A morning off

actually didn't work much today. the first day since i've been here. it was a really mellow, quiet day for everyone. 4 of the barrick crew left this a.m. for their 10 days off. then when they return, the other half will have 10 days off. i took a long nap this morning aftter breakfast. could have slept a lot longer. did my daily outside chores, and then went with rob to do a flight check on the maule. this is the 2nd plane he owns. it's bigger and can carry more gear into floats, etc. learned the pre-flight checks, and on this plane the seats are side by side as in the cub the passenger seat is behind the pilot. in the maule, there is a second yoke and foot pedals so the "passenger" can have full control of the plane as well. rob let me steer for a little while. the flight was only 10 min because he was doing an equipment check..but i got to steer after turning around. tough. it's amazing how much different wind feels on the plane when in control of the yoke than just sitting there enjoying the view. a little scary but cool to learn a little bit about it. would be cool to learn some more. nat went flying with rob in the cub today and the flight was only 30 min because she felt like she was "going to toss". another australian term...she has a ton. funny to hear her talk. i've been writing all of them down - very original vocabulary. it was gloomy and about 55 today. we are supposed to have rain for 10 days straight. not looking forward to it at all. makes the work outside not very enjoyable. and will have to plant the garden in the rain. but, it's warm enough at night i should be able to get it planted this wk. that's the plan anyway!