"...and then the rain came hammering down..."

This May is one of our first together in Tasmania.  There was a severe storm, about four inches of rain in under 24 hours.  The lightning and thunder seemed to be just over our house, a sensation felt by every neighbour I spoke too.  Reinforced by the action of the strike coinciding with our power going out.  Over ten thousand people were without power for a day or so.  All the historic flood areas like the old 'Wapping' area of the central business district were flooded high enough to move parked cars.  I think people forget that a 'rivulet' runs through the center of town, mostly the streets have been built over the waterways.

Parts from the fish farms were washed onto the beach, newly patched roads churned up leaving heaped piles of debris in the middle of the roads.  Our home is up a slope- and luckily even the basement/garage did not take in any water.  So work continues on the garage conversion. The storm was late Thursday night, and by today, Sunday everything was calm enough that the Friends of Peter Murrell monthly weeding workbee went ahead as planned.

Saff returned a few weeks ago, just for a quick trip- before her long stay in June for the winter festival.  We went to the newly built, and opened areas of MONA that were too crowded during summer to be able to visit properly.

There is a sphere in the center of the newest restaurant, two people can go in at one time, for fifteen minutes with an additional cost of $25.  This is another piece by Turrell.  After you see the light show, you are taken to a room that is completely dark for a bit of post-sensory - to sensory-deprivation.

Between the two exhibits is a new room that is spectacular...the second room they have had that reminded me of the inside of Barbarella's space ship. 

 

We also went into the lovely new room called Spectrum Chamber, by Charles Ross.  I don't think the museum has been especially empty in the last few years. This visit was as empty as it seems to ever get, and that just means that there is parking in the overflow lot, and you can get a seat on a shared table.  I find that I can barely recall going there once a week, and being alone with only the artwork.  Between Summer, Christmas holidays in Summer, followed by their festival, - then a lot is closed between the two festivals.   The winter festival is almost the entire month of June now.

 I avoided this room trip before last because the line to walk in was so long.

 The oil room from above.

The oil is to the very edge- the attendant blows on the surface to show how precise and exacting the level is.  The photo makes the corridor in look a bit larger than it feels when you are there. 

 

 

Friends of Peter Murrell Reserve or Getting to the root of the problem

 Above you see the dreaded 'Gorse'  Well, this is one of my piles of them...

I spent a couple of very enjoyable hours weeding 'gorse' from an area in The Peter Murrell Reserve.  We (the group of volunteers) got to legitimately go 'off trail' which was exciting for me, because I always want to forge into new areas, but I don't want to cause any trouble.  That sounds a bit funny, but it is rather serious, the damage that can be done by the uniformed yet well intentioned.

I am happy to give time to this group to discover secrets of the reserve.

This was only my first time, but I heard that a few people did know where some Tawny Frogmouths had relocated and they are one of my favorite birds.

I will have to dress better next time, I forget how personally I take weeding- which means I will jump a creek and crawl in to the underbrush.  I forgot my hat so my hair was being pulled from all angles, I am sure I looked a mess by the end.

With my new knowledge I had no problem walking home from where we were.  I was already pretty grubby so I just enjoyed a nice walk in the rain.

'Thursday's Child'

I think of myself as adaptable or at least flexible.

I like to find things interesting, more than I like to complain.

People often ask me about how I deal with living in different places, not just geographically different but different-different, as in not the same.

But I seem to be as happy in either place because really one's perspective brings happiness more than a place itself.

Currently I am really excited about volunteering (which means weeding actually) at the reserve near my house.  I have been working hard to actually fix this place in my mind.  For years I have just wandered aimlessly, sometimes getting lost-Zok doesn't understand this but when I can't see the mountains then I don't know which way is the ocean and that is the direction of home.  I have no sense of direction, but between the camera phone documenting my progress, the maps on the internet to refer too and my app that works as a compass and a gps walking map I am doing really well!

Now, I am also using the timer on my phone, I have always used the reserve to waste time but I want to start using the space for actual exercise-so I have been routing trails for running and bike riding.

I am hoping to learn more of the reserves secrets (where are the tawny frogmouths currently nesting?  has anyone seen the striped bandicoots lately??)

from my volunteer work. The park has something like 277 hectare and perhaps you remember my wandering into the horse zone??  Updates soon!

Meanwhile, my birthday was surprisingly friendly and full of presents!

I got a beautiful hand made bag from my friend Theodore, my neighbors gave me a (heartbreakingly) interesting book on movies that never got made.  My favorite so far is a treatment Nick Cave wrote for 'Gladiator Two' at the request of Russel Crowe, that was turned down because it was so anti-war.

I got a lovely bit of pottery, fresh flowers (!!), candles, cards-I feel really thankful (and a bit awkward I am not actually used to getting gifts anymore).

 The best gift of all is I got phone calls (Skype of course) from two friends that I haven't heard from in years.  That was so delightful, and timely.

Today is warm! I am making a new batch of rhubarb syrup as all mine got used up during Cup Day at the Croquet Club where I bartended while Zok played some tournament games.

It was pretty sweet, pink colored cocktails on the Croquet lawn while wearing a large sun hat fits into my ideal of croquet playing.

http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=27256 

Here is a link to the reserve map if you are interested.

 

"...on the dry and dusty road...the nights we spent apart alone...I can't sleep and I lay and I think..."

Why is there no clear means of controlling one's perspective? I wonder this because often I have a favorite place, and then one day that place seems dulled, or somehow ruined. Is it possible that these places become so altered?
I have to blame myself, I am the common variable as the places keep changing.
For years I will love a city until the day I decide I have to get out.
Okay-sometimes a situation takes me to a place- like going to University in Bellingham, where I had to make myself love where I was- because I had to be there. So I hunted and I walked and I learned to love even the train that came through at five a.m. I worked the noise of the whistle into the narrative of my movie. I imprinted the view of the mountains and of the bay and of the wonder of being so far North, that the sky would get tinged with bits of the Aurora.
By the time I was leaving though, I had song to commemorate my departure.
I am always trying new hobbies, new places, new, new, new-and yet I dislike change.
I stopped by the reserve in my neighborhood, in the short time Zok and I have lived here, the spaces around the reserve have gotten smaller and smaller, a new warehouse to the North, and expansion of a school to the South. Now with the new 'Kingston bypass' being built I am sure there will be office workers who will be able to see the Platypus from their desk.
As I drove up to the parking area I noticed that the groups of trees were partially burnt-so that the landscape had patches of rusty orange leaves amongst the normal greens of the eucalyptus. I assume this to be 'burning off' for the health of the plants but I can never tell. The trails are fire breaks so the fire could have been stopped there on purpose or by purposeful design.
The reserve looked beaten. I no longer come across small marsupials, and there are less birds each time. The signs of teenage boredom and society have always been around but the warehouses can now be seen from most angles within the area.
I felt let down instead of inspired.
If I am lucky-I may have company in about a little less than sixty days...
I wonder if I could stay in bed until then?