Hazelnut Swirl

 Guess where we went on Wednesday?

Yes, Maria Island.  A boat trip with Eastcoast Cruises to circumnavigate Maria.  We pulled in for a bit of commentary where the ferry pulls in at Darlington

and then we left the wharf behind and travelled north

towards Bishop and Clerk.

Most amazing weather.  Warm and little wind.  Looking towards Freycinet.

There are so many extraordinary geological phenomena that I decided to do a dedication to Mr Doherty who tried valiantly to give us an understanding of these events in high school.

bit hard to see, but there is a slim waterfall coming out of the rock and feeding the greenery

These are the Fossil Cliffs where whole fossilised organisms can be found.  To me, it looks like a built structure.

stalactites where the calcium carbonate leaches from the sandstone and over the metamorphic rock

entrance to a cave which reminded me  of Caerfai and the seacave haunted by The White Lady

going along the northern end of the island now

another amazing geological phenomenon and cave

 now along the island's east coast with yet another type of rock

into a cave which brought back memories of Halong Bay.  I love the colours.

this cave does a horseshoe bend, but is a bit narrow for the boat to enter

Whalers Bay, where we have morning tea

and some of our crew notice a sea eagle behaving strangely.

It doesn't move as we approach and the consensus is that it is injured.  It does finally take flight.  I think it had its eye on a pied oyster catcher nest or brood.  That tiny bird shaped dot between the mounds is an adult pied oyster catcher.

We cruise along the long white sands of Reidle Bay and are just heading out to sea again when we spot whales,

humpback whales, who seem to surround us.  There has been a great increase in the number of whale sightings this year, and I don't know if this is a good or bad thing.  Our fellow passengers go crazy.

We round the southern end of the island at Point Peron and head up the more familiar west coast.

note the owl face at the Painted Cliffs

Then we're back at Darlington

and homeward bound, after an amazing 6 hour cruise.  I had constantly felt the excitement of being on holiday that I had felt as a child.  Steve and I both rated it as one of the best days of our lives - one out of the box.  And my favourite from the Dairy Box selection is the Hazelnut Swirl.

Coming back into the harbour we saw this intriguing sign which begs further investigation, possibly by bicycle.

Triabunna hoves into view

and we climb the gangplank to dry land.

We both decided we would take the trip again although we'll have to pay full price next time.  This was a trip organised by my friend Jane to help out a local business and we got a very reduced rate.  It was lovely being on board with all mates, and Michael, the young owner and boat driver, is totally endearing with his love of the sea and Maria Island.

But then again, Steve and I are thinking it could never be that perfect again...

heritager and heritager

 When I said I wanted to look Monetesque in the garden, I had something like this in mind:

Lauren Bacall, the heritage bicycle, is, of course, all over it.

Here she's seen surveying the Broad Bean Magic Square,

and here she is flagging after a day on location.

After the excitement last week of discovering I had a heritage bicycle, we discovered this week that our house is heritage listed!  This was rather startling news from Council, but nothing we can't handle given what our attempt to make modifications to the house keeps encountering.  Yesterday we were told it was a mistake.  Disinheritaged.

One constant is the pleasure I derive from my contact with the school.  I did Lunch Project prep again on Wednesday.  As I was leaving, the Book Week Parade had just returned:

Handy man

 Steve has developed a passion for drawing hands, so here are my hands doing what I do best.

I was wandering through the garden when he approached me in artist mode.  I was feeling Monetesque.  Perhaps the light was wrong.

Catch up, again

Thursday before last I caught the bus into Hobart.  I've been wanting to do this for a while.  It was a pleasure talking with a white horse and waving to Mr O'Henry and Jazz while waiting for the bus.  One of the reasons I wanted to travel this way was to not have to drive and to be up high so I could have a good look around.  I was particularly interested to see the native vegetation patterns close-up, something you can't really do when you're driving...  Very educational it was, and I arrived in Hobart itching to get home and start gardening.  Fortunately I'd promised myself a pain au chocolat and sushi, delights not available in Triabunna, so I managed to while away the 4 hours until the return bus.  I had a lovely time avoiding the main shopping drag and visiting the quirky little places I love.

yarn bombing seems to be having a renaissance in Hobart

On the bus on the way home, I saw the statues of Mawson's sled dogs wearing colourful woolen coats, but too late to take a photo.

Getting home, I was greeted with another of Judy F's sponges - most welcome after 1.5 hours return on the bus.  How the school kids do the trip twice a day is beyond me.

Can't remember the weekend, probably garden, garden, garden.  Sunday was the Village Market, including a British Car Rally.  I put in an appearance because Steve txt me to say it was the best Triabunna market ever, and I agree.  So many of my friends are there with stalls showing off their arts and crafts, it's like a party.  Naturally I didn't buy anything, but someone did give me $24 donation for the Suicide Prevention Network.

Monday I had the Breakfast Program at school, then stayed on to help with the Lunch Program.  Again, it's like a party with people I really like and admire, plus the kids get really good food - lasagne and salad, followed by baked apple and pear with yoghurt.  And they loved it.

Tuesday turned out to be frantic, starting with zumba and coffee which was the relaxing bit.  In the afternoon I had to fit in picking my bicycle up from a service, going to the library, cleaning the house a bit but particularly the bathroom for a builder to have a look at, and a webinar at 5pm.  Bruce, who runs the bike hire on Maria Island, is very impressed with my bike.  Remember Lauren?  The Bacall bicycle from Malvern Star?  Turns out she's vintage and a collectors' item, particularly if you also have the Bogart Men's Bicycle which I don't.  I promised Bruce, who is rather bike mad, to practise using my new bike pump on an old inner tube, plus executing smooth gear changes.  But time has not permitted so far.

platinum morning at Raspins Beach

Wednesday was School Sports Carnival, so no lunch to be prepared.  This gave me the chance to join the Orford Community Group planting out at Raspins Beach.  The plants, all native pigface, were grown at the Spring Bay Mill by the Pulchella Community Nursery LandCare Group - the plan is coming together.

I went home to enjoy my First Weekend (Wednesday afternoon and Thursday) but got a call from Amanda to say some council indoor staff were going to plant marigolds in the Vertical Garden.  I hot-footed it over there (ie over the road) and helped fill the containers with new soil.  Personally, I'm not too keen on petunias, pansies and marigolds in this space but I know lots of community members who'll love them.

and here's the Flying Pig and cyclamens in the space of the former carport,

there's some re-thinking going on around here

So, lots happening but not many photos.

Bird week

Bird Week is actually this week and these photos were taken last week, however it's been busy and I'm tired and devoid of ideas for meaningful blog post names.

So I named this post after the first photo.  Last week I set out to photograph my garden within an inch of its life to show you what's happening but then realised that may be a little dull for you, though wildly exciting for me.  I took this photo of a starling who was waiting for me to go away so she can nip into the roof of a cabin in the caravan park to feed her noisy chicks.

I have deleted a number of the photos and thought I would just show you how The Magic Squares are coming along.  This one is lying fallow waiting for Steve's tomatoes (which have since been planted).  The back drop is self-sown and I watch with interest.  Next to this square is

the pea plot, hopefully nitrogenating the soil for the next crop.  I also have leeks, miner's lettuce and corn salad in here.

The adjacent square lies fallow, though bordered on 2 sides by self-sown parsley and a cuppla poppies.

Next to this is the broad bean square, again hopefully nitrogenating furiously.

On the Monday we went en famille to Rosny Park to try to disentangle our building modifications' debacle.  Some progress was made.  En route we stopped at Seven Mile Beach so Jilly could have a romp before we did battle at Rosny.

As you can imagine, Jill PD was delighted by the doginess of the beach

and I am pleased to show you a beach without Maria Island in the background.

We all had a lovely time until Jill had a battle with a blue heeler and his mate.  Jill is definitely a lover not a fighter.  Having extricated ourselves unscathed we returned through the sand hills to the car.

This was a very good lesson for me.  Here is the native pig-face growing in sand.  No wonder it is struggling in my garden.

Likewise the native pelargonium.  I have it planted in a far too shady and damp spot.

After a very good but totally overloading meeting with  a building surveyor, we scurried back to Tribes

stopping at the Bushland Garden near Buckland to look at the new sculptures and be soothed by the waterfall.