Beach Weather At Last?

After record-breaking days, weeks, months of rain, today dawned clear and sunny and by afternoon was possibly even warm! It seemed like a good time to take a trip to Greens Beach with my two grand-daughters. It was still, beautiful, reflective and a foretaste of what is to come with summer approaching fast. The younger of my grand-daughters, Leila, said; "I love it when we just do things on the spur of the moment". (Note to self: must do it more often!)

Deviot By Bike

I was feeling a bit blue (well, a lot, actually) yesterday, so I decided to do what works for me - go on a long, exhausting bike ride. I filled the thermos with tea, made a sandwich, grabbed a camera and set off. The weather was a bit dodgy-looking, but as I went on, it improved (as did my mood) and it even started to get quite warm (especially on uphill sections.........!)

I went to Deviot via Gravelly Beach and back home via the Motor Road. It was not a particularly photogenic day, but grey days do have their own charms. Ate lunch on the little jetty at the Deviot Sailing Club. Watched the light dancing on the water. Poked around a bit and found these lichen-encrusted boulders on the beach.

All up - probably almost 40 kilometers round trip.

Afterthought: This piece (below) is finished now.

S-L-O-W Bob!

I'm happy to say that after about a year of neglect, my husband has finally started to seriously update the blog that I helped him with............at last!
I added some gallery links to the top of his blog - don't know what he thought of my titles - all I got was a wry look when I told him that I called one "Sunset Swoons" - and then he told me that some were sunrises! I notice that he hasn't changed it, though.

http://bob-mytasmania.blogspot.com for more.

Winterlude......The Joy Of Music

I have just spent a weekend away on a winter music camp organized by our community orchestra. Around fifty five enthusiastic instrumentalists gathered at Ulverstone for an intensive few days of music-making.

This is Willem van der Vis, from Melbourne, who was our conductor and mentor for the weekend - he managed to squeeze a reasonable facsimile of a Beethoven Symphony from us by Sunday afternoon!

The ensemble

Fraser - a study in concentration.

An uncharacteristic quite moment in the brass section!

A "backache of basses"!

The loneliness of the long-distance percussionist!

There was time to fly.........

.....play a spot of golf

or just stroll on the beach.

It was a wonderful weekend full of music, laughter and cameraderie. Can't wait to do it again!

A Walk On The Beach

It is starting to feel a little autumnal here in Hobart, but lovely weather for walking on the beach - this lovely spot is only a few minutes walk from my son's house where I have been looking after his children while he has been away. Here are some shots of a walk I took with the youngest, Xavier, yesterday.

Escaping The Madness

Bob and I escaped to the East Coast for a few days before the Christmas madness begins.....here are a few snaps:

Where else but in Tasmania can you find a beach like this in summer with no-one on it?

A lichen-encrusted post-and-rail fence in wetland meadow, St Helens

We ate crayfish - a rare pleasure, since most of Tasmania's crayfish is exported to the gourmet tables of SE Asia, making it unaffordable to most locals. A recent glitch in the export market meant a sudden oversupply locally and the price dropped dramatically. We were able to afford it at a third of the usual price!

Granite rock-shelf detail

Moody sunset over Georges Bay

Dramatic skyscape

               

What A Blast!

Well, I have landed back in reality with a thump after a fabulous week of music-making. It's hard to pick a highlight of the week, but the Cajun and Scottish fiddlers were fantastic. Playing in a chamber group was a new and wonderful experience, as was playing in an orchestra with ages from around seven to eighty. It was also wonderful to behold teenaged boys and girls getting so much positive experience from playing the violin - suddenly they were in a millieu where what they do is not "nerdy" but normal - I think many of them went away with great memories.

Here are a few pics...........from top to bottom: Tout-le-monde (sans moi!); double bassists - check out 9 y.o. Monty with his mini-sized bass; early morning swimmers; my chamber group; Colin, the Scottish fiddler.

Off to String Camp

Well, my bags are packed and I'm almost ready to head off in the morning for a week of intensive music making at LYCO's annual string camp. I will be "camp mother" to a cabin full of 14 - 16 year old girls..........might be interesting?

I'm really a wind player so in order to not feel like a fish out of water and at least be able to participate a bit, I've been learning to play the violin since November. Surprised myself how much I enjoy it. Wish someone had put one of these into my hands when I was six!

The camp is at the beach near Ulverstone - a great setting - and the weather looks set fair, so I think it is going to be a fabulous week.

Adios, amigos! I won't be posting until next week.