spring

It's been a busy couple of weeks.   We have had family staying with us.   Have consequently done more sight seeing  and less work around the place.

The Tall Ships are in Hobart presently.  Hobart loves a good festival.   people turn out from everywhere and clog the city centre.    Parking is a problem!

I took the Kids on Saturday.   oddly enough I managed to get a park on the waterfront.   The water front and the lawns of  Parliament were transformed.    The 150 year old Steam powered Carousel was a Hit,   cranking along with organ pipe music.

the McCredden Girls,  Summer,  Kiralee and Ella.
 

Hula hoops on the lawns of parliament.   There were Tug of wars going on between the crews of the various tall ships.

Today I have been Mowing.  Its remarkable how just a bit of warmer weather sets the grass and the thistles going.   I have learnt how to take the blades off the Mower having bent one on a rock.   I straightened it yesterday and have rebent it today.   High carbon Steel doesn't like being bent on rocks.   it seems to have a memory for its bent shape but not its straight one.

8 months

We have been in Tassie 8 months now.    We have survived winter,  it wasn't as bad as I thought it should be.    People at work assure me that it has been a very mild and dry winter.   I have found that the mornings tend to be delightful,  clear and blue skys.  Later in the day it clouds up but oddly by the time I get home from work at about 9pm  the sky is clear and all the stars are out.    I know the actual number of stars doesn't change,  but being away from big city lights there are definitely more stars in the Tassie night sky.
I used to see a few rainbows in my old job out and about.   The Bass coast was always a highlight.  I love the odd places and times that a rainbow would appear,   sometimes feeling like it is on show just for me.    The  weather in Tas is so changeable it seems that rainbows are just days apart.    the locals don't seem to notice or appreciate them,   "yeah we get lots of rainbows"  is a common comment.

looking SouthEast across the Block

The Tall Ships come to Hobart on Friday.   Planning to take the family to the water front to have a look.   Its a five day program complete with fire works on the opening night (Friday).

Snug. Odd name nice village

The aptly named village of Snug lies just north of Kettering.   I cannot be certain where it got its name from but I presume it relates to its protected bay and estuary.   First impressions of the village reminds my of areas of Kilsyth in Melbourne.   We have occaision to visit Snug frequently,  the Kids go to school there,   the girls do dancing in the snug hall and Will plays footie in the Channel junior football club.  
What this means is that midweek,  on a Wednesday we have the pleasure of spending about 3 hours at the snug foreshore/footy oval while the kids do their thing.   Its not as pleasant in the middle of winter but in autumn spring and summer its lovely.    I like to walk around and collect pinecones for the fire.


Snug river Estuary



Snug beach looking south
 



North Bank of Snug River

 Adjoining the footy oval,  with its own Boat ramp into Snug River is the Channel (Snug) Scouts.    In the warmer months it's great to see all the kids messing about in boats and having a great time.   I was never a scout myself,   having a sense that right wing paramilitary   organisations have caused a great deal of trouble in the past.   My views have softened somewhat,   I think the kids would get a lot out of it.


Snug Scout Hall

tasmania the home of classic cars

Now I know that 1990 was over 20 years ago but for me it was a significant year as it was the year I got my license.    As with most P platers back then we either drove our parents cars or purchased our own cars.   our choices of cars reflected our financial situations,  most cars age being our own +/- 5 years.   This is probably still true  of most of todays P platers,   putting them in early 90's commodores, Hyundai's and  corollas .
   
Tasmania is different to Melbourne.  I have seen cars here that are no longer existent on the mainland,  most having been crushed.   These cars are reasonably maintained and obviously cherished.   Interestingly most of the surviving cars are Japanese,  perhaps better made in the first place than many Australian made cars

I have used my Iphone to snap some pics of these cars around Hobart.    classic but not necessarily desirable.

When the Wind blows

Let the wind blow said the house,
I`ll still stand.
When the wind blows,
I feel grand.
On this land
I`ll always stand.
Missing a plank or two,
Or maybe a screw,
That just lets the wind blow through


John d Smith clearly wasn't talking about my greenhouse.

Purchased from KD Hardware,  at $59 it was a bargain.   It had full standing headroom and built in shelves and everything.    I imagine it was made in china.   
Having spent about 3 hours assembling the frame and getting the cover to fit right I as feeling pretty pleased with myself.    I tied the cover to the frame pegged it  and weighed the frame down with 4bags of potting mix so that it couldn't tip over.

Yes of course the bloody thing flew away like a rocket.   quite spectacular really.    It ended up around the corner in the dam.     Its now lying in a crumpled pile back in shed.    I am now planning version 2.   There are lots of cheapies on ebay but I might think about something a bit more substantial.

six months on

It has been six months since we moved to Tasmania from Melbourne.  

Our Block in January 2013.   Hot and Dry


 

 

Monday the 8th July2013

We have experienced our first heavy Frosts.  Crunchy under foot,   delightful and still.    I had my first experience with Tasmanian icy roads.  Despite the Channel Highway being close to the water,   we experienced a number of sections of road covered with Ice.   I managed to slide the car sideways through the middle of Margate.   It was probably a bit disconcerting for the oncoming traffic.   It was interesting to feel the cars traction control cutting in and out,   it tended to set up a side to side wobble as you drove along.  I didn't really like it.

  

It is hard to tell from the picture but our lower dam has been covered with Ice for the last few days.    The ice was up to 10mm thick in places.    Will had a lovely time collecting large sheets of ice which he then smashed like glass on a tree stump.

 

 

 

Our Orchard is in.  4 Apple,  1 Pear,   2 Peach,  1 Peacharine,  1 Nectarine,   1 grafted Plum,  2 Apricots,  1 cherry,   1 Lemon,  1 Lime,   1 Olive tree.    

There were an area  in the orchard that was very wet.  We decided to put in some Aggi drains to deal with the winter water.   Hand dug and filled,   they were quite a bit of effort.

 

One thing I have realised is that I can no longer dig ditches all day.    I developed a bit of  pain in my right Elbow that has taken two weeks to resolve.   It made me consider what mechanical aides I might use for future landscaping projects.  The economy in Tasmania is a lot smaller and slower than the mainland and the market place for second hand machinery is much smaller.    I spotted a Kubota  tractor for sale on gumtree,  its only small but it is fitted with a rotary hoe and more importantly a front  end loader.     It's rated to pick up about 200kg which is plenty given that it only weighs 500kg itself.  It should make life a bit easier.

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark MOFO.    Hobart is in it's grips!   This is not a revolution or uprising,  nor is it a racist rant.   It is  a Arts festival celebrating the winter solstice.    lots of lights and music .   Large scale public art.   The opening was marked by turning on a bloody great big light,    apparently it is the intellectual property of the artist  Ryoji Ikeda.   


Its called 'beam in thine own eyes'   The picture does not do it justice.   on a clear night the beam of light is supposed to go 15km up.   It probably does,   we can see the light from our place in Kettering which is 30 ks from Hobart.    
I wonder what MOFO actually stands for ?

Went to Bruny Island last weekend.   had a good day.    Went down to Cape Bruny to see the light House.   Its in the South Bruny National Park.   An interesting fact that is not on the national parks website is that there is an entry permit scheme,   which involves  putting $24 dollars in an envelope and posting it in the box.   I personally thought it was abit steep for a half hour visit.   They clearly don't spend the money on the road. 

I haven't had my stuff together the last few days.   I know this because on Saturday I bought some boots and left my visa card in the store.  I discovered this when I went to pay for lunch and realised I didn't have it.   I  went back to the workwear shop but this being a Saturday in Hobart the bloody shop shut at twelve.    Today I had to go into town (Hobart) to get it.   Uneventful trip apart from stopping to get petrol on the way.    I was surprised and somewhat embarrassed  to discover that they have a 'unable to pay account' form that I needed to fill in along with a promise to come back and  pay the account today.

Spent some time this afternoon putting together a hot house.

 

The instructions were a bit hard to follow and I managed to break 2 of the pieces. 

It's only tiny and I have to duck to get through the door.   I hope to grow some seedlings for the vegie garden.   It remains to be seen if the wild life will allow me to do this..