great bloke to hang out with. Cheryl has a fantastic garden which we have invaded, and I have spent quite a few hours discussing how she has tended to this paradise in the desert.
Besides imaging (which I will get to shortly) we spent our first day at the local bowls club. Trevor organised for Anthony and myself to be a part of the bowls afternoon on Thursday and it was a real hoot. Both Trevor and my bowls partner are great players of the game and excellent instructors. The way they play is both gracious and very skillful. After initially over correcting or under correcting or ending in the ditch, we slowly learned to get close the jack We had quite a few ends of practice and then only started coming good in the last 5 or so ends. By the end of the day Anthony had great success with a near touch of the jack (only 1mm away and sorry for the lack of correct terms Trev) and quite a few excellent ends. I also had some success and in the end it was a very narrow victory to our team. Lucky for me I had Barry (one of the local champions) on my side. I was only of marginal help. Love the day and loved the friendly competition and encouragment both Anthony and I shared through the day. It was a great idea Trev!
The next day we spent talking about our previous nights imaging attempts and all manner of conversation. Hours passed by easily and with cups of tea and coffee from our kind hosts (not to mention a great lunch) we just kicked back and chewed the fat.
Yesterday I spent the day with Anthony's wife shooting frames of the local attractions in Broken Hill. It was really great to get out and shoot frames with her and I must say she has a good eye for spotting subjects. I had a top time and hope she did likewise.
Last night was an excellent night. Seeing has been a little erratic on the trip and for the second time this year I have seen good seeing. Trev had put the order in and the weather gods performed. Good quality seeing occurred for around an hour with reasonable seeing for an hour before. Imaging had some issues with camera and download speeds but in the end I got some nice data. Imaging in the garden with all the flowers and plants has been great; good shelter from the wind and great fragrances.
I am processing up some data now and I look forward to presenting my results. Again I want to thank our wonderful hosts.
