Ok.   So technically we are still 2 days away from the 1st day of Spring.  But that's beside the point.  Canberra, and it would appear the Eastern seaboard, is bathed in mild and warm weather.  20 degrees!!!  I am sitting have a cup of tea at Canberra Airport, flying my usual route to Melbourne.   Today is the first day I have flown with my new camera bag.  And ok, I'm not sure in the plane yet, so I can't tell exactly how well it fits in the overhead locker, but it looks right.  I keep thinking I have left something behind, because strangely, I have only one bag.  I've rearranged it slightly, and I've put my 500mm in the bag without a camera body attached to it, and the bag is just long enough (which is what  hoped when reading the specs, as it's supposed to fit up to a 400mm f2.8 lens in it.  What I've left behind, somewhat grumpily and moodily, is my 300mm f2.8...  I know, I know, I can hear you saying to me "...

I'm on the plane to Melbourne tomorrow for 2 days.  And am currently pacing my house in frustration and annoyance at myself (and at the fact that no one phoned me when it was discovered 20 mins after I checked out) because I've just discovered that I have left my D4's battery charger in Scone.  There are some that might reassure me that the battery having 2 bars left on it is ok, and I shouldn't be recharging it anyway yet, but I hate going into a Group 1 meeting with my camera not fully charged..  So I'm furious with myself.  It was the tiredness of Sunday that saw me leave it there.  Does it serve me right for sneaking a little top up charge to the battery, when this is supposed to be a no-no?  Can't ask, so I don't know.... I've put in a call to one of my mates at the paper, and he gave me the number of another paper photographer, and so I'm hoping that someone will be able to bring one along, but I couldn't raise him when I phoned.  Will...

He's here.  He likes peppermints.  He's tall.  Leggy.  Athletic.  And he's my "New Boy".  He's the American and world champion racehorse, Animal Kingdom.  I was so excited to meet him.  Is there a  little bit of Phar Lap to his looks?  I like to think so....  I fed him some peppermints.  It's important for a girl to bond with her horses.  And with me, I just can't help myself....  It was great to see the stallion staff.  Joe, the stallion manager, who's really ace, joked that he's been practicing "Pinkie's Song", to get ready for my arrival! "For me, however, the horse that stirred the emotions and provided a moment in time that will be remembered for years to come isn’t even among the 15 Breeders’ Cup winners. He is Animal Kingdom, whose spectacular burst of speed to finish second in the Mile left me in awe of this horse’s ability and fortitude… Animal Kingdom was always destined for greatness". ...