The Franklin Fruit Loop

Some years back, friends and neighbours Deb and Martin and Shane and Jane had a really lovely idea - to create a public walkway lined with fruit trees along the boundary of their land, between Old Road and New Road in Franklin. The sun came out this afternoon as we gathered for the official opening of this great gift to the local community. We took the dog and a thermos of tea and enjoyed some sweet treats, the violin of Marjorie Gadd and a poem written and read by Steve Gadd for the occasion. The walk has beautiful views over Franklin village, the river and Egg Islands and north to the Wellington Range. Cattle graze in the neighbouring paddocks. The walk is being planted with fruit and nut trees and runs alongside a wildlife corridor with bandicoots frequent visitors to the property.

The first home we tried to purchase in Tasmania was in Lalla in the north of the state. On the boundary was a 'pear walk', a corridor of pear trees planted more than 100 years ago. I thought it was a wonderful idea. Now thanks to the generosity and vision of these local property owners, our community will be able to enjoy the peace, get some exercise and in time, pick some fruit along the way on this lovely pathway. From the Huon Highway, walk up either Old Road or New Road and you can't miss the signs.

Morning walks, then and now

Twenty minutes walk from our old home up in the hills of Franklin, you could catch a glimpse of the Hartz Mountains. At sunrise, with a fog in the valley between us, it seemed extra special. The forestry roads were rocky and sometimes a little icy or muddy or dusty, depending on the season. Quiet, but for the amazing lyrebirds and the thud of pademelons hopping away in the undergrowth.

Now, we live on the main road in Franklin. I can either hike directly up the steep Old Road hill for a good heart starter and return in an easy jog down New Road, or pick a direction and head along the river. There are streetlights, cars and trucks. Whatever the weather, the view across the river is pretty.

Village life

It's been ten days since we moved down from the hills of Franklin into the centre of the village. This morning we walked across the road to the war memorial for the Anzac Day service, followed by a community breakfast at the Franklin Bowls Club. We've gone from having a large fenced yard to a small garden with no grass, so we take Gretchen across the road for regular short walks along the river. She's quickly settling in to being dog-about-town instead of farm dog. Yesterday evening we ran into friends on our walk who mentioned they were heading to the pub afterwards, so we met them there. Collecting our mail means wandering next door instead of a drive down the hill. There's a lovely little organic store only a short walk down the road, where you can refill your jars of dry goods like flour, rice and spices. David has had customers visit his main road office. And to my great surprise, the traffic noise hasn't kept me awake at all. I'm sure it will have its challenges, but so far village life is proving to be a nice change and an interesting little adventure.

Bernese Worldwide Walk 2019 - Hobart

Yesterday we finally made it to the Hobart edition of the Bernese Worldwide Walk 2019. We've missed previous years due to other commitments and dear old Baerli being unable to walk very far in her last couple of years. This year, there were 16 of these beautiful, good-natured dogs and their owners. We gathered near the Cornelian Bay Boathouse for a short walk and a photo opportunity of course. Gretchen was such a good girl, we weren't sure how she would go with such a large group of dogs without Baerli to follow. Amazingly at 8.5 years she was the oldest Bernese Mountain Dog there! There were four 18 month old ones from the same litter, oh boy, they were boisterous and funny. We had a lovely couple of hours, patting all the dogs and meeting all their owners. It's hard to say if Gretchen enjoyed it, but fair to say she enjoyed the trip to Willie Smiths on the way home, more specifically the tiny piece of ham that "fell" from my cheese-and-ham toastie.

Goodbye, ladies

It's a sad day as I farewell all 14 of my remaining chooks, including Vladimir the rooster. They are all safely packed in boxes, cat carriers and crates and on the way to their lovely new home as I type. This time next week we'll be moving into our new place "in town" with no room for chooks. This morning I threw their favourite leftover rice and curry out for them, gave them fresh water and felt a little sad watching them peck around in excitement.

I felt even sadder when I closed up the empty shed tonight. No-one left on the perches. But I am so happy that they going to such a nice new home in the Huon and all staying together as a flock. In other good news: the two friendly New Hampshire hens I gave back to the people I got them from as chicks have settled in well. They are now known as "The Suzies". That really makes me smile. Longer term, I will definitely miss eating an egg that was only laid yesterday for breakfast! It's the best.

It must be autumn

A sea of these classic fairytale fungi has appeared under the silver birch trees next to the garage. They're so pretty, but I dug them up, worried that Gretchen might fancy eating them.

 

We bought a bank

It's exciting times for us, as we look forward to moving into The Old Bank in Franklin next month. It's a building we've admired over the years, as much for the huge shed immediately behind it with so much potential as for the very solid brick building that is part of the village streetscape, and heritage registered for that reason. One night over pizza at the Aqua Grill, David raised the idea of buying it. It was on the market again after selling to a lovely couple a few years back. Before that it housed a Naval Museum which we visited with my parents some years back.

As much as David and I love all the beautiful old homes in Tasmania, when we first moved here our choice was to move into a newer house, for a few reasons. We were bringing a (small) house full of modern furniture with us from Sydney, such as a huge glossy white bookcase that wouldn't fit into an older home with low ceilings and cosy rooms. We couldn't afford to replace everything. We also needed to get back to work immediately and couldn't spend time renovating. I really admire the lovely renovated farm houses and historic homes we've visited here over the years, but I'm not sure I could do it myself. And so many older homes on the market at the time seemed so draughty and dark, with lots of wood panelling and small windows. So we bought an almost new colourbond home on 9 beautiful acres up in the hills, where we could move right in with all our existing stuff and get straight back to work. Almost nine years on, we're thrilled to now have a little piece of local history to take care of.

People keep asking us what we're going to do with the Old Bank. To be honest, we don't know. There are so many possibilities, lots of ideas floating around. So to start with, we'll be moving in and doing exactly what we are now - working a corporate job (me) and running a business (David). We'll have a mortgage again, so we can't go crazy! It will be a significant lifestyle change for us, living on the main road in the village. I'll miss the sun first thing on winter mornings, the silence and delicious tank water. I have to sell my chooks. But we'll be right across the road from the river! We'll have bin night! We can walk to buy a coffee, a pizza or a cider! There's a bus stop at the door, hardly any garden and so many rooms! It's time for a change and I'm looking forward to it.