We finally made it, we have been back in Tasmania for a year now, and a very eventful year it’s been. This time last year we were staying at a holiday rental in Launceston waiting for them to get the title so we could settle on the property. A few days earlier it was Eva’s birthday but she was sick from something she ate at a café. This time we went to The Metz for a nice lunch and then some shopping. We have also been going once a week to the Rosevears Hotel for lunch, the prices are about the same as the Legana Tavern, but it has a better menu and views out over the river instead of the car park.
Back on the lifestyle property, we had enough rain last week for the dam in the creek/ditch to overflow a bit, and then some more last night but didn’t even fill it. I had managed to mow the entire property in the previous couple of days expecting a lot more rain, but at least it looks good. I have been slowly feeding the butter swede crop to the kangaroos and wallabies, I put several out by the water dish and hack into the root with a shovel. They eat the most of the greens and the roots are gnawed right back by morning. At least it’s not going to waste.
We are seeing a lot more birds, the Tasmanian Native Hens have a new batch of four chicks, and the four juveniles from the previous batch are helping to raise them. I think all the nearby plovers did not have a good year at all, as there are no young ones anywhere. We are seeing a few different birds, such as the Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, the Pallid Cuckoo, and the Long Billed Corella, as well as the usual Galahs, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Black Cockatoos, Magpies, Egrets, Bronzewings, Wattle Birds, and lots of little insect eaters. We occasionally get some excitement when a Wedgetail Eagle, Sea Eagle, or some hawk flies over, never a dull moment.
I have been digging up some more of the flower bulbs the previous owners left, I reckon they had not been touched in at least 20 years and have multiplied so much there are more bulbs than dirt in some areas. I think I will wait for winter to do the rest of them as it is pretty hard going digging them out in full summer sun. I have cleared enough out of the bed above the patio there is room for something else now. There are four or five other beds around the place that look even worse, I hope to eventually get them all done.
Back on the lifestyle property, we had enough rain last week for the dam in the creek/ditch to overflow a bit, and then some more last night but didn’t even fill it. I had managed to mow the entire property in the previous couple of days expecting a lot more rain, but at least it looks good. I have been slowly feeding the butter swede crop to the kangaroos and wallabies, I put several out by the water dish and hack into the root with a shovel. They eat the most of the greens and the roots are gnawed right back by morning. At least it’s not going to waste.
We are seeing a lot more birds, the Tasmanian Native Hens have a new batch of four chicks, and the four juveniles from the previous batch are helping to raise them. I think all the nearby plovers did not have a good year at all, as there are no young ones anywhere. We are seeing a few different birds, such as the Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike, the Pallid Cuckoo, and the Long Billed Corella, as well as the usual Galahs, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and Black Cockatoos, Magpies, Egrets, Bronzewings, Wattle Birds, and lots of little insect eaters. We occasionally get some excitement when a Wedgetail Eagle, Sea Eagle, or some hawk flies over, never a dull moment.
I have been digging up some more of the flower bulbs the previous owners left, I reckon they had not been touched in at least 20 years and have multiplied so much there are more bulbs than dirt in some areas. I think I will wait for winter to do the rest of them as it is pretty hard going digging them out in full summer sun. I have cleared enough out of the bed above the patio there is room for something else now. There are four or five other beds around the place that look even worse, I hope to eventually get them all done.
They re-classified one death, so now Australia, population 25.5 million has 908 deaths from the virus. Everything is pretty well opened up but still with a few restrictions, and all the state borders have been open for a while. Anyone arriving from overseas still has to go into mandatory quarantine, and can’t be released until they test negative. The are still a few people slipping through the cracks but they are catching them quickly and so far we have been lucky with no new outbreaks. We will probably start getting one or several of the vaccines by March 2021, and then they will start with specific groups before it is available to the general population. They are saying we will eventually open up to international arrivals without quarantine, but people will have to prove they have been vaccinated.
Not such good news in the U.S. going into winter there. Too many people are still convinced the virus is a hoax and won’t even make an effort, meanwhile under resourced hospitals are cracking under the strain. The official death toll is over 281,000 and might be closer to 500,000 by the time the new president is sworn in and will actually start doing something about it. Texas, population 29.9 million now has over 23,000 dead, and the county where my Aunt lives is up to nearly 150 dead. It’s utter madness.
Not such good news in the U.S. going into winter there. Too many people are still convinced the virus is a hoax and won’t even make an effort, meanwhile under resourced hospitals are cracking under the strain. The official death toll is over 281,000 and might be closer to 500,000 by the time the new president is sworn in and will actually start doing something about it. Texas, population 29.9 million now has over 23,000 dead, and the county where my Aunt lives is up to nearly 150 dead. It’s utter madness.