s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

This weekend was the Lower Hutt Christmas Parade- and nothing says Christmas more than a ship load of blood-thirsty pirates! So once again the Amanita Virosa raised its black sail, and set forth to terrorise the peoples of the Hutt Valley.

And what’s better, we got paid to be in the parade! I guess that makes us professional pirates, or something. We were lucky that we didn’t get rained on during the parade, and the cold southerly wind didn’t seem to deter the crowds- we were pleasantly surprised by the masses of people that thronged the parade route though the Lower Hutt CBD. And I made someone shriek like a cheerleader in a slasher film! That’s the christmas spirit! Robert, the guy who runs the prop warehouse and organizes many of these parades, really likes us pirates. We are “good value for money”, as we are one of the most interactive crews he gets out there. Few other floats have ground personnel to work the crowds. Looks like we might get more invitations to be pirates in the future!

The fun farm related thing we did this weekend was release the boys onto the back hill. We have never had ‘paca grazing back there, and only had horses there for the first time this last winter (there is finally enough cleared pasture). The ‘paca were in ferret-shock mode, exitedly exploring their new environment, all the while in belly-deep food. They had a good time. I like this shot of Jim, as llamas and tree-ferns are quite a juxtaposition!