Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

Kung Hei Fat Choi  for the Year of the Horse! My friends in Asia are excited for the Year of the Horse and  are all enjoying the major Chinese New Year holiday  which started Friday 31st January.  We too are excited, but for different reasons! Peace and good health in the Year of the Horse! (馬年安康, mǎ nián ān kāng) Here is our horse, Little Miss Hussy. She is a three year old racehorse,  who has two wins, one second, one third and a fifth to her name. We own a small part - like a tail! We are hoping 2014 is her year... Lucky/Auspicious Year of the Horse! (馬年吉祥, mǎ nián jí xiáng)  Do you know if you are born in the Year of the Horse? Here are the years: 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 If you are born in one of these years they say you  are clever, kind, animated and energetic. You might talk too much but you are cheerful, perceptive, talented and love to be in the centre of a crowd.  People ...

G'day from Melbourne Australia!  And welcome to my first ever Saturday Critters post. Well actually G'day is a bit fake coming from me because as originally a Brit,  I'm more likely to say Good Morning!  But G'day is the official welcome here, so G'day it is... I'm Wren.   My Little Wandering Wren  blog is to share my travels with family and friends.  Now Aussie based for a while, it's evolved into posts about my Australian life. A bonus has been connecting with new Blogger friends across the world. Photo No 1: The headless chook bird* Of course my first photo has to be a bird!  These are actually the colourful Galah parrots that live in our street.  The top one represents me, the headless one, the bottom bird is one of my three teenage wren-lets asking ' what's for dinner ?'! Our local Galah's in daylight! We're not off to a good start because I had to Google '...

The Victorian  Spring Racing Carnival is a massive nine weeks of  horses, hats, and huge cameras . We were thrilled to join 25,000 other keen racegoers for the Beck Caulfield Guineas Day.  Not least because the Caulfield Guineas is a top racing day, but especially as our very own Little Miss Hussy is entered for one of the lead up races. Fashions are a huge part of the day, with strict dress codes for those planning to be in Members'. Whilst the popular ' Fashions on the Field ' competitions are not for everyone, it is fair to say that for the most part making an effort in appearance is, in some way or another,  part of the day.  My own ' What am I going to wear? ' fashion dilemmas, have been blogged to death. However today I am sporting a new black and white fascinator which I am very happy  about because it modernises my look by a good ten years, and doesn't give me a cracking headache like  my hats or the hairbands! Looking ...

It's the first race of the season and Geez Louise, how exciting to be at Moonee Valley... ...we rather like it here!   Moonee Valley Racing Club is one of four Melbourne metropolitan racetracks. ( Woo hoo pinching ourselves! The aim was to have a share in a horse that could run in the city. Here we are rocking up to our third Melbourne racecourse, having watched our Little Miss Hussy win as a two year old at Sandown and Caulfield .) We arrive to be waved into an owners car parking space in the middle of the course. From here, it's a short totter, for those in heels, up a surprisingly grand entrance, lined with huge galloping winners into Members. I mean let's be honest Valley (as the locals call it) does not have the cachet as Flemington or Caulfield, but we love how easy everything is here, plus the staff are super friendly...   The lady at the Raceday Office tells us, 'Oh yes, we already have quite a few owners for your horse... Here are...

It's shoes on, let's go!  As our Little Miss Hussey returns to work for the first Barrier Trial since her recent hols... Following her last run at Morphettville , our Miss Hussy has been on her hols. It was always going to be just a quick spell enjoying some rich grazing, winter sun on her back, and a well earned rest. Time and preparation for the Caulfield Spring Racing Carnival doesn't allow for any more than a three week break at this stage. Our lass has a big schedule ahead of her, but if all goes to plan, she'll get a longer break over the summer months before the autumn racing season.   Barrier Trial at Cranbourne Training Complex There is no doubt we are an extremely keen and interested group of owners. There can't be many other horses present with such a big fan club at a barrier trial. Today we have come from all over Melbourne, to catch up on her news, to see how she has developed over winter and to watch her in action... For less than a...