2nd February - busy times in Tasmania - Kuching croc - Oatlands

Tuesday 2^nd February 2016

Life seems to be getting away from me…I have been able to keep up with my blog very regularly for however many years it is – five, possibly??  But recently…not a chance!

Never mind…all is well, all of the busy-ness is wonderful.

Our friend Felicity has been in Japan, skiing with her family.  She was so looking forward to coming home (according to FB…) and when she arrived she found – half the state in flames, the other half in floods! 

from the Mercury website

I have had a few moments of happy contemplation of a pair of teenage quolls frolicking just outside the kitchen window.

 and in Oatlands yesterday I watched a large echidna scampering quite confidently across the main street.

He was very shy and went to hide under a hedge on the other side but I got a glimpse of his spines.

Nothing like a bit of nature!  Kerry, in Brisbane, has sent a photo of his latest visitor, coming to hunt the birds which colonise the veranda…

 The weekend sped past.  We went to breakfast in Salamanca with Peter and Maggie, who were leaving in the afternoon to bring much-needed rain to Adelaide.  Nicky came for late morning tea, with her old friend James Hannon, who now lives in Kuching. 

We loved Kuching, although we missed James by a few days – he had to whizz off to Japan for work, as you do, the day before we arrived.

Happy times in Kuching

We were anchored in the Santubong River where there was quite a large crocodile thoughtfully cruising around the boats.  James says that two children were killed, probably by this very same croc, in the river last year…Sometimes I DON’T love nature quite so much!

In the afternoon Andrea and I visited Fleur, and took her some beautiful tomatoes from the Harmsen Garden of Eden patch.

Sunday was going to be a total day of rest but at 3.00 we hopped into the car and sped off to Orford.  We ahd been invited to stay the night at Graeme and Jill Salmon’s lovely house on the water and…how nice to be invited, how relaxing and pleasant it was.

Jill with an aproned Pete in the background

We ate a delicious roast, chatted, watched the tennis and then slept extremely well.

Graeme

The next morning – back into the car and off to Oatlands.

Beautiful glorious Oatlands!  Pete, Graeme and Jill went to a funeral mass for a much admired local stalwart while I wandered around very happily.

On the way back we called in to see an old friend of Pete’s, who collects old bits of this and that and scatters them around the paddocks.

He wasn’t home but we wished him well anyway and rushed off back to town.