Mother Nature And Earth Week

Earth Week On Our Planet - 22nd April - 40th Anniversary

Hello my friends from around the world, today I want to touch just a little on Mother Nature And Earth Week. For those who do not know me, I am Allen Sentance (Fisherman) to all my friends, and Mother Nature and I have been good friends for years. I visit her very regularly and blend into her surroundings very quickly.

I think back to when I was a small boy, and my dad would take the whole family out into the bush with nature all around. More times than I can remember, we would camp out under the stars, and catch rabbits and fish to eat. So I became connected to Mother Nature and her magnificent environment , some 50 yrs ago .



Fisherman's Thoughts on Earth Week
I am not going to get up on my soap box and rave on about the good old days, yet I have been around long enough, to have some wonderful memories of our Planet, World, Universe or what ever you like to know it as . Now with 50 yrs experience as a good friend of Mother Nature, I speak with some informed comparisons . Considering Mother Nature And Earth Week !

Then
I will let you all make what you will of my comments, as I am a person who loves to share his opinions. I remember as a boy, all the country rivers running with pristine clean water, other than in flood times. I could walk over the town of Dubbo's traffic bridge, where I grew up and look down into the 6mtrs of water and see the bottom.

Now
The river is barely running, and you will never see the bottom of the river from the bridge. It has basicly over time been turned into an irrigation channel , to supply over allocated water allowances. This water is stored in a massive man built dam, 3.5 times that of Sydney harbour in volume. Man has replaced Nature's influence.

Then
When our family would go camping and fishing , we had forests and tree's in abundance. The wildlife in the corridors of nature's bush land was there to be admired and enjoyed by all. If you had hard times , you could always go out into the bush ,and support your family from Mother Nature.

Now
When you drive out into the country side where I grew up, I would estimate that 90% of all bushland and forests have been cleared . Apart from the old river gum's along river banks and waterways, the country has been turned into cultivation paddocks. This has forced natures animals and creatures to decline , and some are now extinct.

To be continued
I would like very much to continue this article in my next blog post, and explain further my thoughts on the up coming Earth Week . Also I want to outline just how you can can contribute , and help Mother Nature And Earth Week ....


take care & bye, until my next post

Allen Sentance Fisherman

Haiti Earthquake Strengthens My Gratitude For Life

Haiti Earthquake Strengthens My Gratitude For Life

photo source-CNN

Here we have a very heartbreaking view of surviving children, from the Haiti Earthquake ,lining up to be fed by our wonderful rescuers & support teams.

Like every one else around the world, over the last 14 days all we have been hearing on the news, is what devastation and disaster the Haiti Earthquake has caused.
As I watched broken dead bodies lay in the streets, I began to cry, as then I truly was jolted into reality. The reality of just how grateful I am for my wife ,family & Life ! Since that fateful day the Haiti Earthquake Strengthens My Gratitude For Life .

The whole disaster looks like removing in the vicinity of 200,000 people from the islands population . They were here one minute, and gone the next, just like the click of your fingers . I closed my eyes then, and clicked my fingers, at the same time imagining my family & children just vanished from my life never to be seen again and without saying goodbye. I did more than cry this time I sobbed for quite a while .

I had spent the whole of the christmas and new year period , with family I had not seen for almost 2yrs, some of them even longer, and I had special time with all my grandchildren. Now after seeing & hearing of the Haiti Earthquake , I realize just how wonderful and precious those times are . We do tend to take so much for granted in our lives. I have prayed most days for the families and injured who have to live with the grief and burdens . You never know just how well off you are until life is gone.

My Reasons For This Post
It is very sad, and I write this post, not to be morbid and make you feel bad, yet I would like to think you are at least thinking of the unfortunate ones , caught up in the Haiti Earthquake. As I stated earlier , the Haiti Earthquake Strengthens My Gratitude For Life , only as it shocked me into looking at what I have in life to be grateful for , and to never question it again as long as I live !

My Gratitude For Life
Now I would like to show you some of the reasons, that I am so grateful for what I have in life, and none of them are measured in any other way than Love . I spent time with all my immediate family over christmas , which was just magic. I think it is tragic that so many people keep putting things off , until the day like the click of your finger, the loved one you were going to call or visit is gone forever .

My Most Treasured Mate -Wife-Partner & Mother of our 4 Children.

Allen & Sandra

We have been to hell and back too many times to remember , Yet today after 36 yrs of marriage , our love and commitment for each other continues to grow and blossom. We have 11 grandchildren from three of our 4 children , and I want to share a couple of photograph's of them to show you what I am so grateful to have in my life .

Six of my precious grandchildren

Can you begin to see just how well off I am in life, and how beautiful life actually is, I now am more grateful than ever before, as I have taken the time to reflect on my life, going over all my reasons and Gratitude For Life . What I have in life , money cannot buy .

My eldest son Fred's four children

I have not shown all my family and grandchildren here, yet they are all so special to myself and Sandra . My post here today is to show the world just how grateful I am for my life and all the things in it. I then look at all those innocent , unfortunate victims that were in the Haiti Earthquake, they too had families and grandchildren as they are no different to you and I . Close your eye's now, and visualize all your family and grand children gone from your life like the click of a finger or wink of an eye !

Life, while very beautiful , can also be very cruel and please take the time to look at what you have in life , while you can . What you have today could quite honestly be gone tomorrow , do not put off those calls and visits to loved ones. I am sure you may understand now , how the Haiti Earthquake Strengthens My Gratitude For Life .

Thank you for reading my post

Allen Sentance Fisherman

Tribute To SENO My Brother

Hello to all my readers, today I want to share a brief cross section, of my brother Ian (SENO) Sentance. I share this with you all as a Tribute to SENO My Brother as he was tragically taken from us on 28-10-09 in a house fire. He is to be buried today Friday 6-11-09 .

18-2-1961 - 28-10-2009

Tribute To SENO

Last week SENO was asleep in his unit when it caught fire , the firebrigade arrived to find SENO was inside and even though they managed to get him outside, it was just far too late as he had been overcome by the smoke and passed away from smoke inhalation . He was not physically burned any where, and I was told he would not have suffered and looked just like he was asleep and comfortable when my sisters identified him at the hospital.

This is my way of expressing my love for him ,and how I will miss him. I am 10 years old than him , yet we got on as great mates, and had some wonderful times over the years with SENO.
Working with me on many occasions, we also have done some crazy things together and got away with them , many of them were life threatening antics of fun at the time. The difference being that SENO's crazy fun things usually came back to bite him .

He was a very carefree lad who only lived for today and took life as it unfolded before him , he loved life ,people,fun and only ever hurt himself as a result of some of his errors of judgment, and yes he did have quite a few of those. The special and precious love and understanding that my mother and SENO had was unique and needed to be witnessed to understand it. Our mother passed away only a few years ago, and thank god as this tragedy would have killed her.

I have spent the last week in deep thought , and going back over our lives and watching home video's I am fortunate enough to have of SENO . I suppose the most powerful thoughts revolve around the way he loved to be the life of the party, and nine times out of ten he was just that and more . Every one who knew him loved him in their own way, and he did manage to piss every one off at times yet they loved him and will never forget the good times they had together.

As all his mates and people who knew him would tell you, SENO loved to play the guitar and sing at any party going . He was very good at this and in fact did win a few talent quests over the years, some of his John Denver renditions were excellent as John Denver was one of his favorite singers. I have managed to upload a copy of a home video from a get together in my parents yard, it is SENO and his neice Jodi singing "A Boy From The Country by John Denver . I considered it SENO's signature song and I want to share it now.

A Typical Scene With Seno On Guitar

This video is one of many we have and were all taken on a home video camera, although the quality is only amateur standard the memories they hold are priceless . I have loaded this one to YouTube and called it , Ian Sentance (SENO) Lives On . Yes....... our mate SENO the boy from the country has gone yet will never be forgotten. I will share a few family photographs that I have and then I will finish up this post and Tribute To SENO My Brother !

Well SENO , you were without a doubt, the greatest brother, and I have not one regret of our life together as brothers . The way you could work at your prime was inspirational and few men could out work you , I am not the only one who would vouch for this.

Together we had some exceptional times, that other brothers will never ever experience , and you have taken with you some special secrets, only you and I will ever know. You always lived your life to the limit, and that was wild and care free, there were lots of times I could have strangled you for the things you had done!! Yet the beautiful and good things you did throughout your life, far outweighed your faults and bad judgement's.

I have so many wonderful memories of my mother and family , that are directly connected with you and the things you have done over the years. Well SENO , I love you in a very special way and will always remember our fun times , good bye for now mate until we meet again.

Your Loving Brother

Allen (Fisherman)

Bush Walking Around Adelaide River Village

Come Bush Walking With My Wife Sandra and I

Well G'day again to all my readers,buddies,pals and friends , today we will be going on a regular bush walk Around Adelaide River Village . This is no special activity for Sandra and I as we do it quite regularly , I only hope I can give you all a sense of being with us on this Bush Walking trip today. There are many different tracks that lead off into the surrounding bushland, of varying distances from one kilometer up to 15 or 20 kilometers .

Our Front Drive We Leave From To Go Walking

Before We Start :
The bush combined with mother nature is without a doubt a beautiful experience, yet if you do not follow some very basic rules of the bush it could all turn into a nightmare , and none of us want that. So I will outline some of the basics , you should consider before heading off . This walk is only a reasonable one of around six kilometers round trip, all up maybe one casual hour.

1- Take a ltr of drinking water even though you can do the trip without a drink.
2- Wear good comfortable shoes or joggers.
3- A friend or neighbor should know where you are going, and when you intend to be back.
4- Wear a sensible hat for the conditions , and sunglasses if required .
5- I like to carry a stick, like a broom handle around 1.2 mtrs long.
Or a sapling from a tree can do the same thing, except your stripping tree's.
Yes friends it is a weapon, not a walking stick .
6- Always take a digital camera with you, as nature can offer some magnificent shots.

A Hill Top View Overlooks Adelaide River Valley

Well we leave our driveway gate usually 7-am of a morning walking only five hundred mtrs until we reach the Adelaide River , we are then in magnificent bushland filled with many types of birds who are at that time of day very active and singing their particular part in natures bush choir . Walking for about two kilometers along the river bank , we regularly come across 20 to 30 beautiful little wallabies grazing in open areas. They let us get quite close before scampering off into the scrubby bush to hide until we have gone , we often get them to sit and pose for a photo.

Australia's 2nd Largest War Cemetery

We have now reached the famous war cemetery that was established in Adelaide River for all the fallen soldiers and civilians from the Bombing of Darwin by the Japanese . This cemetery is a most beautiful picturesque, peaceful parkland that is kept in spectacular condition with manicured gardens and lawns. Thousands of tourists come from around the world just to see and photograph the war cemetery with its gardens. Not today yet soon I will do a feature blog post just on this cemetery for you all, so keep an eye out for that one.

Car Park Area Outside The War Cemetery

Come on guy's lets move on now, as we are about to come across a favorite part of this six kilometer walk, and we are in fact about half way then . This section is a beautiful part of the Adelaide River where you can sit in the shade and just listen the the rippling of the shallow running river . It is a special spot of mine where I often come to sit and think or watch and listen to the water and birds . I always tell my friends that Mother Nature and me are good friends, and I visit her as often as I can.

As we sit here for a few minutes admiring nature and the deafening sound of silence ,two small wild piglets come down to the rivers edge and drank, we sat perfectly still and watched, while they did not even see us only 6mtrs away. Here you can also watch small fish feeding along the shallow edges, and occasionally big fish around three pounds will dart through the shallow section back into the deeper water. I often bring my grand children here to fish and enjoy it .

Where I Come To Meditate With Nature

Now friends we will move on away from the river, and back along another track which will head us in an arc and along another wooded area, where only two weeks ago I saw a wild buffalo heading through the bush . As we walk further and now heading back towards the Adelaide River Village , we follow the tree line of a cleared area where we come across a large number of lorikeets that were in the trees feeding on the
eucalypt blossoms . The sound they make in large numbers like this is very loud and while we take some photos of these beautifully colored parrots its not hard to realize that Bush Walking is full of many pleasures as well as great exercise.

Western View of The Adelaide River Valley

Moving on to the western track on the other side from the village , we are now on the home run just one and a half km from home . This last section basicly is a nice flat smooth track all the way to home, where we will enter our back gate as we have come in a compete circle . Many of the locals here will do similar Bush Walking Around Adelaide River Village and we quite often will meet them coming the other way .

We love to do this walk even more when the wet season is here as we get to watch the approaching storms coming across the valley, and at times we do get caught half way home in the rain. Who cares though it is like warm monsoon showers and very refreshing, no trouble as we are near home and a shower with fresh clothes .
Well friends I only hope you enjoyed the Bush Walking today and we will see you all a little later for yet another taste of the Northern Territory Australia .


Allen Sentance
Fisherman

Dry Season Over in The Top End

The Top End - Dry Season Ending

Hello again my friends and readers of the universe, to-day we will as I said previous, take a further look at some area's that the Fisherman has been. The photo above is an aboriginal Painting from the walls of the Katherine River Gorge, which is a stunning place to visit should you ever get the chance to visit the Top End of Australia . These beautiful paintings are a big part of Australia's heritage, and can be seen in in many historical locations around the Top End .

Dry Season Almost Over
You will get your 4 seasons in The Top End , just like clockwork and the difference to other area's is that , The Top End seasons do not vary much in temperature from minimum to maximum . What is unique to the Northern Territory of Australia is our wet season , that very few tourists get to see . Most tourists hear about how wet it gets and high tail it out , fearing they will get stuck here , which was the case years ago.

Today you can drive from Adelaide in the south of Australia all the way to Darwin at the very top of Australia all year round , or alternatively as I would suggest to any one planning a visit here , fly to Darwin . We have a great international airport just 15 km out of Darwin city , from there I suggest hiring a vehicle and visiting most of the amazing wonderful places . When complete you fly back home, and the savings on fuel alone from driving here will cover the cost of car hire easily, and you get to enjoy more time here. Only my opinion , others may argue with that .

The Famous Daly River Crossing

This is a shot of the Daly River crossing where you cross in the dry season to get to Port Keats and the famous village Pepperminadi . Once the wet arrives the river floods and cuts these places off from vehicles . Your only access then is by small charter plane to Port Keats .
The town ship of Daly River itself is on the immediate river bank before you cross the Daly River, it has a hotel with a small van park and some cabins . The police station is there also , as well as some basic supplies at the small store.

The mighty Daly River however is a lot more famous for the annual Barramundi Fishing Classic , which attracts competitors from around the country and the world. I will perhaps at a later stage do a blog post just about this famous classic, so keep an eye out for that post . We best get back to talking about the Dry Season Almost Over in The Top End .

Tourist Times
The Northern Territory top end has a thriving tourist industry , which come from all over the world, and people in Australia doing their famous around Australia Trip, usually towing a caravan . The influx of tourists start at the end of the wet season around April-May, when the runoff is happening and they begin to catch big barramundi as the waters begin to recede from the flooded country area's.

From this time until Sept-October is called the dry season , and mark my words it gets very dry, not a speck of rain until the build up period starts. This will start October when you begin to see all the tourists and caravans heading south , because of the build up humidity that some folks can't handle , and the inevitable wet season that is here from mid December through to March. Personally the dry season for me becomes monotonous and boring , almost 4 months of sunshine and no rain.

Our main Tourist attractions "Crocodiles"

We do have a large number of crocodiles here in The Top End, and in fact we usually have a couple of fatal attacks on people silly enough to put themselves in a vulnerable situation . I do a lot of fishing in the area and regularly see croc's while I am fishing, they are only dangerous if you are stupid . My love of the Top End of Australia grows stronger every year as I experience all it has to offer each and every day.

I was a plumbing contractor and worked 6 days a week , until I made the decision to retire from plumbing which took up all my time with no time left to enjoy life. A good friend of mine Sean Rasmussen has taught me how to replace my income , by becoming an online internet business man . I now am running this from home with my wife , so I no longer have to go out working, and I now enjoy the luxury of true freedom, doing what I want and when I want. Fishing usually 3 days per week .

My Latest Catch a 70 cm Barramundi

So we now come to the end of this post, and I hope you now are getting a picture of just some of the beautiful places around The Top End . I will be bringing you lots more as the weeks go by and I am looking forward to giving you some video clips of our magical tropical thunderstorms . Now with the Dry Season Almost Over in The Top End we bid the straggling tourists goodbye and we get ready for the build up.



Allen Sentance
Fisherman

Allen Sentance Fisherman Country Australia

Australia
Allen Sentance Fisherman Country

G'day again to my wonderful friends and loyal readers, I want to change direction with my next few posts to give you all an idea of what sort of an area I currently live in and some of the area's I have been since I moved to the Northern Territory Australia almost 6 years ago. Allen Sentance Fisherman Country Australia would have to be among one of the most exciting area's in Australia to visit , and I happen to be fortunate enough to live here.

Some Amazing Sunsets
My wife Sandra and I regularly watch the sunsets and sunrises , as mother nature always has a unique way of performing her beauty here in the top end of Australia where man to date has not interfered too much. I will share a couple of sunset photos with you and just note how breath taking they are, it is a common site of beauty that appears to be more regular in the top end as opposed to southern area's.

Fisherman Country
As most of my readers and friends will know , my name is Allen Sentance and I love fishing so much,my friends call and know me as Fisherman.My love for fishing , camping, nature and the out doors has played a big part in why I have moved here and settled to eventually retire .

I live in a small village of around 200 people, just 100 kilometers south of Darwin in the northern territory of Australia. This village is called "Adelaide River" and is in fact, on the banks of the river of the very same name . The beautiful sunsets we experience here are at times breath taking, and I have another Photo Blog where I feature a lot of these sunsets , called Vigars Photos which I would love you to also visit and enjoy.

For my Global Readers

The map of Australia above for those that are not as familiar with Australia is divided into, 6 states and two Territories.
States as follows

Western Australia - for obvious reasons, Perth is the capital.
South Australia - for obvious reasons, Adelaide is the capital
Tasmania - is an island and state off Australia , below the mainland R/H bottom side, Hobart is the capital.
Victoria - is at the bottom R/H side of the mainland, Melbourne is the capital.
New South Wales - the eastern centre state of which Sydney is the capital.
Queensland - the top eastern state where we have the Gold Coast and Brisbane city as well as The Great Barrier Reef.
Australian Capital Territory - 300 kilometers inland from Sydney A.C.T. - Canberra is the capital.
Northern Territory - very top centre of Australia and Darwin being the capital.

Now you are perhaps a little more familiar with where I live, I will proceed over the coming weeks to try and introduce you to some of the wonderful locations I have travelled and experienced. I must admit I could never imagine living away from water where I could not go fishing, and therefore you must understand why I like to refer my life and travels as , Allen Sentance Fisherman Country Australia.

Hey.......Life Is Good.......

Allen Sentance
Fisherman

Lifestyle Benefits from Learning Social Media

Social Media is Powerful and Opens Doors

I am a hard working family man who only 18 months ago was mentally accepting to get ready for retirement, a government pension and finally death. Hey that was 18 months ago before I discovered, The Lifestyle Benefits from Learning Social Media. Today is now the best day in my life as I have now been exposed to many small changes which have created amazing results. Now I am looking at early retirement without a government pension and my life is getting better every day in every way, because of me changing how I thought and learning how to implement small changes consistently.

To see more beautiful sunsets in my back yard Darwin

Click on the photo

Learning Social Media
I have managed to meet and mix with some outstanding human beings as I have been learning my new profession of internet marketing , and I still am learning. You need to be proficient and understand the power of Social Media to be successful in internet marketing, it is just that powerful and plays the part of success or failure in the industry. Like any thing you need to be taught the techniques, and how to use it effectively , then implement the strategies. I will be for ever grateful to my coach and mentor Sean Rassmussen , who has introduced me to the tools I require and has then taught me how to use those tools. The Lifestyle Benefits from Learning Social Media for Sandra and I are just beginning , for life has taken on a whole new meaning as a result .

Off On Another Working Trip
Sandra had been preparing and organizing a whole week in preparation for our last Social Media working trip that took us over 2 weeks to the following places. We flew to London with a short stopover in Dubai , then after networking with friends in London, we attended another internet seminar and workshop that Sean Rasmussen helped organise & fellow internet marketers were teaching at for two days. From there our internet friend in England Stuart Ginbey looked after us and showed us around for a couple of days , then we caught a plane across the English Channel to the Netherlands to stay with friends Margureit & Hanz. Two years ago this would have been a pie in the sky dream & please...... we are in no way trying to impress you, as you can do this also if you choose to.

Some Of My Social Media Networking Friends

No - Negativity What So Ever
For forty years I went to work day in and day out and I can never remember my workmates ever getting around with smiles on their faces like these guy's have in the photo. You see all of my friends and associates these days are positive, like minded and enjoying life to the maximum, simply because they chose to make a difference in their life and then commit to what was required to make it happen. Well all my good friends online who are following my journey these days, stay safe until I report our latest adventure to you and I hope you now have an idea of the Lifestyle Benefits from Learning Social Media.

Hey.....Life Is Good......

Allen Sentance
Fisherman