Autumn Tints.

Yesterday we drove up to New Norfolk to see what autumn colour we could see! This is the hop growing area and there are lots and lots of poplar trees surrounding the hopfields, and these turn a beautiful shade of gold at this time of year. This is the view across the River Derwent, funny to think this is the same river which runs out through Blackmans Bay to the sea, where it is so much wider!




More views across the river, more beautiful trees, we don't have so many deciduous trees as in Europe so we have to make the most of them.




I zoomed right in here.




This is the entrance to the Salmon Ponds, where the first Trout and Salmon Hatchery was established in Tasmania. The hatchlings were brought all the way over from the Mother Country and it took several attempts before they got it right. The things they did in those days!!

Happy Birthday to my Blog!!

Sorry Blog, I forgot your first birthday!! Is it really over a year since I started this, I have never managed to keep an online diary this long before, it must be YOUR feedback which keeps me going.

This time a year ago I went up to Tarn Shelf with Colleen to see the Notafagus Gunnaei (deciduous Beech to you) and we were too early, remember? Well this time Ken and I didn't even try to make it up to Tarn Shelf but on the winding road up to Lake Dobson there is this stand of deciduous beech, but guess what, it was too early again, in spite of being two weeks later than last year. The beech has only just started to turn golden, but it is nevertheless a pretty little leaf and worth a photo.

Sunrise at my favourite spot yesterday.

I am making the most of these autumn mornings, the days are getting shorter but the sun still shines most of the day, bringing us temperatures in the low twenties.

Dinner time!!

We've all gotta eat!!!!

Well, well, well!

Its all about 'photo composition' they say. How is this for an action shot? I didn't even see the lady jogging along the beach, I just thought how beautiful the bark on the tree was, and was photographing this and she just happened to be in the right place just at the right time!!

I'm off!

Goodbye for now, I have blogged right through the latest edition of Dr. Who and it is now time for 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' which is more up my street.

Edible Images!

Do you know what Edible Images are? I hope Heidi won't mind my showing these four examples to you. They have a printer which prints out pictures or images onto a sheet of, not paper, but icing sugar using, not ink but food colouring, so that they can be consumed. Whatever will they think of next??

Doggy walks!

I often wonder about dogs and their owners, the daily walk is a social occasion for owners as well as canines. Dog owners are, on the whole, a friendly lot, you get the occasional one who obviously objects to their dog and yours having a good old sniff around and it is funny when they cross to the other side of the road so as to avoid these confrontations.

There are so many different breeds, and now the crossbreds as well, like the labradoodles, sproodles and cavoodles, whatever next?

Pontefract Cakes

This is The Margate Train and they recently advertised that they have an English Sweet Shop on board so when we got asked for Pontefract Cakes by one of our customers at the OPHome where we volunteer each week we knew just where to come.




Pontefract cakes (for the uninitiated) are small round black discs of licorice which are made in the town of Pontefract in Yorkshire, England.




They have quite a selection of sweets (known at 'lollies' here.

I think we will have made one little old lady very happy, even if they were $3 for 100 grams!!

Our latest 'house guest'

This is Tassie! He is with us for two weeks, and as you can see, its a Dogs Life at the Blackmans Bay Doggy Hilton. Must be all the walks I keep taking him on. He is a sweet little dog and if I could spell his Breed I would tell you what he was!!!

Heidi and Karlo - the photos you have been waiting for!

This is the new caravan and the ute to tow it, and Karlo of course, enroute to their first mini holiday at Southport. Look good don't they?




They arrived and set up camp, the campsite was good, right near the beach and they found the other campers very friendly, we know all about this, having done it all in our camper trailer.




Couldn't leave Mo at home, as the site was 'pet friendly' they could take him with them.




Heidi phoning home the next morning, there was no telephone cover down there so her mobile was useless, and in the evenings (the nights are drawing in now and it is dark by 6.30) they had DVDs to watch as there was no TV recei]ption.

All in all, they enjoyed their first little trip away and hope to do it again in the near future.

Cuppa Tea!

Its time for my first cup of tea for the day, it is quarter to six, will soon be light, maybe I ought to take Rocky, the poodle I am minding at the moment, for a walk and see what we can see.

See you tomorrow morning, maybe!

By the way, it is Mandie's birthday today, although I don't expect she will want to be reminded of it. They came back from Wellington (NZ) last night so we will be catching up with them today, as today is a Public Holiday - honestly these Tasmanians do like to stretch it out, not content with having Good Friday and Easter Monday, they have Easter Tuesday as well!!! I would hate to be an employer, and have to pay them for doing nothing.

Birds - again!

At the risk of boring you, yet again, with birds, this is a Kelp Gull, we have three sorts of seagulls here on our beach, the little silver gull, the kelp gull and the larger Pacific Gull.



This is the Pied Oystercatch, which flies in from time to time to wade around at the waters edge to see what goodies he can find!




and last but not least, this is the little Fairy Tern who usually comes with his mates, but this morning he was all on his own with a flock of silver gulls. I love his black cap.

Easter Sunday

On Sunday we caught up with Heidi at her local 'Open Space' Dru Point (where we went for breakfast on Christmas Day - if you remember) and Ken and Heidi did some drawing together while I went for a walk to find some birds! This is a sort of wetlands area so there are lots of water birds, these cormorants on the branch took my fancy, especially when they spread their wings to dry out! There were also black swans, pied oystercatchers and even a couple of pelicans in the distance beside the numerous seagulls. It is great going there, I can always be sure of seeing something or other!!

Good Friday

This is Joan's vegie garden, and what a view!! On Friday we went to Joans for our usual 'Girls Day' but as it was a holiday we let the 'boys' come too. Joan has created this oasis in the desert and they have only been there a short while, she really has the knack with gardening!!

Las came in handy for slaving over the BBQ in their new little courtyard on the side of the house.

After lunch we went for a walk along the beach, there are some cute little boathouses which I thought were worth a shot.

This is Joan's beach, not very long or wide but very picturesque and very accessible.

As you sow, so shall you reap!!

There was never a truer saying, I planted these New Zealand Flax in April 2006 and by November 2007 they had grown probably as big as I would have wanted. But oh no, they went on growing and now, four years later, they are a serious problem and must be got rid of!

I should never have planted them there in the first place, obviously I did not realise how big they would get, shows you need to do your research first Hazel. It is now going to be a massive job to get them out, maybe if I do a bit of the preliminary cutting back (I have already started) I might be able to get a strong grandson to come down and give me a hand!!

And then I will have to start all over again, it will look pretty desolate for a bit. Have made up my mind to stick to succulents in future, as grasses grow out of control.

Screensaver

This is my current Screensaver, taken the other morning on my daily walk down to the beach. I have taken this photo many times since we have been here, and I think how lucky we are to be living in such a beautiful place, and it is all so accessible, four minutes and I am down on the beach.

We have put our clocks back an hour, so the mornings are lighter but soon after 6 pm it is dark, don't like that! With the darkness comes the cold, and last night for the first time this year we lit the fire. It soon gets cosy in the living room and there is something about a wood fire, as opposed to electric heaters. Our wood fire is very efficient and a couple or three logs is all we need for a nice warm evening.

I wonder how Heidi and Karlo are getting along. They have gone away for a couple of nights in their new caravan. They have gone to Southport, a couple of hours away, Southport boasts the southern most Pub in the Southern Hemisphere, or is it in Australia??

And so to bed!!

It really is whatever time it says on this Blog, it is nearly 6 a.m. and I couldn't sleep and you know how I hate wasting time!! I tried counting sheep and I tried counting from 100 backwards, so I got up, made a cup of green tea and came and did some Blogging.

Do you know where the word Blog comes from? I didn't till yesterday when I read one of Kens numerous Newsletters which comes through the computer. It is an amalgam of Web and Log, making Blog when you say it quickly. See, we're never to old to learn, I keep telling you.

One of Ken's Blonde Jokes, it's Easter, time for a joke:

This bloke was watching two blondes, one was digging a hole and the other was filling it in again, this went on all down the road and when he asked them what they were doing they explained that there were usually three of them, but the one who planted the trees was off sick!!

Happy Easter.

Jump Shots.

Croquet isn't all Beer and Skittles, in fact it isn't ANY Beer and Skittles, it can be quite skilful after you have mastered the art of hitting the ball with your mallet you then go on to learn how to put your two balls together (ouch) and send them off in opposite directions. Then you have to learn to 'load a hoop' meaning to put your ball in a position to go through a hoop and put another ball on the other side of the hoop to use when you get through! Are you still with me?
When you get REALLY clever you can do what this bloke is doing in the photos, he is making one ball jump over the ball in the hoop, without touching it, so that he scores the hoop, and not the other bloke, whose ball he has just jumped over!!

Anyone for a game?

To be included in all future Australian Citizen Tests!

This is the very important skill of being able to suck up your Port through a Tim Tam!
Tim Tams (for the uninitiated)are chocolate coated biscuits, you bite off the diagonal corners (so that it will fit into your small port glass) and use your biscuit as you would a drinking straw!! After a few biscuits (and a few ports) you can master the art quite nicely.

Quite a history to this one.

This bike was actually buried in the garden for ten years to escape having to be melted down for the War Effort!! If you can bother to read the Blurb on the plaque it is quite interesting reading.

A visit to the Transport Museum in Launceston

Geez! Motorbikes have come a long way, look at these Harleys and Triumphs, not the comfort they have today but they look like fun.

The Museum in Launceston is really interesting, we spent quite a bit of time there (especially at is was sweltering outside and nice and cool inside) and even though it was a more 'blokey' thing to do it made a change. They have some brilliant exhibits, and lots of them are just on loan from their Owners for others to enjoy.

Still Harvesting!

Well, the Pumpkin was a 'Volunteer' i.e. it appeared from nowhere and completely took over my Strawberry patch. It flowered profusely, and then produced this ONE measly pumpkin. Obviously most of the flowers needed to be tickled with a feather to fertilize them (some species do have it easy, don't they, look what us poor Humans have to go through!)

Anyway I did get a Pumpkin but not many more strawberries and quite honestly I would prefer the latter.

Nearly forgot, the green tomatoes were from another friend, they were really beautiful and tasted just a good, if not better, than their red cousins.
Reminded me of the film "Fried Green Tomaytoes" (American pronunciation!)

This Post has corrected not one, but three of my spellings, I resorted to the Pocket Oxford Dictionary and much to my dismay (I pride myself on my spelling usually) I had misspelt (now its querying that) fertilize, measly and one other but I am not going to give in to Tomaytoes, thats how I WANT to spell it and no Spellchecker is going to boss me around, so there!!