Reflections

In the year or so since we moved down from the hills of Franklin into the centre of town, I must have taken hundreds of photos of the Huon River, it's different moods, the high tides and the low, sparkling water and gloomy, its boats and birds and more besides. At one point I had to stop taking my phone with me when we walked Gretchen. Every day something would catch my eye and I would whip out the phone. It was driving David crazy. My phone was filling up with river views. Now, with restrictions on what we can do and where we can go during the pandemic, I've never been more grateful for our twice-daily dog walks along the river. It's calm and reflective. Just what we need right now.

Forest bathing

On Easter Monday I went for a rather long walk. More than 25km, according to Runkeeper. After weeks of being cooped up in 'iso', like (almost) everyone else, I was desperate for a leg stretch and some forest bathing, as I believe the Japanese call it. I turned left after leaving our front gate, then left again and just kept walking, up into the hills. Up and up, past the houses and fields of cows and chooks, to the land of wallabies and lyrebirds. Ah, the smell of fresh rainforest air.

I visited the Old Mill site in the forest for the first time since the surrounding coupe was logged a few years back. Then hiked down some forestry roads, in the hope of finding my way through to the top of a different road to return down the hill. However, it has changed a bit up there, and I got stuck and had to return the same way. It's been more than a year since bushfire roared through some of these lands, and I was a bit surprised how little has grown back in places. I was expecting much more green regrowth and undergrowth I guess. Next time I'll try the walk in reverse to see if I can work out how I got through last time. I love exploring the hills of the Huon.

The three amigos

In the camping ground on the Franklin foreshore, there are three greedy ducks that can often be seen around breakfast or dinner time, accosting people sitting outside their campervan, caravan or tents. They stand patiently in a queue, waiting for food. Cheeky chaps. But cute. And yes, it's the same trio each time.

Global village

Our little village of Franklin is filled with accents from around the world, as the fruit pickers come to stay and work in nearby orchards. Over the past month, we've met young people from Canada, the USA, France, Italy, China and Taiwan. There's a nice summery vibe in town with all the visitors. A tent city has sprung up in the camping ground on the river. Friends are hosting pickers in their homes and Kon's pub (a.k.a. the Franklin Tavern) is full. Unfortunately it seems the fruit season hasn't been so good this year - for cherries anyway - and the work may dry up early. Not good news, for the growers or the pickers.

Peace and goodwill

Unlike many parts of Australia blanketed in bushfire smoke, we were lucky in southern Tasmania. Christmas showed up with mostly clear sunny days. It came and went far too quickly. There was the now traditional Christmas Eve cruise on the Nancy with friends. On Christmas Day our dear friends and former neighbours included us in their family Christmas lunch, which was followed by a hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity. Then a dog walk and a beer down on the river. Perfect.

End of an era

After a few false alarms and more comebacks than John Farnham (just joking guys), the wonderful Village Antiques of Franklin has finally closed its doors, going out with a bang of the auctioneer's gavel. The Bowmont building which housed the store has been sold and lovely new owners have moved in - more on that later I am sure. After viewings on Friday and Saturday, a good crowd turned up on Sunday for the huge auction of remaining stock, held in the old evaporators factory on the Franklin foreshore. We popped in and out during the day and missed out on the few items we had our eye on, but never mind. I could see just how much work had gone into it by owners Shane and Jane and some trusty helpers. Luckily for Franklin, they are not going far, just a short way up the hill. Now, who wants to buy the huge evaporators building and be part of the exciting renewal of Franklin?

Six cygnets

We'd heard from our friends at the good ship Yukon that there were cygnets around in Franklin, and on one of our dog walks along the Huon River in Franklin this week we got lucky, spotting this pair of proud parents with six beautiful tiny babies! I don't recall seeing so many in one batch or such little ones before. They came close for a look before sailing away across the river, hopefully to a safe spot.

New eatery in town

Last week the revitalisation of Franklin continued, with the much-anticipated opening of Osteria at Petty Sessions, a lovely new Italian bistro. It's wonderful to see the old Petty Sessions building, a former court house so beautifully renovated and being used again. And it's less than 500m from our front door! We wish Sofia and Martino much success with their new venture. As much as we will miss the best-ever pizza they used to make at their old premises, the menu at Osteria has something for everyone. To start, we shared a salumi board with house-cured meats, house bread and pickles, and our group opted for pasta, osso buco and scallops for mains. The desserts were generous with some Italian favourites you'd expect like gelato with brandied cherries (I loved it) and and kick-ass tiramisu (as it said on the menu). And then there's the all-local beverage list. Yum.

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.

Franklin History Walk

A couple of months back, beautiful timber plinths started appearing along the main street of Franklin. Then slowly, plaques outlining the history of each building were attached to them all, as well as to the walls of street-fronting buildings like our own new home, the former Commercial Bank of Australia building.

Today, the Franklin History Walk was officially opened, with a launch at Abbey on Main (former Methodist church, now accommodation) and a display of snippets of Franklin history. The walk is a project of the Franklin Progress Association, funded by a Tasmanian Government community infrastructure grant, and clearly took a lot of work from the Franklin History Group and others in the local community. It's a fantastic addition to the village and hopefully will encourage people to walk the full length of the main street as well as along the river banks, where a series of waterside panels explain more about life on the water.

A lovely booklet outlining the town's history and including a map listing all the points of interest along the walk is available for only $2. In addition to the white settler history, the booklet pays respect to the traditional and original owners of this land, the melukerdee people, as well as today's Tasmanian Aboriginal community who are the custodians of this land. I picked up one copy today, but think I'd better keep a few more handy for visitors. Come on down sometime for a stroll. It takes about 1.5 hours to walk the whole thing, depending on how fast you walk and read I guess!

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.