Huon View

Goat curry

2012-02-08T12:27:00.000+11:00

We ate goat curry in Sydney several times quite a few years ago and absolutely loved it. The meat was very tender and had a nice flavour. When I saw some of the goat meat on offer from a Bruny Island producer at the MoMa market recently, I decided to have a go at cooking it myself. I bought a shoulder and simmered the curry for quite a few hours, and the meat just fell apart. It was even better as leftovers for lunch the next day. Delicious, I'll buy it again.

Wood sculpture returns to Franklin

2012-02-05T16:48:00.000+11:00

A couple of weeks ago another installation by Tasmanian artist Marcus Tatton appeared in front of the Church Studio in Franklin. It's not on such a grand scale as the one on display during last year's Focus on Franklin festival, but I really like it and it looks great outside the former church. This beautiful landmark building in Franklin is for sale at the moment as the owners will be returning to Queensland. As well as the gallery and artist-in-residence studio at the front, there is a lovely home tucked away at the back. For an artist or someone with with the right business idea, this would be a great opportunity. I do hope the space continues to benefit the local community, as it has with the current owners, who have hosted music afternoons and numerous exhibitions for all to enjoy.

Cruising Hobart

2012-02-03T16:00:00.000+11:00

Passengers on this ship photographed last weekend from Constitution Dock certainly got lucky with the weather. I hadn't realised that Hobart was such a frequently used port for passenger cruises until I read an article in The Mercury about it last year. Check out the Tasports schedule to see just how many are due between now and March. Late last year I met Christina from Premier Travel Tasmania, a local company offering premium tours to primarily European visitors. When cruise ships come into Hobart or Burnie, her team is kept very busy taking groups of passengers on tours around Tasmania. As well as English speakers, they need to accommodate speakers of different languages arriving from Europe.

Targa Wrest Point

2012-02-01T19:48:00.000+11:00

The Huon Valley was alive with the roar of rally cars last weekend, as the Targa Wrest Point returned to Tasmania's south this year. The car pictured below was in the procession heading south through Huonville on Saturday morning, after completing the Judbury stage. There were some lovely classic cars amongst the entrant list too. Later that day two cars ended up in the river on the Esperance Coast Road near Police Point, a beautiful stretch of road which I drove down last Thursday on Australia Day. I was quite keen to go and watch a bit of it, but the information for spectators on the website was pretty poor. The family I got our new rooster from on Sunday had the right idea. They were going to take their tinny out on the river to watch the Cygnet stage as it hugs the river on the Cygnet Coast Road.

Tasmania is perfect for rallying. So many windy roads through stunning locations, and the roads are generally in good condition. Before we chose to move to the Huon Valley, we came close to buying a place at Lalla north-east of Launceston, and the Targa Tasmania rally would have gone straight past our front door. I reckon that would have been fun, unless someone came unstuck and ended up in your front paddock I guess.

Roaring Beach

2012-01-31T21:54:00.003+11:00

On the Australia Day public holiday last week, our neighbours and their nearby family and friends took their kids and horses down to Roaring Beach, near Surveyors Bay on the Esperance Coast Road between Geeveston and Dover. I popped in briefly after collecting our new coffee table from Geeveston. We had driven down this beautiful stretch of road a few times, and once took Baerli to a small but lovely off-leash dog beach close to the Dover end. Unfortunately it was very windy last Thursday, but on a fine day it would make a perfect picnic spot. This mobile phone snap doesn't do it justice. We'll definitely go back sometime.

Note: there is another Roaring Beach, a well-known surf beach on the Tasman Peninsula.

Market day

2012-01-30T19:57:00.001+11:00

I visited three very different markets on the weekend, all terrific. I hadn't been to Salamanca Market for ages, so I drove in on Saturday morning. I bought some seeds, some gift tags and a book. Popped into Tricycle for coffee. 'Gourmet Farmer' Matthew Evans was busy entertaining throngs of visitors in his tiny store A Common Ground tucked in under the Salamanca Arts Centre. There was a cruise ship in port and with the hot sunny weather, the area was packed.

From there I drove out to the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) for the new Saturday afternoon MoMa (MONA market). It was quite windy and some of the stallholders were having trouble holding on to their wares. The place was packed with lovely produce. The DJ was doing a great job playing cruisy summer afternoon tunes. The Convict City Rollers roller derby chicks were showing off some moves. People lounged about on giant pink cushions on the grass. I ate some samosas and bought some organic garlic, a small gift for my Mum (can't tell you what as she hasn't received it yet), some Bruny Island goat meat and a couple of bottles of Tasmanian cider.

Then on Sunday the monthly Huon Valley Growers and Makers Market in our little town of Franklin was on, and I must say it was particularly good this month because of the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available. I bought some locally grown organic blueberries that are absolutely delicious. The blueberries I've had in the last few weeks have been the best I've ever tasted. I also bought a loaf of rye bread, some lovely pale green zucchini with flowers from the local Landcare group's stall and a chocolate croissant before I ran out of cash. That was probably a good thing.

Coq au vin

2012-01-29T12:27:00.001+11:00

Meet "Goldie" a.k.a. Coq au vin. It's a bit hard to tell from this blurry mobile phone photo, but he's a handsome young Barnevelder cockerel. Goldie joins our three beautiful hens Chicken Schnitzel, Chicken Teriyaki and Chicken Tikka Masala to hopefully protect and augment our little flock. Until now, the girls have had to make do with fancy pin-up calendar boy "Mr July" in their hen house (see below).

I collected Goldie today from a family in Castle Forbes Bay, not far south from here. Of five recently hatched chicks, three were male, so they had to give some away. The children were determined that Goldie should not be eaten, so the family is happy that he's gone to a home where he can live on with his own little flock. He was advertised on Freecycle, a network for giving away stuff you don't want to people who do. It will be interesting to see what the girls think of him... he's only five months old and has some growing to do, so I hope he doesn't get pecked too much.

Cider

2012-01-28T16:22:00.001+11:00

Cider is the new black apparently. An article in BRW magazine last year said so. It's certainly a habit I've picked up since moving to Tasmania. When you live somewhere that produces such fantastic apples and pears, it would be a shame not to indulge. I love the Blighs cider on tap at the Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet. It reminds me of the "Ebbelwoi" (apple wine) from the Hessen region of Germany that I stayed in in the late 1980s. Dry, slightly sour and refreshing. Today I picked up a couple of bottles of Two Metre Tall's Huon Farmhouse Dry Cider and Poire from MoMa, the new market at MONA. Delicious and perfect for a hot sunny afternoon.

Southern Design Centre

2012-01-26T19:45:00.000+11:00

For Christmas, my mum gave us a terrific gift: a voucher to put towards having a piece of furniture made at the Southern Design Centre in Geeveston. She knows we have wanted a coffee table for ages. There's no point us having one permanently stationed exactly at tail-wagging height in front of the lounge. One swoosh of a Bernese Mountain Dog's powerful fluffy tail and there goes... well everything, really. But we'd like something other than the blanket box from the guest room to put drinks on when we have visitors. I was thinking maybe a nest of tables that we could move into place would be best.

On a visit to the Southern Design Centre on Sunday we saw some lightweight coffee tables that could be easily moved to wherever we need. They use the natural shape and pattern of the wood rather than being completely squared and sanded. We specified the size and shape we wanted and placed our order on Sunday. On Monday Dennis called to say he had a suitable piece of Tasmanian Sassafras wood available and would start work on it, yesterday he sent a photo of the completed table to my mobile phone and varnished it, today I collected it.

I love the colours and patterns in Sassafras. We were a little worried that it wouldn't fit in with our fairly modern home, but I think it looks great. The cost is very reasonable considering you get what you want. I have bought a few other things at the Southern Design Centre since moving here, including a beautifully warm and soft alpaca wool jumper. It's worth popping in if you're in the area.

A cloud descends

2012-01-25T19:55:00.001+11:00

It has been seriously hot and sunny for days now. Perfect summer weather. Except for last night, when a large cloud suddenly perched on top of our hill. It was so thick, we lost sight of the front paddock. Straight back to sunshine today though!

Rhabarbermarmelade

2012-01-22T16:10:00.002+11:00

It won fifth place in a 2004 contest to find 'the most beautiful German word'. Whatever language it is in, rhubarb is my favourite jam. Even better if it's rhubarb and ginger.

Yesterday I picked half a kilo of rhubarb from our little apple crate veggie garden; today it's jam. It tasted pretty good, now I'm just hoping it sets better than my last attempt at making jam some years ago in Sydney. I haven't made any since, preferring instead to buy what I know is good, like the lovely jams made by locals Maggy and Chris and sold at the monthly Growers and Makers Market in Franklin. My favourite of their jams is the apricot and brandy, with the gooseberry and elderflower a very close second... or is that the raspberry, or the plum or the grapefruit marmelade? All delicious.

However it seems almost criminal not to make my own when we have such an abundance of fresh fruit available here, and I've been saving nice jars, so fingers crossed this batch is good.

What's growing in the garden?

2012-01-20T20:42:00.000+11:00

Not much, to be honest. However, a lot changes in eight days! When I returned from my work trip on Wednesday, a bunch of carrots were ready to harvest, the snow peas had grown like crazy and fallen over in the wind, two of the lettuces had turned into small trees, there's an abundance of rhubarb (time to make some of my favourite kind of jam), the coriander had bolted and gone to seed, the arugula has flowers, the tomatoes are doing okay... but my lack of planning means once that lot has gone, there won't be much to follow other than my successive lettuce plantings. So soon I am going to dig it all up and add plenty of compost and plan some winter crops.

The big apple

2012-01-16T14:08:00.000+11:00

I spent the past two days exploring parts of New York City that I haven't been to before, after three days of meetings with my team and managers at company headquarters in Connecticut. On Friday night my team had a fantastic meal at The Standard Grill. On the weekend I toured the fascinating Tenement Museum, had brunch at Freemans, walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, went to the New York Transit Museum in a disused subway station, took in the view from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center), saw the works of top German and Austrian artists at the Neue Gallerie and ate in its Viennese-style Cafe Sabarsky, then marched through Central Park in the brisk -5 degree but sunny late afternoon. Oh and went shopping of course. Mainly clothes.

I love this city. Although I have chosen to move to "the country" (I suppose you'd call it that), and I absolutely love the peace it brings, I still like cities. I just do not want to live in the suburbs ever again. If I move back to a city, I swear I'll live somewhere smack bang in the middle of it. Where I don't need a car and have everything on my doorstep. Just like here in NYC.

As well as doing my normal job this week, I have been voluntary tourism ambassador for Tasmania, telling everyone about the gourmet and wilderness paradise that it is. What I discovered is that the only thing many people know of the place is Taz the Tasmanian Devil from the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons. Some of those believe that it's a fictitious cartoon beast and not a real live (albeit increasingly threatened) animal.

Tomorrow the 30 hour trip home begins. I'm starting to look forward to some fresh Tassie air.

Brunch at Freemans

Walking over Brooklyn Bridge

An old subway carriage in the New York Transit Museum

Lovely old brownstones in Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Sparrows warming themselves in the sun (it was -8 degrees)

Manhattan skyline from the Top of the Rock

Viennese-style lunch at the Neue Gallerie

Late afternoon sun in Central Park

Little fruit trees

2012-01-14T14:48:00.000+11:00

The apple and pear trees planted as bare root stock in July seem to be doing okay so far. Hopefully they will do more growing over the next few summer months. The Huonville Crab is the prettiest by far, with beautiful burgundy coloured leaves, but only the Berner Rose and the Cox's Orange Pippin are bearing any fruit.

Rescue dogs

2012-01-11T12:05:00.000+11:00

This beautiful dog belongs to Wendy from our local seafood restaurant and fish and chips takeaway, Aqua Grill. Isn't she sweet? She was adopted a year ago as a rescue dog and is a little timid - not keen on people wearing black apparently, and a bit frightened of feet. But once you win her trust, she just wants chin tickles and ear scratches like any other pup. How on earth could people mistreat an animal like this?

Last month we also had the great pleasure of meeting Tippy Latte, another gorgeous rescue dog, at the home of Rhondda, owner of Star Anise beauty therapy in Huonville. She was also a little nervous of all the people at the Christmas barbeque, but when you weren't looking, she would quickly sneak up and lick your elbow! Such a cute dog.

If you want your heart melted with more photos of beautiful rescue dogs available for adoption in Tasmania, take a look at the blog A Thing For Sewing. Melinda volunteers for Dogs' Homes of Tasmania and helps to find new owners for so many lovely dogs. Or sign up to the Brightside Farm Sanctuary page on Facebook and read more about the great work they do. I hope many more dogs found happy new homes this Christmas.

Camp Coningham

2012-01-09T09:50:00.000+11:00

Not far off the Channel Highway about 30 minutes south of Hobart lies the little 70s time warp seaside township of Coningham. You'll see the turnoff after passing through Snug. On the weekend, a friend hired the former Mission Afloat church camp (now called Montgomery Park) for her weekend of 40th birthday celebrations. Cocktails and dinner around the fire outside were followed by partying indoors. Almost everyone stayed the night, either in the dorm rooms with bunk beds or a tent pitched outside. Such a great idea. Many of the guests were from interstate, some brought kids or dogs, some brought games, locals pitched in with catering, everyone helped to clean up afterwards.

In the morning, I managed to squeeze in a short stroll to Little Coningham Beach, which has excellent views of Cathedral Rock and Mount Wellington, then along the clifftop path heading south before the rain set in. I'd like to go back to do more walking in the bushland recreation area nearby.

Daisy

2012-01-04T13:28:00.000+11:00

In yesterday's post came a birthday card from my Nan in the UK.

Earlier in the morning my Dad had called to say she had died. Sometimes living so far away sucks.

It was more than eight years ago that I last saw my Nan. The lovely photos taken at her 90th birthday a few months ago made me wish it was more often, but still I feel lucky to have been able to spend lots of time with her as a child. Thanks to my Dad's job with an airline, we were able to travel to England regularly and see our family. I am thinking of Dad, his brother and sisters and all my cousins today.

A few of the memories I have of my dear Nan:

The smell of toast cooking under a gas grill (and putting coins in the gas meter under the stairs)
Her love of word puzzles
Riding the double decker bus to Staines
Wading in the stream near Nan's home in gumboots with a fishing net
Buying special treats (like chocolate mint sticks) at Marks and Spencer
While staying with her one cold January, she told all the shopkeepers that it would snow tomorrow, so her granddaughter from Australia could see it. And it did
Nan riding to work on a yellow moped... not sure, but I think she was about 60 then
The letters she wrote on blue aerogramme paper. I still have them
Nan cooing over my baby cousin Joseph (Jojo) as he lay on the lounge room floor. He's now a grown man
Playing housie at the local club with her friends
The tune that Nan hummed. When we asked, she didn't know what song it was
Nan's visits to stay with us in Sydney. She loved the sun and warm weather and it did her good
The hug at Heathrow airport when she didn't want to let go for fear we would not see each other again

RIP Daisy. xxx

Peachy

2012-01-02T10:37:00.002+11:00

Yes, we've been to the Cane's orchard in Franklin again. They sell fantastic stone fruit direct to the public from the top of their steep driveway. They even do a 'mixed box' of peaches and nectarines. Now I'm looking forward to a box of their apricots. I enjoyed them so much last year.

Tassie tan

2011-12-31T12:53:00.002+11:00

I was never much of a beach goer in Sydney, but you can count on one hand the number of times I've had my legs out in public in Tasmania so far. This week the weather has been so warm I've had shorts on two days in a row! Today we waded in the lovely clear water at Kingston beach again with the dogs. Apologies to anyone who was momentarily blinded by my luminous white Tassie tan.

Huon Jet

2011-12-30T15:41:00.000+11:00

We picked the perfect day today for a ride on the Huon Jet Boat. David gave me a voucher for my birthday. It was one of those things where we had driven past it on the Esplanade in Huonville so many times and said 'must go on that one day'. Owner John sure knows how to drive that thing. We narrowly dodged rocks and logs, flew over shallow rapids and did plenty of 360 degree spins. It was awesome fun.

Today's project

2011-12-29T16:31:00.000+11:00

In return for butchering some of his trees, the energy company left a huge pile of mulch in our neighbour Nigel's driveway when they trimmed around the power lines recently. He kindly said we could help ourselves if we wanted any. So today David made a few trips over the road in the ride-on mower with trailer to collect a big pile of hardwood mulch, which I have spread out on top of cardboard around the apple crate vegetable beds. The idea is that it will be easier to keep the weeds down and hopefully David won't need to whipper snip the grass inside the vegetable garden anymore. As a bonus, it looks really nice too.

Focaccia

2011-12-28T10:22:00.000+11:00

Made with mashed potato, topped with olive oil, sea salt, fresh thyme and oregano. It was meant to be a snack but was so tasty it ended up being dinner. And then breakfast this morning too.

Fun in the sun

2011-12-27T14:05:00.000+11:00

On Christmas Eve we avoided the shops and headed for the doggie beach at Kingston. The dogs love it there. Even David and I went in the water... well, we waded in up past the knees anyway. We've had such beautiful weather over the Christmas break this year.

A very merry Christmas

2011-12-26T10:58:00.000+11:00

Christmas Day was a whirlwind of friends, food and fun. We started by opening gifts from our family under the tree, moved on to brunch at the beautiful home below, followed by a lovely long lunch with great company at the newly completed masterpiece home of more friends. Luckily there was a break before dessert for a walk along the river and games on the oval. 'Rudolph' pictured here was a handmade Kris Kringle aka Secret Santa gift. There was no way I would have guessed what was inside that well wrapped present. We finished the day by dropping in on our neighbours who were enjoying a few drinks with family and friends on their new deck. Delicious food and great company, what more could we wish for. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day too.

Don't count your chickens

2011-12-22T09:14:00.001+11:00

On Monday night, 12 December, I put these 12 fertile eggs under one of our hens who had been spending most of the day sitting on the communal nest in the chook shed. It hasn't gone so well. At first, she didn't seem too pleased about being shut in a cage when her two friends were off free-ranging in the sun (and the pouring rain... not the brightest chooks). She was sitting on the eggs, but whenever I appeared in the shed she got off the eggs and squawked madly, most upset. Then she settled down happily spread out over the eggs for a few days.

Then one morning she flew out of the brooder box when I opened it to refresh the water. Had to catch her and put her back in. At that point I figured she was not so keen on being mother hen and kept a close eye on her to see that she was sitting on the eggs. Then she broke one of the eggs, and then another, which was difficult to clean up and the remaining eggs were looking pretty dirty. So last night I took the eggs, gently cleaned them and stuck them in an incubator borrowed from our neighbour Nigel. I don't hold out a lot of hope that any will hatch given the bumpy ride so far, but I'll keep turning them a couple of times a day just in case.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

2011-12-19T11:25:00.001+11:00

Late Sunday afternoons at the Franklin Tavern - otherwise known as 'Kon's pub' - are a relaxed and jovial affair with music by local duo Rumour. A friend is visiting us from Sydney for a few days, so we decided to have a few beers followed by pizza from Franklin Wood Fired Pizza and a walk along the river at Franklin. All up a pleasant end to a busy but fantastic weekend which included a housewarming, a Christmas party at a property right on the Huon River, the Huon Valley Growers and Makers Market, cleaning, mowing, shopping, cooking and generally too much eating and drinking. The festive season is in full swing.

Tank water

2011-12-15T10:21:00.000+11:00

OK, that's not the tank we drink out of, it's the small tank attached to our chook shed. In addition to this old slightly rusty tank, we also have a modern new one that holds approximately 40,000 litres, with a pump to bring the water to the house. The water that comes from our tap is pure, clean and tastes fantastic. I appreciate it most when I'm interstate for work and refill my plastic bottle from the tap in the hotel. Urgh.

Although Hobart is the second-driest capital city in Australia, we get a lot of rain at our place here in the Huon Valley. We have rainforest on our property to prove it, with huge man ferns, bright green moss and colourful fungi in autumn. It seems that as the weather moves in from the south west, the clouds dump all the rain on us as they come over the hill, then keep going. The opposite side of the river at Cradoc is very dry by comparison.

When we first moved here from Sydney with its water restrictions, we kept up the water saving techniques, like using a bucket to catch the water from the shower before it heats up, to use for dog drinking water and the garden... but pretty soon stopped that when we realised that our rainwater tank is constantly overflowing. If we do a few loads of washing one day, it's almost guaranteed that we'll get a downpour overnight and magically it is full again. Even having a few guests to stay hasn't put much of a dent in it. We're tempted to get a few more tanks and bottle the stuff... except that bottled water isn't so great for our environment.

Say 'sheep's cheese'

2011-12-14T17:32:00.002+11:00

A home delivered Christmas hamper of sheep's milk cheese arrived today, purchased from Grandvewe Cheeses, for us to enjoy with visitors over the festive season. Yum. Amongst them is my favourite, the White Pearl fresh cheese marinated in lemon thyme and olive oil, and the very tasty Friesland Fog. Plus some whey liqueur which I have not tried before. For more details on Grandvewe (and why sheep's milk cheese is good for you!), check out my article on this Cradle Mountain & Tasmania travel guide.

Weekend chook shed project

2011-12-12T08:44:00.000+11:00

On Saturday, it was time to clean out the chook shed. Our three hens are lucky enough to live in a solid old pickers hut that was on the property when we moved here. While the bunk beds were removed to make room for their roost, they still have a table and chairs, proper windows AND a kitchen sink in their house!

Using the 'deep litter' system (maintaining at least 6 inches or 15 cm of hay, straw or other bedding on the floor) seems to have worked really well. After nine months, it was surprisingly clean under all that hay, straw and grass. That said, we inhaled a lot of dust from the decomposed and finely shredded hay and straw in the shed as we removed it and piled it up as mulch around various trees around our place.

Then while I added compost to the vegetable beds and transplanted the tomatoes, David built a fantastic nest box inside the chook shed to house a broody hen. One of our girls has been spending most of the day on the nest (located in the cupboard under the sink) and we're going to try setting some fertile eggs under her. I don't hold out a lot of hope that it will work first go, but it's worth a shot. Fingers crossed!

Rural services

2011-12-07T09:23:00.000+11:00

We haven't had many problems with the lack of services up our road. By that I mean no post delivery, no garbage collection, no town water, no mains gas, no phone line. In fact in many ways I prefer it this way. It means we get to drink tank water and collect our mail from the nice people who run the local post office. Even taking our rubbish to the tip has its benefits. I instantly became much more conscious of what I could compost and buy without packaging to reduce our rubbish. Also, there's no garbage truck noise to disturb the peace at 6am.

However, yesterday morning's 'planned' power outage presented some small challenges. In the past, we have received a letter from Aurora Energy to say that the power would be out from, say, 9am until midday on a certain day, for repairs or upgrades. But this time, nothing. At 8.55am the power went out. Hmm. I called the service hotline five minutes later, to be told there was a 'planned' outage until 3pm due to tree trimming on our road. So with laptop battery power and wireless broadband I was able to keep working from home for a couple of hours, until my computer battery died and the mobile phone battery was about to go. The water pump wasn't working, so no tap water or flushing toilets. When we've had warning of outages before, we have filled some plastic containers with water and put the kettle on the gas stove for tea. So I decided to go and work from the internet cafe in Huonville... um, the truck is in the garage and the remote controlled door would need to be disengaged so I could get out. Sent a text to David who was at a customer site in Sandy Bay to explain why the garage would not open when he got home.

This morning, looking out the window I can see the workers chainsawing and mulching trees on our road and I'm wondering whether there is another 'planned' outage about to happen... at least today I am fully charged and better prepared!

The Agrarian Experience

2011-12-03T20:17:00.000+11:00

Our day at The Agrarian Kitchen today started with milking Pretty Girl the goat (for the elderflower and vanilla bean goats milk ice cream we made later on). We collected eggs and picked asparagus, herbs, rhubarb, strawberries, broad beans and spring onions. Rodney showed us tricks and techniques for everything from making pasta and Bearnaise sauce to peeling quail eggs. Magically the mess we made disappeared as the kitchen fairy (actually chef Rhys) whisked dishes away and ensured everything was ready for us. We chopped, peeled, whisked, folded, boiled, simmered, baked, grilled and served. Then we sat down and ate a meal so good we couldn't believe we'd made it. You can read all about The Agrarian Experience and the philosophy behind Severine and Rodney Dunn's farm-based cooking school on their web site, so I won't repeat it here. Suffice to say, if you get the chance, do it. We had a brilliant day.

Remote working

2011-12-02T17:34:00.000+11:00

Whether you call it teleworking, work-from-home or remote working, that's what I've been doing for the past 18 months full-time. Before that, I used to work from home mostly two days a week and commute into the office on the other days. It took more than an hour on the bus in Sydney peak hour traffic, so including the walk/wait at each end, the trip took more than three hours a day. It was often stressful and a dreadful waste of time, except while I was studying, when the bus trip (provided I got a seat) was great for textbook reading.

I work as a regional director of PR for a US company in the technology industry. That means spending hours on the computer or phone, writing, talking with journalists, finding them information for their stories, arranging interviews with the company's spokespeople, promoting the company's expertise. I also manage a small team in Asia Pacific and Japan. I travel interstate to host journalists at the company's conferences and for leadership team meetings. This kind of work can be done from anywhere.

I consider myself very lucky to work for a company where this is normal. I have met colleagues who work from their home in the Arizona desert, on Vancouver Island in Canada, on Waiheke Island near Auckland, New Zealand, in Perth, Macau and on Scotland Island in Sydney. Everyone in the company has a notebook computer; there are no desktops. With the increase in fuel costs, traffic and natural and other disasters, I think this is a very smart move. In an emergency situation, almost the entire company can do their jobs from home. But even in a company with the technology set-up and culture and experience to support remote workers, being able to do so successfully is still dependent on having a supportive manager and management team, and I'm lucky in that regard too.

Personally, I like working from home. I can concentrate better on the task at hand, I'm in control of my own work environment (no beige cubicle for starters), I don't eavesdrop on everyone else's phone calls, I can stand up and wander around on the phone, the coffee is good (and cheaper), there's less wasted time. I can wear jeans every day. My desk has a nice view (see above). Sure, my social interaction mostly comes from Twitter, instant messenger and the dog, but that has its upsides to be honest!

However, there are things I need to do better:

Get out more. Late yesterday afternoon I drove into Hobart for networking drinks organised by the Public Relations Institute of Australia. It was the first time I had met other PR people in Tasmania. Some of these people are in the same situation as me. One suggested catching up for coffee in the new year, so I'll be following up on that idea. I go to local business dinners with David, put on by the Huon Valley Business Enterprise Centre, but there may be other networks that are useful. Also it means I put on a suit! And as much as I dislike being away, I also need to travel to see people more. Relationships are worth investing in.
Exercise. In Sydney I had regular appointments to train with the totally brilliant Wild Women on Top, and I always kept that commitment, rain, shine or headache. When working from home I walked the dog every afternoon. Here I have failed to keep any commitment made to myself to keep up the hiking training, and the dogs have a huge paddock to run around in. Sitting at a computer all day long is not doing me any good at all. To change this, I have to set a big hiking goal to train towards.
Webinars. I used to attend these more when I was in Sydney, and in the absence of PR colleagues to discuss ideas with, I found them a time-efficient way of thinking outside the day-to-day.
Weekly 'team' meeting. Or Friday drinks, like the office-dwellers do. David and I have a regular breakfast booked in at a local cafe, but I need to do a better job of actually using the time to discuss our work.
Keep more regular desk hours. With most of my team between one and eight hours behind me (and worse in summer), a lot of the email and calls fall late in the day my time. That's hard because I'd prefer to work early and finish before I am brain dead and inefficient. I don't have a good answer for this one yet. To be honest it was no different in Sydney.

There's more, but with this post I just wanted to share a bit of what it's like working remotely, the good and the bad. I'd love to hear about your experiences if you work from home too.

Views from Franklin

2011-11-29T21:28:00.000+11:00

I've heard people say that you have to try pretty hard to find a home without a view in Tasmania. Certainly every time we visit friends in Franklin, I am struck by the different perspectives you get from different sides of the hill or road. All equally lovely, but framed differently by the home's windows and aspect. Here is the view from three different friends' homes on the hills above Franklin. Beautiful, aren't they?

Bird nest fail

2011-11-27T20:00:00.000+11:00

In addition to the highly unsuccessful pair of plovers at our place, this year the beautiful welcome swallows have so far failed to produce a single chick. They decided to build their fancy mud nest in the rafters of our garage. Not that we mind. Even with the mess they leave on the floor and occasionally the car windows. In the morning when we press the button on the remote, two high speed small aircraft shoot out of the hangar as the door opens.

The problem is that if we go out before it is dark and close the garage, the birds are trapped outside and can't get in to their nest. So this morning unfortunately we found the remains of two very young baby birds on the garage floor. Our guess is that they were left alone in there overnight and dead in the nest by the time the parents got back in the next morning. Today we also found a tiny spotted swallow egg wedged in behind a light fitting at the back of the house. While trapped outside, the birds liked to perch on the lights at night and laid it there instead of in the nest. So sad. Last year they managed to raise two lots of babies successfully, including one clutch with five chicks.

Snakes alive

2011-11-26T14:12:00.000+11:00

Yesterday a courier showed up at our back door to collect a parcel, and told us he'd just seen a large snake at the bottom of our driveway. That's not surprising, as the past few days of lovely warm sunny weather would have brought them out to bask in the sun. But this news sent David out on the ride on mower to cut the grass in the front paddock. It's kept nice and short in the winter by the army of wallabies that gather there each night, but come spring, everything grows like crazy. David had already mowed inside the house paddock this week, but he didn't want the snakes in the longer grass outside the wallaby proof fence.

Neither of us are particularly worried by snakes, but we are worried about the dogs getting hold of one. I'm not keen on having a snake in the chook shed either. Doesn't the front paddock (our 'sprawling parklands') look great now?

I remember reading in a tourist guide before we moved here that 'there are only three kinds of snake in Tasmania - all venomous'. However, the good news is that they are all quite timid. You areunlikely to encounter a snake in the winter months. Snakes in Tasmania are generallyactive in the warmer months between October and March. The dark colour of most Tasmaniansnakes is an adaptation to the cold climate, as it means they can absorb heatmore quickly.

Thesmallest and least dangerous of the three varieties is the white-lipped snake, also known as the whip snake. They are greenish-grey orolive in colour and grow to around 40cm long. They are quite shy and feed mainlyon small skinks. They are most often seen in grasslands or heath and on rocks.I once saw one sliding away through the rocks on the beach near Cockle Creek,where it had been sunning itself. David has seen one along the fence at home.

The lowlandcopperhead snake lives mainly in swampy or marshy areas where it feeds onfrogs, lizards and smaller snakes. It reaches up to 1.5 metres in length. Unlikethe tiger snake, it has a narrow pointed head and range from dark grey or blackto copper or brick-red in colour, usually with a yellow-white underside and anorange or red streak along the sides. They are very shy and prefer to retreatwhen disturbed by humans. Copperheads are extremely venomous and capable ofkilling an adult, but the good news is that their fangs are relatively short,making their bite less effective. Thick socks and strong shoes or boots willprovide some protection.

The tiger snake isthe largest snake in Tasmania,reaching between one and two metres long. It is found in most habitats in Tasmania and mainlyfeeds on small mammals and birds. They are known to climb trees to reach birdnests, and so the alarm calls of birds in the area may alert you to their presence. It has a broad and blunt arrow shaped head and comes in so manycolour variations that it is unwise to identify them this way. If threatened, atiger snake will raise its head and may feign a strike, but like most snakes, theywill not bite unless provoked. Their venom is highly toxic. We saw one recently on a walk to Billy Brown's Falls.

If you want a better idea of what these snakes look like, visit the Parks & Wildlife Service web site or check out the natural history section of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Galleryfor some safely stuffed examples.

A couple of monthsago I did a St. John’s first aid courseand the instructor, a paramedic of many years standing, reliably informed usthat no-one has died from snakebite in Tasmaniafor around 40 years. I’ll take that as an encouraging sign.

Ye Olde Oyster Cove Store

2011-11-24T08:52:00.000+11:00

It's a bit of a drive from our place unfortunately, but if I'm in the area I always pop in to this gem of a store. Heading south from Hobart, Oyster Cove is between Snug and Kettering on the Channel Highway. You can pick up everything from local meats, cheese and wine to good quality organic fruit and vegetables to seedlings, straw, hay and mushroom compost for the garden.

Surprise salmon delivery

2011-11-21T21:57:00.001+11:00

Last week I was at a work conference on the Gold Coast and a colleague who lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada was telling me about some of their local food specialties. One was a whole side of salmon cooked over a fire on a slab of freshly cut cedar. With all the great fresh salmon here in Tasmania, I thought that sounded like a good idea, and got to thinking about eating it again... then this evening a neighbour who works at the nearby fish farms dropped by with a whole gutted salmon for us, fresh from the Huon. How nice is that! He saves those that might otherwise be thrown away in the testing and quality control processes. I looked up an online video to work out how to fillet it, David sharpened a knife for me and I gave it a go. I left a little too much meat behind, but it wasn't too difficult. Below are the before and after shots. Now we have 2kg of boned, skinned salmon fillets to eat... who's coming over?

Garden inspiration

2011-11-20T20:36:00.001+11:00

It has been a weekend of garden envy... oops I mean inspiration. On Saturday, a local garden enthusiast in the valley one road north of us opened his garden as a fundraiser for charity. Now I absolutely love a good stickybeak in other people's homes and gardens. I believe this condition is hereditary, my mum loves it too! So this was something I couldn't resist.

For a $5 donation, we wandered around admiring the beauty and the hard work that has gone into creating such a garden. In just 11 years, Rick (aged 73) has transformed abandoned pine forest, gorse, bare fields and thistle into a little oasis. There's a dam full of tadpoles and frogs, ponds with lilies, native and introduced trees like Canadian spruce, rhododendrons, roses, hollyhocks, plenty of quiet places to sit, sculptures of birds and Buddhas and the beginnings of a ferny glen with local giant manferns planted. Like all such gardens, it is a work in progress. But unlike other serious gardeners I have met, he had a healthy attitude regarding the success of plants - if they die, they weren't meant to be there. He does only minimal weeding.

Today's garden envy was entirely different. I attended a 'poultry breeding masterclass' at breeder Paul Healy's place in Judbury, a follow-up to the workshop I went to back in March. I didn't really take much of a look at his garden, but this one is not about aesthetics. It's all about plants with a purpose, food, herbs and organic insect control. He's currently writing a book about it. But what interested me more was the housing of his Barnevelder chooks. Everywhere I looked there were small innovations, the result of many years' experience, trial and error no doubt. I'm glad I went to the class today, it gave me more confidence in being able to breed and manage my own small flock of birds.

Hurtling hens

2011-11-16T19:30:00.000+11:00

I am constantly surprised by how much ground the chooks cover each day. One minute I see all three of them dashing about in the front paddock, the next, they're charging along the fence up behind the house, then out in the driveway pecking around the water tank. And when they spot me on the way to the hen house at dinner time, they sprint. I had no idea how active hens are. For some odd reason, I expected them to peck about quite sedately. Anyhow, I expect to learn a lot more about poultry on the weekend at a 'poultry breeding masterclass' with Paul Healy. I'm thinking about picking up a young cockerel for the girls... but I'll wait to see how I feel about that after the workshop.

Yukon here to stay

2011-11-14T23:54:00.000+11:00

A different boat appeared recently in Franklin. We could see her tall masts as we drove down the hill towards the Huon. On the weekend we went down for a closer look. It turns out to be the Yukon, built in 1930 in Frederikshavn, Denmark, a private vessel on a round-the-world voyage... and according to their online logbook, the family has decided to break their journey for a year and stay here in Tasmania:

We have made no secret of the fact that Tassie has long held an interest for us, as an alternative to Denmark and it seems crazy to sail past it, especially when we have our sea-going home with us. Tasmania has an active wooden boat fraternity; this is partly due to the cooler climate. We found a good place for Yukon in the town of Franklin. Here is a boat school for wooden ships and the Wooden Boat Trust is also situated here. It’s a very friendly and active community. The boys’ school is in walking distance and our friends from the earlier years live just over the hill in Cygnet. 200 years ago people were sailed around the world to Van Diemen’s Land for doing something wrong. We fortunately stopped here by choice, to experience this lovely island.

It's quite a tale. Below are a couple of our photos, and the Franklin Marine blog has a photo of her arriving.

Huon Show 2011

2011-11-13T12:46:00.000+11:00

Yesterday we visited the Huon Show, or as some of the locals say, the 'Ewan Show' (I also loved Amy's spelling 'Yoowan Show'), held at the showgrounds in Ranelagh. We enjoyed it just as much as last year. Our plan to go later and avoid the parking queue worked. We ran into a few friends, patted some (other) Bernese Mountain Dogs and looked at the goats, alpacas, cattle and poultry. Watched the 'grand parade'. Consumed a pork bratwurst with sauerkraut, a cider and an apple and cinnamon ice cream.

This year I especially enjoyed Brian Fish's bullock driving demonstration. He conducted the six enormous bullocks like an orchestra, it was quite a thing to watch. I love the draught horses too. The biggest crowd however gathered to watch the annual Rural Youth dog high jump competition. The cute fluffy varieties were knocked out early on, leaving the kelpies and cattle dogs as the serious contenders. The winner jumped a good 2.5 metres. The weather smiled on the valley again for a lovely day out. I do love a good agricultural show.

Evening sun

2011-11-11T20:28:00.001+11:00

Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE daylight saving? Already, it's light here in southern Tasmania until after 8.00pm. As the sun sets behind us, it lights up the tips of the Snug Tiers opposite in pink. So pretty. The tallest peak in the picture (second from right) is Grey Mountain at about 830 metres.

I was totally confused visiting Brisbane a few weeks ago, where it was light at 4.00am and dark by 6.15pm. And next week I'll be back in the dark at a conference in Queensland. Something seems terribly wrong about that, when they have such a warm climate.

Killer views

2011-11-09T20:28:00.000+11:00

I have seen some dreadfully corny property names driving around Tasmania so far. Like the one as you drive into Franklin called Sanctuary Much... On the weekend, driving over Woodbridge Hill towards Cygnet I saw a property named 2 C Forever and groaned... until I turned the corner and saw the view, that is. Just wow. It's not a good photo as I was driving into the late afternoon sun, but check out the array of peaks in the distance, including Adamsons Peak, The Calf, Mount Snowy, Hartz Peak and (I think) Mount Picton. Just stunning.

It must be spring...

2011-11-07T17:48:00.000+11:00

The grass is growing at a remarkable pace.

Lilly the cat moves between the sunshine and the shade.

Plants are putting on a growth spurt, including these young beetroot.

Snug Falls

2011-11-06T13:20:00.003+11:00

The weather was so perfect yesterday, it was begging us to spend the day outside. We drove to Kingston Beach with the dogs in the morning, and even gave the salty, sandy, hairy ones a bath on our return. Baerli's toes turned out to be white underneath the reddish brown clay colour they've been for months.

In the afternoon, I went on a short walk to Snug Falls. It's an easy walk on a well-maintained path down to the falls, which as you can see are tall and had plenty of water flowing. There are park benches thoughtfully provided along the path as you reach the top of the hill on the way back. It's about a 45 minute walk, let's say an hour if you stop to admire and take photos as I did.

A favourite sign in Huonville

2011-10-31T21:14:00.001+11:00

Carnies

2011-10-25T18:20:00.000+11:00

The annual pilgrimage of the caravans, Winnebagos and campervans to southern Tasmania started in full force last week. The car park and motor home facilities in Franklin have been upgraded recently, but the camping area remains about as attractive as before (see below). Luckily the beautiful riverside location and views compensate.

Billy Brown's Falls

2011-10-23T21:02:00.000+11:00

The beautiful weather today meant it was time for a short walk. We headed for Billy Brown's Falls, which has been the centre of some local protests with a fight to stop planned forestry logging of the West Wellington area.

From Huonville, you drive to Judbury then follow Judds Creek Road for about 11.5km. Personally, I would only want to drive there in a 4WD. The Huon Trail guidebook says the walk is signposted, but below is the extent of the signage we saw. The downside of most walks to waterfalls is that you need to go after rains to see the full beauty of the falls, but of course that means the track is muddier. Luckily the falls were absolutely worth it today, so my advice is, go after rains. The clear cool water roared over the rocks into the rocky pools below.

It's only a short walk, 1.5 hours return, up a hill that's steep in places, then down to the falls and the same in reverse. There are some very tall trees and some lovely rainforest to walk through. Almost back at the car, we saw a tiger snake slide away then double back across the path, so we got a good look at him.

On the way back down Judds Creek Road, I was excited to see the markers for the Tasmanian Trail, which I plan to walk someday. It runs about 480 km from Devonport in the north of Tasmania to Dover in the south, passing through towns and wilderness areas. If you fancy walking it too, let me know.

Paradise

2011-10-22T17:02:00.001+11:00

I was very happy to arrive home around midday today after a few days in Brisbane for work. Not that Brisbane isn't nice, but this is, well, paradise. To me anyway. See what you think.

We sat in the sun on the deck chairs and read the paper. The blossoms on the crab apples are out. The bare rooted fruit trees we planted on an espalier back in July are starting to sprout leaves and blossoms. And the dogs are just enjoying hanging out with us.

Flowers for the table

2011-10-20T18:25:00.000+11:00

Just as I felt a little sad that the explosion of yellow daffodils in our paddocks were dying down, the next round of bulbs shot up to provide a continuing supply of fresh flowers. I like these ones even better that the bright yellow variety. Although we've had beautiful weather this week, spring is still progressing a little more slowly up here on the hill than down in the valley. The blossoms on the fruit trees have already gone in the orchards along the river, while ours are about to appear.

Glorious mud

2011-10-17T20:10:00.000+11:00

Mud. It's part of the true Tasmanian experience. I have learned since moving here that a bushwalk in Tasmania always involves mud. In Sydney, gaiters kept sand out of my socks and boots, but here, they're for wet grass and mud protection. At our place, it's clay rather than mud. We've had quite a lot of rain recently and some patches just never seem to dry up, like this spot near our garage.

When visitors come to stay, I advise them to bring 'sensible shoes', not sandals or dainty heels, but it's funny sometimes how people's definition of 'sensible shoes' can differ! Let's just say ballet flats are not much good in mud. So I'll be more explicit in future and specify hiking boots, lace-up leather shoes or runners with good tread on the soles.

Mouse trap test drive

2011-10-16T12:12:00.000+11:00

Yesterday as I stood in the queue at the hardware store with four different types of mouse trap, the sales assistant asked, 'Got a small problem, have we?'

One day last week as I was locking the chooks up in their hen house, I heard squeaking and little feet running up in the roof, then saw the shadow of a mouse slipping between the rafters in the old pickers hut. Oh no. Then the next morning, David spotted a brazen mouse on our deck chair on the front lawn! He ran outside with the dogs, who were caught up in the excitement but completely failed to see the mouse bouncing around on the grass. It disappeared under the house, only to emerge a short time later, and this time the girls spotted it. With paws and faces covered in clay, they tried to dig the mouse out from between some rocks in the garden. On high alert, Baerli waited patiently for it to re-emerge and she caught it. She dropped the dead mouse onto the dog bed at the back door... and Gretchen promptly ate it. Ewww. Dogs are so disgusting.

In last night's initial test run of four different types of mouse trap, each baited with peanut butter, it was the old-fashion cheap wooden variety that caught the mouse, just as Bruce over in Cygnet had advised. Poor hens must have got quite a fright when that thing went off in the middle of the night.

Kindling for the fire

2011-10-12T07:07:00.001+11:00

We were on the lookout for something to store kindling in, something more attractive than the plastic buckets we were using, and spotted this metal pail covered with cute apple-print fabric at the Huon Valley Growers and Makers Market in Franklin last month. But we didn't stop there. At another stall we spotted one with chooks painted on it and bought that too.

Frost or snow?

2011-10-11T12:12:00.000+11:00

Woke up this morning to what looked like a heavy frost... then realised it was actually a light dusting of snow. Heading in to Huonville for breakfast, we could clearly see snow on the mountains. It was all the locals in the cafe were talking about. Weather. It's always interesting here.

Sea change hot spot

2011-10-05T09:11:00.000+11:00

There was an article about Tasmanian property prices in The Mercury yesterday. Fairly unexciting stuff, except that there was a lovely accompanying piece about Franklin featuring Darren, who together with wife Sarah owns the post office and general store here. He even managed to sneak onto the cover of the paper - see below. Apparently the Huon Valley is a hot spot for interstate buyers, and "the market for 'sea change' and 'tree change' buyers" has not reached anywhere near its full potential. Are we trendsetters or simply fast-followers? Or just way too late to the party? Who cares, at least we're here and for that, I am grateful.

Cape Deslacs walk

2011-10-03T17:47:00.000+11:00

The frosty starting temperature at our place at 6.00am yesterday was -0.02 degrees according to the weather station, but the sun quickly changed that. The first day of daylight saving (how I love it!) turned into an absolutely stunning spring day, perfect for a walk. I joined friends in our social walking group for a stroll around the Cape Deslacs circuit and out along the headland overlooking Pipeclay Lagoon and Clifton Beach with its cliffs and blowholes. We were rewarded with 360 degree views of the Tasman Peninsula and surrounding bays. There was lots of bird life, including a few brilliant red flame robins. Plenty of wildflowers were out already, including a couple of orchids. Cruise ship season has begun, and we saw one heading up the Derwent towards Hobart. We finished up with coffee and French pastries (for some) in Bellerive. Map of walk here.

Guest room or greenhouse?

2011-09-28T18:30:00.001+10:00

Following the dismal failure of the tomato seeds I planted last year, this year I have started them off inside the house, where it is generally nice and warm. Early signs are good... well, better than the couple of sad little seedlings that made it to around 10cm high last year before giving up. Although it was a pathetic first attempt, I don't feel too bad because most people around here struggled with tomatoes last year thanks to the cool summer we had. Except for those people growing them in greenhouses of course. Where we are up on the hill is simply too cold to grow some things and the growing season is short. I will look at getting a greenhouse next year. In the meantime, the morning sun streaming into the guest room will hopefully give these little seedlings a chance.

Of dogs and swans

2011-09-24T21:20:00.001+10:00

This morning we joined the Huon Valley Dog Walkers for their second social outing along the Franklin foreshore, taking Baerli and Gretchen with us of course. It's great for the dogs to be able to socialise with other dogs... oh and the people are pretty nice too. It was good to meet Nat of the twigs and her gorgeous whippet and catch up with Zuki. The editor of the local paper took photos for next week's issue. Luckily we kept B on the lead, as she loves a swim and there was a family of swans with four beautiful cygnets floating past.

A major goal of the group is to lobby local councils to install more off-leash dog areas, ideally fenced or at least away from major roads. I've mentioned before that one of the few things we really miss about Sydney is the afternoon walks up to our local off-leash doggie park, where loads of dogs and their owners met at around 5pm every day. We love going to Kingston Beach which is safe, beautiful and guaranteed to have loads of dogs for ours to socialise with... but it is a 30 minute drive away so only possible on weekends with nice weather. Most days we'd be lucky to run into one other dog along Franklin Esplanade, but today was most definitely an exception. Looking forward to going to more of these gatherings and to more dog-friendly places to go close to home.

Local free-range pork

2011-09-20T19:47:00.000+10:00

We collected 20 kilos of pork today from friends who had kindly offered to share a free-range pig from local farmer Gordon. The pig comes from the next road over from ours in Franklin and the meat was butchered just across the river at the local Cradoc Abattoir, which was happily saved from closing down recently. We now have roast, cutlets, mince, chops, hocks, all sorts of pork bits. I am very happy about this purchase. Aside from it being from a local happy pig, pork is my favourite meat and I already have a pile of dishes in mind to cook. Looking forward to it.

More silly birds

2011-09-19T18:41:00.000+10:00

Just as they did last year, the plovers (aka masked lapwings) again laid their eggs in a really stupid location - inside the fenced yard where our two exuberant Bernese Mountain Dogs barrel around at speed. I was hoping that the birds' swooping and squawking would be enough to keep the dogs at a reasonable distance. But late last night I heard unusual noises coming from the plovers, and this morning, both eggs and birds were gone. Plover chicks are so cute, we'd love for "our" resident pair of plovers to breed successfully. Can you spot the plover guarding the egg on the hill in this photo?

Sunday leg stretch

2011-09-18T22:09:00.000+10:00

Finally, some time outdoors and away from the computer. Despite getting up rather late thanks to seeing The DC3 at the Republic Bar in North Hobart last night, the beautiful spring weather meant I just had to go for a walk. It would have been a great day to join the Hobart Walking Club group going up Trestle Mountain, but again, it was a late night and I knew getting out of the house by 7.30am was not going to happen. Instead, with weighted-up day pack and trekking poles, I set off from home late morning to explore a few forestry trails I haven't walked before. It isn't the most exciting walking, but it was some much needed exercise. Only 30 minutes walk from our house I am rewarded with the views of Mount Snowy and Hartz Peak below. Here is a map of my little walk.

All grown up

2011-09-17T16:47:00.000+10:00

Puppy Gretchen is a big girl now - turned one last week - and just look at her! Here she is rock climbing at Kingston Beach today.

Pain de campagne

2011-09-12T13:45:00.000+10:00

Not sure that this version is very French, as the recipe contained dark beer, Coopers stout to be precise. Who cares, the bread is very tasty.

One bird down

2011-09-11T11:29:00.000+10:00

Unfortunately, my concerns about free-ranging the chooks turned out to be justified - we lost one of our lovely Barnevelder hens last week. I went down to lock them up for the night on Monday afternoon and couldn't find her. I suspect it was a grey goshawk that took her. The day after she disappeared, I saw one swoop in across the front paddock towards the chook shed. In the nearby forest, I found one hen cowering in fear and another squawking madly while the huge white bird sat calmly watching from a tall tree above. The other hen I found sitting behind a log on a hidden nest of 18 eggs (!) shown collected in the ice-cream bucket here. So that's why the egg count was down a little. I thought a couple of them had started moulting.

So now we are down to three birds, who are unhappy at being locked up in their shed again today. Their fully enclosed yard is simply too wet to let them out into. After the amount of rain we had last night, one corner of the yard is basically a mud bog and not exactly healthy for the chooks to be standing about in. Hopefully we'll get some more warm sunny weather like the last two weeks of August and it will dry up. And then perhaps I'll be brave enough to let them out again in a few weeks. Guess it's a good thing I listened to breeder Paul Healy's advice to get four instead of three "because you'll always lose one in the first year". Maybe I'll consider getting a cockerel next year, they can be good at protecting their girls.

Daffys

2011-09-06T17:06:00.000+10:00

The random clumps of daffodils have emerged in our paddocks again this year, and I've been able to pick plenty for the vase on the table and still admire the sea of yellow flowers outside. I don't know how they got there or who planted them. Our neighbour has a similar number but they have obviously been planted that way, stretching in a neat-ish row from her front door along the driveway towards the gate. Ours are, well, random.

This weekend, on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, Jackson's Daffodils at Surges Bay south of Geeveston will hold their annual open weekend. You can wander through the large variety of daffodils and order bulbs for next year. I'd like to go to see the beautiful display of flowers, but I must confess that other than stuff that's edible (vegetables and fruit trees), I'm not terribly interested in planting things that are not native. The previous owners of our place planted many non-natives such as silver birch, golden ash and oak trees, and they are really lovely young trees, but if they don't survive, they'll be replaced with natives. I am not sure I understand the Australian (and especially Tasmanian) obsession with planting an English country garden, when we have such lovely native plants better suited to the conditions.

Bellerive to Salamanca

2011-09-04T16:11:00.000+10:00

Today we walked with our social walking group from Bellerive Yacht Club on Kangaroo Bay on the northern shore of the Derwent across the Tasman Bridge and into Hobart (map here). The walk takes two hours at a leisurely pace and affords great city and mountain views. Apart from a short shower, during which we sheltered under the bridge on the northern side, it was a beautiful warm spring day. We stopped at the cenotaph which commands sweeping views of Hobart, and finished up with coffee in town. We had planned to take the ferry - actually water taxi - back to where we had parked our cars, but it was out of service today. So we hopped on a Metro bus back across the bridge. It was my first trip on a bus since moving to Tasmania, which is a bit pathetic considering how much I love public transport. Normally I use it in any city I visit.

Sphagnum

2011-09-03T21:58:00.000+10:00

It's not a very pretty name for a plant that is quite lovely to look at. We have many luminous green carpets of the stuff on our property. In winter in the rain, it is so bright it is almost fluorescent green. It's common in the alpine and sub-alpine areas of Tasmania and grows well in very wet and nutrient poor soils... hmm that's definitely true of our place. It holds a lot of water and walking on it feels like treading on a soft cushion.

Quiz night

2011-08-28T21:04:00.001+10:00

I don't think I had ever been to a quiz night before I moved to Tasmania, but in the past 18 months I've been to four. They seem popular in winter, dragging everyone out of their cosy homes to share a few laughs, a couple of local ciders or ales and some food in a large room with a wood fire burning. I don't know if it's a Tasmanian thing or just more common in rural communities where people are more inclined to make their own fun.

The first one we went to was a fundraiser for the local Landcare group, held in the cricket club hall at Castle Forbes Bay. Back then we did not know many people here, so we were seated at a table of people we didn't know, and ended up having a hoot of an evening and meeting some great people. We had no idea when it came to the 'local knowledge' questions. And who knew that Elvis Presley's favourite singer was Roy Orbison?

The second quiz night we went to was held in the supper room in the Palais in Franklin, in aid of the Living Boat Trust. We had a great evening, despite our complete lack of maritime knowledge. The quiz ended with drunken renditions of sea shanties, and sad to say, I think our table won that round.

Then on Friday night was the best quiz night of all - the inaugural Pig Day Out (see, I'm already hoping it becomes an annual event) at the Red Velvet Lounge in Cygnet. We feasted on local smoked salmon and wood-roasted free-range pork, followed by rustic apple pie and cream, washed down with crisp Bligh's cider. It was kind of funny to meet and have dinner with a group of people we only really know from their blogs and from Twitter. I once heard that part of the definition of a 'digital native' is having at least 10 friends who you met online before you met in person. I think our count would be much higher than that.

Unfortunately I was no help at all in the music quiz. The music was most definitely not from 'my era'. Somewhat embarrassingly, the only question I got before anyone else on our team was a 'name the tune', Careless Whisper by George Michael. Oh dear. Lucky I confessed upfront that all I know is 80s music, plus a little 70s disco! Our team was suitably named 'The Porkers' after the band on David's shirt, and after a loss in round two, we came through in the third round to win. I use the word 'we' loosely. Actually the competition was almost single-handedly won by just one person on our team, with some assistance from his lovely partner. All up, an absolutely lovely night with great company and an extremely full belly. Brilliant local fun.

Four hens, many eggs

2011-08-25T17:15:00.000+10:00

I love how the chooks follow me around when I'm out in the yard. I can hear them running behind me and chatting as I walk.

They are doing a very good job of laying. On Sunday night I made orange chiffon cake, which used five egg yolks and eight egg whites. Tuesday we had quiche - it was very yellow and delicious. This morning, it was perfectly runny boiled eggs, cooked in my trusty German egg boiling machine. David likes soldiers. Mine is grain toast with egg squished on top.

Lemon tree, very pretty

2011-08-23T22:00:00.001+10:00

Peter Paul & Mary must have been on high rotation at home in the 70s...

The newly planted dwarf Meyer lemon tree is enjoying its place in the half wine barrel in the sun, behind its wire dog protection.We have had glorious sunny weather over the past few days. Hope it likes the spot enough to provide lots of fruit.

Winter Challenge 2011: multisport madness

2011-08-21T23:01:00.001+10:00

Around 440 extremely fit people took part in today's Winter Challenge in Franklin. Run by Kris and Imogen of Endorfun along with many helpers, the event consists of a 10km run, 18m mountain bike (both courses steep and muddy), 37km road bike and 11km kayak. Some people do all four sections, others compete as teams of two or four. Last year, we volunteered as marshals and were stationed on Swamp Road on the uphill mountain bike leg. This year we were posted on Hope Hill behind the Franklin township, at a farm gate where athletes were coming down a steep and muddy hill towards the end of the run leg. It was amazing to see the different shapes and sizes - tall and lanky, short and stocky, young and old(ish) - but all so fit and determined. The last bloke to come through was running backwards! He had a nasty injury but was determined to complete the run.

Once the track was clear, we closed the farm gate and moved downhill to where we had left the truck to watch the mountain bikes coming down another steep and muddy section. We saw a few come a cropper - one bloke tumbling head over heels on the bike - but all just got up and kept going. Amazing.

After a foggy start, Franklin turned on some glorious sunny weather for the crowds along the foreshore watching the kayakers come in. Once again a terrific and well run event.

Signs of spring

2011-08-19T15:17:00.000+10:00

Down in the valley, there are trees in blossom already. Up here on the hill, things are a little slower to start. But this week, clumps of daffodils have started to spring up in the paddocks again. The sun is shining. The grass has started growing again after the last lot of rain and David has had the ride-on mower out again. And the bees are buzzing. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of winter yet, and there may be more dumps of snow to come, but it's nice to see the small changes already. I really love the seasons in Tasmania, each one brings such different things to enjoy.

Accidental mushies

2011-08-17T20:11:00.000+10:00

I love how the random fungus that has sprung up in this pot is almost as big as the rosemary grown from seed has managed to get so far. There's more in the apple crate vegetable gardens too. Hopefully spring will fix that.

Hills of Huonville

2011-08-15T20:53:00.000+10:00

When I see a hill, I want to climb it. It's partly simple curiosity about what might be up there, partly just because I like the views, and partly just for the challenge and being able to say "I made it". Yesterday, I walked up a big hill east of Huonville that I've wanted to go up for ages. The red gravel road can be seen from the centre of town, snaking it's way up the hill. A large yellow boom gate marks the start of the very steep climb up to the end of Knights Road. On the way back down I slipped and landed hard on my behind. Lucky there was no one around to hear me curse. So what's up the top? A lovely rocky outcrop commanding district views, but it's completely encircled by clumps of horrible prickly gorse so I couldn't reach it. Despite that nasty weed, a lot of tiny wildflowers were out. It's clear that a big fire has been through the area. It looks like Tasmanian Devils live up there somewhere, as I saw several sets of tracks. The views aren't bad either. The track I was on continued east on the other side of the hill. I suspect I could walk all the way to Sandfly or Margate from there.

Tas Farm Gate Market

2011-08-14T19:57:00.001+10:00

Last Sunday we FINALLY got to the Tasmanian Farm Gate Market in the Melville Street car park in Hobart. For some reason it never seems to fit in with our Sunday plans. But I'll make sure to go again... even though it was a drizzly morning, there was a wonderful range of produce for sale. If I hadn't been on the way to the airport, I would have gone mad buying vegetables. They just looked so fresh and lovely. I did buy some of Amanda's delicious pear and vanilla bean jam for my mum, and some Bruny Island Cheese to take up on the plane for friends in Sydney.

I bought a copy of 'Gourmet Farmer' Matthew Evans' new book, Winter on the Farm, as beautifully described here on Michelle's blog. And yes, I did ask him to sign it. Why not. I love that TV show. I love 'meeting' the people in it and drooling over the great Tassie produce it shows to the wider Australian audience. The new series starts on SBS on 25 August. Watch it, then buy your ticket to visit, you won't regret it.

Update: Comedy in (or near) the Valley

2011-08-12T14:15:00.000+10:00

Wednesday this week saw the last Comedy Night at Brookfield Vineyard in Margate which I posted about recently... but the laughs don't stop there. From next month, a new monthly comedy room will start up in Kingston, at the Southern Lights Hotel. $12 at the door on Wednesday 7 September. Please get along to see some of Tasmania's best stand-up comedians and usually also a visiting act, who may be from Melbourne or as far away as Canada. If you are in Hobart, you can get to The Comedy Lounge at The Lower House the following night, for the same deal, same price. This week we saw musical comedy from Ryan Coffey who is very talented indeed. My face ached from laughing, a very good sign.

Winner

2011-08-11T18:24:00.001+10:00

Last weekend we went on a shopping spree at our local hardware store, Clennett's Mitre 10 in Huonville, because... I won a $300 gift card as a result of signing up to receive email newsletters from them! Lucky us. We've spent a fortune in the hardware shop since we moved here, at both the Huonville store and Fork in the Road at Kingston. I know it's the same when you move into any new home, but now that I've started growing vegetables and so on, it's even worse. In the old days, it was only David who was not permitted to enter a hardware store unsupervised (I was not allowed into Officeworks). Now I could go mad buying all sorts of useful stuff in there as well.

We bought a lemon tree, plant pots, some nice pruners, a small trowel for transplanting seedlings, potting mix, sand and mulch, pop rivets, a cordless drill, a poker for the wood fire... and no, it didn't all fit within $300 but the big discount most certainly helped. Thanks, Clennetts.

Through the mist

2011-08-10T21:00:00.001+10:00

Mostly in winter, the fog is way down below us in the valley, and we wake up to clear skies and frosty sunshine here up on the hill. But last weekend we were shrouded in grey cloud and misty rain. It was quite eerie. But the rainforest on our property loves it, and the rivulet is flowing strongly.

Damp dogs

2011-08-09T23:02:00.001+10:00

This week's misty rain has drenched everything thoroughly... including the dogs. They've been sleeping inside, but on Saturday they were outside all day and this is what they looked like. Oh dear. What a sad picture. More than damp, that's for sure. Then I went to Sydney for work for a few days and left poor David to face dog toweling duties alone. It's hard work.

Out on the range

2011-07-28T20:15:00.004+10:00

Before we got our chooks, I had every intention of letting them free-range around our place, except in the wallaby-proof fenced house yard. Then we heard the tales of quolls and devils decimating our neighbours' flocks and saw the wedge-tailed eagles soaring overhead, and I chickened out (no pun intended). Since they arrived as half-grown pullets, they've been inside their fully enclosed yard and hen house.

But to stay healthy, chooks need access to grass, insects, minerals, stones and so on. If the land is over-grazed, there's none of this left and they are likely to get sick. I hadn't realised just how quickly they completely decimate vegetation and soil in a given enclosed area. That's why permaculture systems rotate chooks through three or four separate yards during the year. Pity I didn't do the poultry course BEFORE I got the chooks.

In fact, most chook disappearances happen at night, when something breaks into the hen house. Thanks to the solid timber pickers hut that is now the hen house, and David's hard work fencing and reinforcing it, that's relatively unlikely. So for the past week or so I have been letting the girls out into the unfenced area, and gradually increasing the time they are out.

I still feel a bit nervous about it, with my main concern being our own dopey dog Baerli who has shown an interest in them (and anything else that moves) from the other side of the fence. But despite being agitated, so far at least, she has not jumped the fence to chase a wallaby or to chase after us when we walk down the road. And at least we have no foxes here... oops, contentious assertion, that one :-)

I also feel happier, seeing the girls out there kicking up leaf litter and foraging for tasty snacks. And in the late afternoons as it starts to get dark, I get to feel like the Pied Piper leading a line of happy hens back into the shed to roost for the night.

Starry nights, icy mornings

2011-07-26T20:01:00.000+10:00

We have had some heavy frosts this past week. The puddles are frozen. Ice sparkles in the sunlight. Some days the frost hasn't melted at all in places, especially on the rocks. Many have a thick crust of ice and whole 'slices' or outer shells of rock crumble and fall off in an interesting weathering effect once the ice melts. There has been fog down in the valley, but up here on the hill it has been clear skies, sun, stars and frost. This frost-encrusted leaf was lying in the driveway on the way to the chook shed in the morning:

All that glitters

2011-07-21T22:10:00.000+10:00

I loved the following description of a certain type of blogger in a very funny recent post on chef Steve Cumper's blog:

My life is so dreamy and your isn’t
These bloggers are responsible for affluenza-like symptoms of envy in readers as they grow, harvest and cook in their desirable homes which resonate with overwhelming creativity and appreciation for the aesthetic life. A difficult life to emulate from one’s council flat.

I can see myself in several of the blogger types listed, but this one made me think. I have certainly felt envious after reading others' blogs. It's not that I feel jealous of their life - I like my own very much - but most definitely of their talents. The abundant vegetable gardens, creative photography, music, craft and DIY masterpieces, pretty pastel cupcakes and sumptuous dinner party menus... sigh. It's not just blogs of course. I have been an avid reader of Country Style magazine for many years while I dreamed of and plotted an escape from the suburbs, but I must say the pages full of creative people eating their own organic produce and raising delightful children on their stunning, historic rural properties mostly make me think: "how the hell can they afford it?!!" Are they all semi-retired investment bankers?

That comment on Steve's blog made me think about what we post and what we don't; what we are prepared to tell close friends versus complete strangers; what is the truth behind the photos on the blog. I guess tales of financial woes, health issues, battles with bureaucracy, family feuds, bouts of depression and stress at work are unlikely to make entertaining reading and best kept private. 'Be generous of spirit' is a wise guideline once given to me for online interaction, if you don't wish it to come back and bite you on the backside. Be positive. Glass half full and all that.

Looking at my blog this week, you'd think there I was enjoying the frosty mornings in the Huon Valley, looking out over our newly planted fruit trees and hiking in the great outdoors. But the truth is here I am in Sydney for work, sitting in a tiny fluorescent lit hotel room on my computer until late. Not exactly idyllic, but it most certainly means I have something to look forward to.

Frosty pawprints

2011-07-20T21:27:00.000+10:00

David thinks I'm a bit obsessed about taking photos of footprints... wallaby tracks in the snow, Bernese Mountain Dog paws, Tassie devil tracks in the mud, my own footprints... okay he has a point. When our elderly cat Lilly ventured out on one of the very frosty mornings last week, David took this picture for me. Cute!

Fruit trees are in

2011-07-19T20:35:00.000+10:00

On the same day that we had five inches of lovely snow, I received an email from Woodbridge Fruit Trees to say that the trees I had ordered were ready for collection. Bugger. I really didn't fancy trying to plant them in that weather. Then it got worse... the weather that is. Driving rain, strong winds, then more snow. On the Sunday, we drove (the long way around due to road closures) to Woodbridge to collect our six apples, two pears and one apricot. I hadn't seen that much snow on the Sleeping Beauty range before.

I read on the grower's web site that it is okay to 'heel in' the young trees for a week or so by digging a hole in any garden soil and completely covering the roots with damp earth. I figured that the empty vegetable bed would do for a few days - nice soft earth and safe from chewing dogs and nibbling wallabies. So there they stayed until last Saturday, when I dug holes and planted them, topping them up with soil and mulch, while David extended the trellis arrangement for the espalier and fenced the whole lot in... again to stop our silly dogs from eating the manure and compost or pulling up the young trees. He also fenced in the two ornamental pears planted a few weeks ago and the apricot. I reckon it looks really great. Here's hoping that the trees will like their new home and give us plenty of fruit over the coming years.

Umbrella Point walk

2011-07-18T22:14:00.000+10:00

Yesterday we walked with our social walking group to Umbrella Point on Bruny Island. We all parked at the ferry terminal in Kettering and walked aboard. It's free if you walk, but $28 for cars. Bruny Island looks very dry - in the settled part that is, not the National Park - with yellowish-brown grasses and sparse eucalypt woodlands. But we discovered that the ground was actually pretty soggy under that grass. We were warned to wear boots and gaiters, and thanks to the long wet grass, we all ended up wet from the knees down. Except for the two members of our party who came by boat and rowed ashore to join us for lunch!

The coastal views on Bruny are pretty and it was interesting to see the different levels of debris on each of the beaches and coves we passed, and the colours of some of the rocks. Those group members who had walked there some years ago were surprised how many houses there are now. Despite skirting the shore to avoid them, we ended up on private property where the owner was not thrilled about us walking through... he was nice enough about it though. I was a bit of laggard on the walk, the tail-end Charlie, which is not like me. Frankly I was a bit exhausted after a day of digging holes on Saturday... more on that later.

Gratuitous tree photo

2011-07-12T14:21:00.000+10:00

Doesn't this big wattle in our driveway look pretty dusted in snow?

Wild wild weather

2011-07-10T17:44:00.000+10:00

Thursday - five inches of snow. Friday - rain and gale force winds. Saturday - more strong winds, ice, rain. Today - more snow. All this water has to go somewhere... and a lot of it is rushing down Prices Creek and into the Huon River, which has breached its banks at Huonville (the road to Cygnet was closed this afternoon) and also at Franklin, where the swans are enjoying the newly submerged grass in the park.

Egg-cellent

2011-07-09T17:55:00.001+10:00

The girls have been doing a good job. Ever since the surprise earlier-than-expected start to their laying, followed by the discovery of a hen sitting on nine eggs, our four chooks have generally been providing an egg a day, sometimes two, sometimes four, sometimes none. The yolks are not all as yellow as I'd like yet, but the eggs are fresh and tasty, mostly around the 60g mark, and brown and speckled, just as Barnevelder eggs should be. This one is sitting in a Huon Pine egg cup given to us by an old friend of David's years ago. She must have known something. Eventually we brought it back to Tassie.

New trees

2011-07-08T16:10:00.000+10:00

Late on Monday afternoon I planted two ornamental pear trees, to replace trees I removed recently after they were chewed by one naughty pup. They came from someone in the local Landcare group who was digging up 30 or so of them on their property and kindly giving them away. Monday night we had howling winds and I wondered if they'd still be upright in the morning. Thursday they were covered in snow. Today it is blowing a gale again. They look happy enough, but I'm still crossing fingers that they survive the transplanting and last long enough for me to put up some protective wire around them on the weekend to deter dopey dogs.

Let it snow...

2011-07-07T12:30:00.001+10:00

As expected, we woke this morning to a beautiful, crisp five inches of snow. Once it was light enough, we spent some time outside playing with the dogs and taking way too many photos. Bit worried about whether anything buried under snow in the veggie beds will survive though!

Snow dogs

2011-07-06T07:35:00.000+10:00

Good timing

2011-07-05T11:55:00.004+10:00

On Saturday, our wood heater was installed.

This morning, it started to snow.

Comedy in the Valley

2011-07-01T10:00:00.001+10:00

Last night we headed into Hobart for The Comedy Forge, a huge line-up of comedians presenting new material at the dank-yet-cheery old Brisbane Hotel for only $2. Interestingly, we have seen way more comedy here than we ever did in Sydney, simply because it is so easy - no parking or transport hassles and it's cheap. There is also quite a comedy 'community' or 'scene' here with some terrific talent.

BUT... for all you folks who live in the Huon Valley and The Channel, you don't even need to travel into Hobart to see great comedy. The Brookfield Comedy Club is on the second Wednesday of every month, at Brookfield Vineyard in Margate. There's usually a headline act visiting from the mainland or overseas, plus a changing line-up of Tassie acts. Brookfield's restaurant is open for dinner bookings before the show. And then there's the Hobart Comedy Festival coming up later this month. Put it in the diary, come along and have a larf!

Stalker swan

2011-06-28T19:24:00.001+10:00

As we walked along the river at Franklin with friends visiting from Sydney last weekend, this swan followed us all the way.

Mirror image

2011-06-27T20:53:00.007+10:00

I'm not much of a photographer, but it's hard to take a really bad shot on the Huon, in good weather or bad. Last weekend, it was flat and glassy and Tetsuya's boat was still moored at Franklin. Some crazy kids were playing in the river; that must have been a bit icy.

Meat crisis

2011-06-27T10:31:00.000+10:00

Our friends visiting over the weekend were amused by this store window sign in Cygnet when we visited for the Mid-Winter Lantern Parade and dinner at The Red Velvet Lounge on Saturday. Now, I've been known to crave roast pork or a nice steak now and then, but this sign left us pondering the circumstances in which an emergency butcher is required...

SOS

2011-06-22T16:36:00.000+10:00

'Save our Schools' has been the cry in small communities around Tasmania for the past week, after the State Government delivered its cost slashing budget last Thursday, recommending the closure of 20 schools, amongst them Franklin Primary School just down the road from us.

The school was established in 1860 making it one of the oldest in the State. Currently, 108 students attend. Bizarrely, Franklin Primary was the recipient of $850,000 under the Federal Government's 'Building the Education Revolution' stimulus funding during the global financial crisis, and the beautiful new library building only this month won a 'People's Choice' in the Tasmanian Architecture Awards. What a dreadful waste if the closure goes ahead.

I don't have children, so clearly it doesn't affect me personally, but the impact of decisions like this are felt throughout small communities, affecting not only the kids and their parents but potentially also local businesses, rural industries, sporting and social groups, community events and so on. It is great to see how everyone in Franklin is rallying around the cause, with protests, meetings, lobbying and a Facebook page set up by parents and friends of the school.

Quark

2011-06-20T10:35:00.001+10:00

When I returned home after 14 months in Germany in early 1989, I brought with me several recipes from Oma (the grandmother of the family I lived with) that included quark as a primary ingredient. Oma was a wonderful cook and one of the kindest people I have ever met, with a subtle yet wicked sense of humour. Originally from Austria, she had once cooked for the household of some bigwig American official. Amongst Oma's recipes that required quark was one for Schnecken, those delicious pastry snails filled with currants, raisins, almonds and cinnamon, and another for a pastry base used to make various fruit slices or flans, including the wonderful Zwetschgenkuchen which is topped with small, slightly bitter plums. To die for.

I love quark. In fact my main reason for wanting to learn how to make cheese is to make this stuff. Aside from the great pastry recipes, my favourite dessert in Germany was a simple banana quark - ripe mashed bananas and a little sugar or honey mixed with quark. Delicious.

For years, it was impossible to buy quark in suburban Sydney. A couple of German bakers told me that one of the upmarket and expensive delicatessens - now they seem to be called 'providores' - in Paddington stocked it. Another baker told me he sourced it direct from a cheesemaker friend. Recently I picked up a jar of it at our local IGA supermarket from well-known Tasmanian organic dairy producer Elgaar Farm. No big surprise then that the owners are German... sorry, Bavarian!

So more than 20 years after I wrote down the recipe in German from Oma, I finally made Schnecken. The pastry wasn't quite what it should be (I had neglected to write down the quantity of flour and the vanilla sugar was not Dr. Oetkers!) and some looked more like slugs than snails. Very tasty, nonetheless.

Broccoli

2011-06-15T17:29:00.000+10:00

Many of my early attempts at growing vegetables from seed have been spectacularly unsuccessful. This broccoli is the only one we're going to eat from the garden this year I'm afraid.

Cathedral Rock

2011-06-14T21:01:00.001+10:00

When we drive down the Huon Highway heading home from Hobart, I often look right and see spectacular Cathedral Rock, part of the extensive Wellington Park bushland. So I was very pleased to be able to tick this walk off my 'to do' list today, joining a group of 14 people from the Hobart Walking Club for the 600m climb from the North West Bay River. The weather was perfect. This walk is described as 'a solid climb to a spectacular cliff with interesting views' - very accurate. It was also my final 'qualifying walk' to become a member of the Hobart Walking Club. Excellent!