Autumn days now..

A new week begins...and it is lovely to see some light when we get up today.

I am treated to a fabulous sunrise on my rounds this morning.

The new bus stop in the carpark behind us, comes into effect today. No real drama for us.

We have a relatively quiet day, which is rather nice as we are both feeling the effects of our work over the weekend.
Tom has Teacher interview this afternoon..Absolutely glowing report..Well done Tom.

John heads up on the hill after we return.
I drop Tom to scouts and go up to join John for an hour or so..
Forestry Tas..seems to be going for broke today...so much smoke!!

John and I get another section completed before heading down.
A quiet and early night for all..

Tuesday is a grey one.
John heads out early and Tom and I have a lovely Clarinet session before school.. Still at the real       'L-Plate' stage, but we are learning something every day.
I get on with orders . John returns ,then goes in to Huonville to get some more grass seed and drop a form off to Council.
Our day is not hectic today so there is time for John and I to catch a quick snooze in the afternoon.
It is such a strange overcast and smokey day out today..
John heads up on the hill as usual.
I go to choir and we have a very small group tonight. Lovely singing..if a little challenging!!

Wednesday and it is the same routine again today..
Autum colours are starting to appear.

The day just flies by...
Tom arrives in feeling quite done in... was a bit warmer today so I suspect he is a little dehydrated.
Usual activities ti finish the day..

Thursday in overcast but warm.
Lovely morning in the garden once John returns from his morning on the hill.
We work on garden beds to begin weed control..
Lots of apple and tomato harvesting..
Delightful lunch as usual.

Back at work a few orders come through in the afternoon. Lots of customers buying books..
We get a bit of rain...which is very welcome.
John heads up to the hill as usual.
Tom has a haircut...ready for school photos next Tuesday.
A grey sky...might bring some rain..

The evening is a quiet one.

Friday and the rain is here..lovely.

I have a shorter outing this morning...but it is great to see the rain.
John stays home this morning...which is wonderful.
We get a fire burning to cosy things up.

We have some 'Brother band' before breakie then Tom and I have a play on recorders..good fun.
John takes Tom across to school with brollies..as the rain is quite heavy.
It is a quiet morning and John and I enjoy a sit in the lounge chairs while we have our morning drinks..
A very lazy day...I have a haircut mid morning...there are a couple of orders...then quiet again..
John plans to go up for a coffee...but the rain comes down again , so he opts for a snooze instead.
John goes up on the hill for awhile.
I go up to have drinks with a smaller group at the top pub... a nice catch-up all the same.
We enjoy a quiet night.

Saturday is grey and cool.
We have a slower morning before dropping Tom off to sailing and then heading up onto the hill (via RV for a takeaway coffee for John)
We work in separate areas ..John down near the house site...and me up on the road edge , looking across to Port Huon. It is dusty work...and I have taken to trying to use a mask as the dust is giving me sinus headaches...

We achieve quite alot before going down to get Tom from sailing.

We have a lunch break and snooze before going back up to do some more.
Then I drop Tom down to work and go back up to complete the section I am working on..

John and I head back about 5-ish.
We have pizza from RV for dinner and crash in to bed fairly early.

Sunday looks like it will be a sunnier day.
We take it slow again...and head out at 9am via RV. Steve has said we can have the planks from an old bench he has out the back..will be handy for form-work for Tom's cubby.

We go up, and John drops us off halfway down the road then goes to work down near the house-site again. Tom gets to work getting the nails out of the planks while I keep up the work on the road side.

Tom and I walk down to see how John is going at about 12.15...
While he finishes off..we scout about to look for more 'artifacts'.

Home for a late lunch and a rest time.
I make a batch of Lucy's famous sausage rolls for dinner...
Tom heads off to work and John and I go up to do an hour's work...
Back home and Tom is riding his bike around the carpark (just back from work)
The Autumn evening light is golden and quite beautiful.

We go in, shower off the dust, and enjoy a relaxed evening

Last week of Daylight saving

Monday and we are back into routine..

John is away up onto the hill early. I bake a Kugelupf for Tom to take to scouts tonight. They are celebrating international cultures..and Tom is going as an Austrian Mountaineer...wearing his Grandad Rudi's Austrian hat.

We have a very hectic day of orders...
Tom arrives in from school before we know it.
John goes up on the hill again while Tom and I mind the shop.
Than I drop him to scouts and head up to give John a hand.
Forestry Tasmania has taken advantage of the still day to do some burns...

Glad to head back home after about an hour of lugging turf , raking soil and sowing grass seed. Don't know how John keeps going..it is hard work. 

We have found some amazing bits and pieces unearthed on the house site that must have belonged to previous owners. We suspect the homestead was burnt down years ago.The two rock-like objects are melted glass.

Quiet early night.

Tuesday and a warm day is predicted. John goes up early again..

Tom and I do the usual before school Clarinet and reading practice. I actually manage to get some sound out of Lucy's Clarinet...Thanks to Tom's encouragement. Very different to playing the recorder.. I think it may take awhile to master..
Another hectic day of orders..
Very warm out by the afternoon. I decide on fruit salad, yoghurt and cashews for dinner..a family fav on a hot day.
John is off  again in the afternoon and Tom does some Maths homework before work.
We enjoy our dinner when John returns about 6.30pm...then I open the Town hall and set up for Choir tonight. We have a lovely, lovely evening of singing.

Wednesday and it is a crazy 25°C when I go out at 6.30 this morning. It is quite dark today as there is a low cover of cloud...and I have a bit of trouble seeing my way around the park circuit.
Amazing sunrise..

John was planning on going up on the hill after breakie...but the rain begins to pelt down...so decides to have a catch up snooze instead. A very good plan. He has been getting up at 5.30am to make medicines before going up on the hill...and it is starting to hit him.very tired.

Tom and I do clarinet practice in the shop so we don't disturb John.

Tom is amazing..he is playing tunes that he has learnt on the Recorder...finding the right notes on the clarinet is quite a challenge. He inspires me to keep working on mastering a strong sound on my instrument.

John has a good sleep until 9am..Coffee time!! So glad he took a break today.

We have another really busy day of orders and John makes Bath Milk in the afternoon. His least favourite job!

Tom comes in from school and we do a bit more research on the Daintree...while I bake  Jane's famous Apricot/Oat slice to take to Garden tomorrow. John heads out as usual.

After work Tom and I take up picnic dinner and do a bit of work on the hill until 7.30ish. We will miss the daylight next week..

Home to showers ,book, lego and bed.

Thursday and its cooler out this morning..

John heads up on the hill after breakie while Tom and I do Clarinet practice..I'm getting better...and Tom and I have a lovely play today.

I dispense a number of orders before John gets back...'clearing the decks' for him to take over when I go down to garden.

A lovely morning of weeding, harvesting followed by delicious lunch with great company...

Back at work and the orders have piled up. I take over while John gets on making a Eucalyptus/Plantago cream and cleaning glassware from this morning's work. A flat out afternoon..finishing last order just in time for 4pm post.

John goes up on the hill again...really showing signs of exhaustion now...but insists on plugging on..

After work I prepare the shop for 'In Stitches 'night.

A lovely group of women sharing lots of stories and laughter

I have a go at felting a little rabbit.. (I bought a beautiful  'how to' book ages ago when Marty and I were in Bondi.) Needs some more work...but not a bad effort for first go..

Friday and it is decidedly chilly.

John and I sleep in until 6.40am!!...and have a slower morning.

I set up the book table in the shop and John fills the Eucalyptus/Plantago he made yesterday.

Tom and I have a good session on the Clarinet today. Tom is quite amazing the way he just toodles around playing tunes.

A slower order day giving us time to pack the cream.

John has bought a number of Stone Pines for our land...a local guy Peter has grown them and drops them off today. Apparently the Possums don't go for them...we'll see!

I go into Huonville to pick up forms for us to register with the medical practice there...sadly our lovely Family practice in Cygnet is closing as their lease is expiring in June and will not be renewed. They have not found an alternative site so have to close..a tragedy.

The afternoon passes and John heads up as usual.

Jess and I have swapped photos...and you Unwins out there can guess who the 'podgey' one is in this shot(family joke) Not long to go now Jess..

Tom and I take up picnic dinner after work

 Visiting sheep we have named Mary and Little...we have found out they belong to our lower neighbour

 Saturday is another still morning for the sailors.

John and I spend the morning on the hill then stop for a break when it's time to pick up Tom...we can hardly move to get out of the car!! But we are making headway..

We enjoy a couple of hours rest before going up for a second shift.
We come back to get Tom to work...have dinner and go up one more time to do another hour or so...while we have the light. Daylight saving finishes tonight so our evening light will be getting shorter ..

Sunday is Market day.
The boys head up on the hill and I stay in town to help Kate unload her stall before going up.
Thomas is enjoying the occasional ride in the back of car to get another load with John..shouts of delight as they whizz past me.

The day is gorgeous. We go down for a break and enjoy walking up the street and chatting to people out for the market. I buy some quince to roast..from Alex.

We go up again after lunch and enjoy getting more done.
Peter comes up to talk to John about best sites for Stone pines..
Our neighbour ,Esther  wanders past on her way to walk a circuit through our land.  Most of our neighbours walk our place to enjoy the views.. We love that it is enjoyed by lots of our friends..It is a special place.

 Forestry Tasmania is at it again across the river..

By evening the sun is shrouded in smoke and is blood red..amazing light.

The day closes in and by 7.15pm it is dark..
Another full week behind us..