November in Tasmania: Spring Turns into Summer

Spring in Hobart Tasmania: ladybird on a finger and young boy in water

It was a teasing start to spring in Tasmania, with several weeks that lurched between glorious sunshine one day and snow the next. I got a little over-excited when we finally had a few warm days in a row, and put all our winter clothes away in the cupboard. Goodbye to those puff jackets and Ugg boots for another year, I thought to myself with glee. The next week I was hauling them right back out again.

Now the warm weather has arrived for good though (crosses fingers tightly) we’re taking full advantage of it. Despite applying copious amounts of Factor 50 every time we leave the house, I’ve already had my first sunburn, and DorkySon is taking every opportunity to swim in the river. First time in, he was fully clothed. Second time round he was better prepared, with beach clothes and a bodyboard, but a rogue wave washed a pebble into his ear and the resulting pain cut his adventure short.

No worries: with the official start of summer this Friday, I’m confident there will be more swimming days ahead. Continue reading

The Reluctant Gardener

macro photography flowers and dew

There are some things – fashion, crafts, cake decorating – that should really be left to the people who do them well.

I’m going to add gardening to that list. My politics may be green, but my fingers most certainly are not.

Don’t get me wrong. I like to sit in the garden at the end of the day, glass of wine in hand, letting the last rays of the sun ease some warmth into my shoulders. I like to watch DorkySon potter around out there, rubbing lavender or mint or thyme between his plump little fingers, putting them to his face, and inhaling deeply. I like the sweet hum of the bees; the soft beat of butterfly wings, and the way Mr Blackbird watches with one beady eye as I walk to collect the mail. I even like the tiny little skinks that dart out from the cracks in our wall. Continue reading

The Great Outdoors

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love having a little garden again.

It is nothing too special, just a patch of grass, a few shrubs, and some wooden decking at the back of the wee rented cottage we are spending our first months in. But what a joy it is, to have a piece of the earth that we can call ours.

DorkyDad and I are content to stand out on the deck every so often. There are sliding glass doors off the kitchen, and we step outside to admire the sunset, or the scudding clouds, or to feel the soft rain on our faces. Hobart is one of those cities where you can stand for ten minutes and watch an entire weather system passing through. I have seen more rainbows in the last three weeks than in the previous three years. The sky feels big and open, and the air feels pure and clean. Continue reading

Project 52, Week 25. Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

grow your own chilli pepper plants

The chilli plants that DorkySon and DorkyDad planted at the start of the year have gone crazy this week! Oddly enough, the chillies are growing on the two short, stumpy plants. The red ones are Numex, and the green ones are Jalapeno.

We also have two very tall leafy ones – Habanero and Tabasco – which so far have produced nothing.

Can’t wait to chop one of these up and throw it into a pan with some crab pasta!