...and the whole world was standing still and the moon was turning red..."

The fact that upon returning home to Tasmania, the island experienced the hottest day ever recorded- 41.3 c., should teach me to not joke about the difference between Stockholm and Hobart.  Yes, the season are reversed, but normally we do not go from one of the coldest winters to one of the hottest summers- however this year that was the truth.

The day that was 30 c. plus we took to the beach with its cool waters.

For this 41.3 c. we went to the movies which is one of the only air conditioned places I know of.  I felt the guilt of not being in the fire zone.  Of course any fire can reach even where we live- and in 1967 the fires were above even the central business district of town.  This is one of the reasons people do not take containment of a fire for granted.  I am not a native- so I do not have inherent worries about fires.  I understand, because as a Californian I do have that inherent panic from my experiences in earthquakes.  In fact, it is that sense of unease that I feel when the world goes still, and the hot air is oppressive and one can feel the threat, only here that threat is fire not earthquake.

I have learned that the land here- not only recovers from fire, most of the land is reinvigorated by it.  These are gum trees not oaks or redwoods.  I also learned that 'my' fire plan - "walk into the bay"- is an actual plan.  I was joking but apparently...

Basically- people have to either leave as soon as the threat begins or is anticipated or they need to stay and know how to defend their house.

This is harder if you are surrounded by acres and acres of bush- as opposed to us, being surrounded by other houses.  Houses which here are commonly brick not wood construction.

 Meanwhile, as you can see by these tasty and pretty cupcakes, Zok is happy.  The first thing I did when I got home was to put on a record, and then I picked some lemons so I could make lemonade.

 The farmers market, Sundays- in town continues to grow.  I bought two nice bottles of wine for my Finnish by way of Sweden- currently living in Sydney guest who arrive late next week.  We also bought; cherries, bosenberries, blueberries, gooseberries, and late season seedlings for the garden.  I had an iced-coffee (!), and a man next to me said 'Ah that looks like a spider.' and I was so happy to explain the difference between the two.  For my first six years in Australia all I ever got was someone explaining a 'spider' to me when explaining why I couldn't simply have iced-coffee.

Also note the cute food trailer- an idea that years ago everyone I know told me would never work in Tazzy.