Last day of summer

I can't believe it is here - the end of February already. There was a tinge of autumn in the air this week, and the shadows are longer, but today was a perfect, sunny day. In the evening we took the dogs down for a walk and swim down at the river. I thought it was worth a few happy snaps.

Beautiful Hobart

Last night we stayed in Hobart, following the graduation dinner for the 2013 Tasmanian Leaders program. It was a very special night for the 24 of us who completed it last year, as well as for our partners, employers and the many fantastic people who support this program so generously with their time, expertise, experience and funding. We celebrated the end of the formal part of the program and the beginning of so much more with a dinner at the Henry Jones Art Hotel on Hobart's waterfront.

This afternoon I had to fly to Sydney for work. My flight wasn't until later in the day, but it was not worth driving home and back. I spent part of the day wandering Hobart, something I don't get to do often. It's amazing the things I noticed on foot that I had never seen see while driving. It is such a beautiful town. Today, the Sydney Morning Herald published this article: 'Twenty reasons to visit Hobart'. Go on. You know you want to.

Broad beans

In the end, I had to freeze some. I planted fewer broad beans than last year, but we still had way more than we could eat once they were ready to harvest. I had been warned - the plants flowered prolifically. I only tried broad beans for the first time a couple of years back at the Agrarian Kitchen, where we picked them fresh and made a delicious salad with asparagus and spring onions. I have plans to make a dip and risotto using the frozen ones. They now rate as one of my favourite vegetables and are very easy to grow.

New potatoes

During the week, I dug up a nice crop of Dutch Cream potatoes from one of our apple crate raised vegetable beds, along with some random 'surprise' potatoes that had appeared in other garden beds from previous years' plantings. Tonight we'll be eating some of them with dinner, just boiled with butter. Yum.

St. Crispins Well

The original plan was to walk to Pulpit Rock and Mt Connection in the higher altitude parts of Wellington Park, but it was hot and with high winds forecast, it was decided to do a walk on the lower parts of Mount Wellington instead. A good decision, as it turned out. I was home before the crazy weather started - very high winds, rain, hail and long rolling thunder - the most I've heard in Tasmania yet I think. Today's walk along the Pipeline Track to St. Crispins Well afforded lovely views of Cathedral Rock (above). It was shady for the most part, and despite recent dry weather the waters flowed and the air was lovely and cool at the well itself.

The great south west

Yesterday we took a flight with Par Avion to Melaleuca in Tasmania's south west world heritage wilderness area, as part of my Mum's 'big-O' birthday weekend in Tasmania. As you'll see from the photos below, the weather was perfect. There were only six of us on the half day trip, which included a boat ride out onto Bathurst Harbour. The tea coloured waters produce beautiful reflections. A couple of years back I read the books about Deny King and Win and Clyde Clayton who lived in the area last century, so I was keen to see what it really looked like. The views of endless mountain ranges and spectacular peaks were even better than I had expected. I would love to go back in winter to see snow on them. David saw a couple of sun fish in the ocean off the south coast and caught a glimpse of our house from the air on the return journey. Just fabulous, highly recommend this trip.

Feathers

Less than a week after hatching, the chicks had already started growing little wing feathers. I just had to post another photo because they are so cute.