A perfect day:

Well we actually had a perfect weekend- but Sunday was a particularly excellent day.
For a start the weather was fantastic, Rob looked out the window and let me know “it’s going to be a cracker”, he was anxious to get out and make the most of it. I still can’t believe the summer and autumn we’ve had this year, the mild temperatures, and perfect blue sky days- why would you live anywhere else?

After a little picnic preparation; Rob made a sweet potato and blue cheese frittata and I baked a blueberry, lime and coconut slice; we headed into Hobart to pick up our Canadian friends. Next stop the Tasmanian Farm Gate Market. Now Rob had remained fairly unconvinced about this market until today. A few things were going in its favour today; we got there early enough to find produce, the golden sunshine, it appeared ok to bring the dog, we could buy Rob’s favourite bread from the Companion bakery at Oatlands, nice crunchy apples from the Huon, and cute apple cakes from Jo and Michelle. There was a great feeling to the market on Sunday, the tables with children and adults enjoying coffee and food as well as the stalls. Nigella was most pleased too, lots of pats from children, interesting food smells and other doggie friends to greet.

Not quite satiated with markets we also wandered over to the Handmade Hobart market. I’ve become so frequent a visitor at the art, craft and design markets around Hobart that some of the stall holders now remember and greet me. I love that. I love buying presents, cards and (I have to admit) things for myself from these markets. It makes such a difference when you can see how hard people have worked to make them, their creativity and innovation, and how happy they are when you buy something. So much nicer than turning the item over and finding “made in china”.

There was no rest for the wicked- we headed to the block to have a picnic together, the weather still unbelievably warm for May. Not only did we have the food Rob & I prepared, but various goodies we’d picked up at the market, Rob’s homebrew and tea.

Please excuse the lack of styling with the frittata, it was a picnic!

After a quick inspection of the block we decided we still just had time to visit the Fleurtys Sculpture Trail. This was the first time we’d been and I had no idea the trail was so long. Not that we didn’t need the exercise after our picnic. Rob was quite taken with a pseudo-hut that forms part of the essential oil distillery. I thought he might try to move in!

My favourite sculpture was a series of suspended eucalypt leaves made of rusty metal.

Rob’s was the sandstone sculpture of fern fiddleheads.

We followed the trail up the hill and into some unexpected white peppermint (Eucalyptus pulchella) forest. Pulchella’s are probably my favourite eucalypt. They have lovely smooth creamy bark with grey streaks; their foliage is the finest of the Tasmanian eucalypts. They were particularly pretty in the golden evening light. We have planted 50 of them along one of our boundaries at the block; I’m so impatient for them to grow!

At the top of the hill the trees opened up to frame the view up the channel to Mt Wellington. It was breathtakingly, stunningly, beautiful. The golden hour was over, with the view awash with blue hues. The water glass-like in its stillness with the hills running down to meet the water a darker indigo. My friend bemoaned the limitations of her camera, but I replied that I didn’t think you could ever capture it. The experience was heightened by the still crisp autumn air, the smell of the white peppermints and the sounds of the birds flittering around in the bush. I shut my eyes for a moment to burn the memory into my brain. But perhaps, only in the process of writing about it now will I be able to keep it.

So there you have it, action packed, but perfect.