And the there were four.....

The crap summer is behind us and autumn thus far, has been quite delightful. Granted, there have been a few chilly nights and rainy days but there have been lots of magnificent sunny days to make up for it. We’ve had a few weekend visitors of late and they too have enjoyed the pleasures of a southern Tassie autumn.

Autumn has also brought with it our fair share of wildlife encounters. There are fewer rabbits in our yard but enough to keep Floyd entertained – he’ll never catch one…or will he. He surprised us recently by catching and terminating a bandicoot with incredible efficiency. Since that day, he has become quite obsessed with the mice that infiltrate our house (and everyone else’s) at this time of year – he’ll never catch one…or will he? Not long after the bandicoot incident, we continued our walk and came across an abandoned joey. Don’t know about you but I thought it would be a fairly simple task to find a compassionate soul to take on said joey. It took about 30 calls and at one point I was asked to identify whether it was a pademelon, potaroo or some other critter. Ended up having to SMS a photo – not easy to manage when holding the little riggler in one hand while taking several mug shots with the other – we required a front on and profile shot whilst keeping it warm and calm (bit like rubbing your tum & patting your head at the same time!). The afternoon evaporated but help was finally found in Huonville when I dropped the tiny pademelon off to a carer. If it were a potaroo, it would have needed a different carer and a special enclosure, as they apparently climb trees! You learn something every day.

A few weeks on and not far from home, a little dog ran in front of my car in the 100 zone. I’m glad I had the road to myself, swerving to miss it and pulling over in a driveway to pick it up. What a tiny Jack Russell type – puppy, we thought. A trip to a vet, a call to the council, she was identified as an escapee from a nearby property called Brightside. They are a charitable organisation that re-houses abandoned & neglected animals. The “puppy” is estimated to be a 5 – 7 year old bitch that was on death row in Mildura. She was flown to Tasmania for rescue & proved to be quite the Houdini – weighing not more than a kilo or two, she could squeeze through the smallest gaps (that surely won’t last, at our place!). She returned to Brightside for de-sexing, teeth extraction (5 teeth – she must have been neglected), vaccinating and micro-chipping. She is now home with us and named Matilda but we call her Tilly. Hubby has long been keen to have a companion for our very precious Floyd, whilst I’ve been reluctant to invade his space. To keep him quiet I suggested if the right dog came along, I would consider it…Well talk about the right dog coming along and colliding head on with my heart strings…..It’s hard to say yet if it will work out – Floyd really doesn’t appear overly impressed (nor does he look like a lean machine next to little Tilly) but in my absence this weekend, I have been reliably informed that they have been seen snuggling up together and ganging up a few times a day demanding walkies. T’was a damn sight easier to ignore one than two and since Tilly still needs to be watched, she sports a really annoying cat bell on her collar. Up and down the hall constantly….please, please, please…walkies, please, please, please. They are adorable – really they are.

An ex-colleague from Sydney rang this week to say he had a dream I came back and begged to get my old job back. What a distant memory that life now is and how wrong could his dream have been? Life’s terrific, home’s terrific, work’s just fine and all is well. We really love our new life. I told our most recent guests – I am excited by simplicity. In this modern life, simplicity is not as simple to achieve as we might imagine and something I now strive for. I’m de-cluttering my head…then I’ll start on the house…(will I ever be that brave? Don’t know, really don’t know). I’ll keep trying.

The first 12 months - February 2011

From Sydney to Cygnet, from unemployment to part-time to full-time work, what a jam packed year it has been. I apologise to anyone who may have been hanging out for the latest installment of our sea/tree change – but you know how it is, life has a way of taking over and sweeping you away with it.

‘Tis the time of year that our fruit (should be) ripe or ripening. It has been a mixed bag , as the summer has been dismal and my vision of becoming the supplier of intensely hot, beautifully formed, ripe red chillies to Southern Tasmania, soon came to naught – naught is the nice round number of chillies I have managed to produce! Our cherries, though netted (but not pegged) were completely wiped out by blackbirds and to add insult to injury, they followed that performance with delightful displays of pink shit on my car for several days. Talk about full circle…

The cherry plums have been abundant, and the nectarines and pears are coming along well. As for hubby’s plantings, though summer is almost finished, the tomatoes are still green. The strawberries have regularly been devoured by something before they ripened, all other berries have failed (- luckily the McArthurs have supplied us a staggering amount of strawberries & raspberries from their endeavours) and SOMEONE left a fantastic crop of lettuces in the ground to turn to slush after a few days of rain.

It has been great fun scooping up lots of cold dirt and unearthing fresh Dutch Cream potatoes, ranging from cherry tomato in size to about 6 inches long and they have been delish. As have the local Pink Eyes, a spud for which the region is rightly proud. I’m sure there’s little money to be saved but there is something so satisfying about harvesting your own crops.

And of course, there are no excuses now for a second rate dinner - with such wonderful produce and a new Ilve oven and cooktop…… The old oven was on its last legs so I finally relented and opted for the very best I could buy (pay off on the credit card). It’s the first new oven I’ve ever had and it’s so much more efficient, it’s almost like learning to cook all over again! The first attempt – roast chicken with roast root veggies was ready half an hour early…totally unheard of on a weeknight at our place.

Now I’m nicely settled in my full time job, I promise to update more frequently, so until next time……au revoir!