Ecowood

Ten years ago in Sydney, we bought a single, 1.2 metre square raised garden bed made from recycled printer cartridges. It was sturdy and durable and looked great. But before we had much chance to use it, we bought a new home in Tasmania, and a few short weeks later we were heading to our new home. At our new place in the Huon Valley, I fancied using rustic apple crates to grow veggies in and we collected some from a local orchard. They looked beautiful, but after a few years filled with soil in the sun, rain and snow, they started to rot and fall apart. We replaced them with some fantastic dove tailed timber beds, but after a couple of years they settled, warped and also started to fall apart. Now in our main street home, we have a very small garden but enough room for a few raised beds to grow some basics. So I went online and found the same company still supplying a variety of kits and ordered some. On the weekend we part-filled the eWood garden beds with newspaper, compost, sheep manure and garden soil ready to plant in spring... which is just around the corner! I am sure they will serve us for years to come.

 

Rooftops

By moving into the village, we've swapped views of treetops and paddocks for views of rooftops from many of the windows. I love seeing the colourful corrugated roofs and brick chimneys on the old cottages and commercial buildings along the main street and those hidden behind. The bare trees are gradually being replaced with blossom and new green shoots. And from the front windows, we can see the Huon River flowing past. It's a pleasant outlook on all sides.

Parkrunning

After many - and I mean MANY - months of "thinking about it" (making excuses mostly) I finally completed my first parkrun this morning. Parkrun is a global movement and there are more than 350 of these events across Australia each week, bringing people together for better health and mental wellbeing, fun and a sense of community. Around 2,000 people run every week across Tasmania, as I found out watching this video of local MP David O'Byrne talking about the first anniversary of the Geeveston Parkrun in the Tasmanian Parliament last week.

The sun came out as I arrived in Geeveston and the friendly volunteers made me feel welcome. A tree had fallen across the usual track in last night's high winds and they'd set up a small diversion. Three laps of the course - for me part-running, part-walking - a stretch and that's exercise done for the day. Then it's off for coffee and well-deserved cake or onto whatever other activities the day holds. I can see why it's kind of addictive. Now let's see how my legs feel tomorrow!