Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter

autumn in Tasmania

Tomorrow – the first day of June – is the official start of winter in Tasmania. I like the way the seasons are marked so precisely into three month chunks here.

Autumn has been glorious. The sunsets over the last few weeks have taken our breath away, and the daylight hours have had a real crispness to them. Most of the rain has come at night. On the few overcast days we’ve had, the river has looked all the lovelier, infused with a glittering silver light. The mist here, when it swirls like magic down the Derwent, is called Bridgewater Jerry. It creeps through the pillars of the Tasman Bridge, stealing it from sight for an hour or two, but it’s nothing like Edinburgh where the haar descends for days and chills you right down to the marrow.

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The Art of Driving

Red Chevrolet

It has taken almost nine months, but I think I’m finally starting to understand the appeal of driving.

Before we moved, I hadn’t sat behind a steering wheel in years. I’d passed my test at eighteen – second time round, like all the best people – but then quickly gone on to student life in Edinburgh where a car was neither necessary nor affordable. The bus network was extensive, and I always loved walking around that beautiful city, so even after we were married and DorkySon came along we remained a family who travelled on foot.

In Hertfordshire we probably should have had a car. We would have explored more, and had weekends away. But we were only there for eighteen months, and we got by with walking and trains, some of us more willingly than others.

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Why I will never be an Aurora chaser

58º North Photography Aurora Isle of Lewis

In one of those moments of synchronicity that always make us smile, DorkyDad and I bought each other the same present at Christmas. The Aurora Chaser’s Handbook. It is a gorgeous little thing, and I would highly recommend it, for the quality images, the simple but clear science and the helpful photography advice.

Partly because DorkyDad and I have both spent time in places with low light and air pollution, we are fans of the night sky. Any time there’s a full moon, an eclipse, or an especially clear night, we stand outside on our porch and gaze up in silence. We have – together and alone – taken dozens of beach walks in the dark. We have spent hours sitting and watching the cosmos, made many wishes on falling stars.

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When is your favourite time of the week?

Norman and Dann Salamanca Hobart Tasmania

When is your favourite time of the week?

Mine is Monday, 9am. I get back from dropping DorkySon at school, turn on the radio, empty the dishwasher, start some laundry… Then ten minutes to sit down and plough through a bowl of muesli before I head to Pilates. It is the quietest time of the week. It is my chance to breathe, deep and slow.

Mine is Tuesday morning, round about ten. It’s blogging time. I take a look at the scraps of paper, scribbled-in notebooks, posts in draft, and work out which can be whittled into better shape. I sip tea from a favourite cup, snack on macadamia nuts, tippity-tap at the keyboard as I try and put the right words in the right order. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s always worth trying.

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