Regent Park Tasmania - lifestyle of artist in country Tasmania

Once they got going it didn't take them long notwithstanding it took a long time sitting in the shade discussing what to do and what not to do. And what problems could there be before even unpacking the box. Short video as I head down, from the back of the house, on the bike to the block where they are putting up the Gazebo - this on top of the deck they put together a couple of weeks ago. looking good. Followed by some candid shots during the setup.  

  Our first harvest having embraced the idea of growing our own vegetables in the already established veggie centre. Not sure what to do with all the cabbages - it looks nice - there are 10 of them ! any ideas ? The tomatoes are showing promise with a huge amount on vines currently green. the plastic bag is bits and bobs for # Snowcone . We also have iceberg lettuces growing nicely and huge cobs of corn growing tall and straight. There is potatoes, squash, italian parsley and carrots. The centre already had a lemon tree in it and i think there is an apple tree - i have not yet established what it is.  

  This one is a little worse for wear. She has a blind eye and is often seen with fur missing - we think she might be picked on by others as she is less healthy than them. She has attached herself to Snowcone (the dairy cow now in retirement) and is there with the cow twice a day. since we had pea straw delivered for the garden centre (and there is much of it left outside the door) she hangs around there a lot during the day (in between Snowcone's feeding)

  This set of images used to make up the grid image here   - it is titled '6 seconds' which is the time it took to photograph the goldfish coming out of nowhere and disappearing again. I have 3 of them 1 orange and 2 golden ones that live in a very large outdoor concrete container. The container was purchased specifically for them so they had a bigger space to enjoy. It was originally created as a planter so i plugged the hole and mosaic-ed a fancy plate on top of the hole and they have lived in it for 10 years now. images below of the fish pond in its earlier years

  Lovely hot days now - Tassie kinda hot which to me, is very hot. Currently mid- high 20s (celsius) and minimums of around 15-17C at night. The fields of pasture have dried from a lovely green to a wheat colour whilst the native plants are loving summer - as are a few pot plants I brought with me and this lovely climbing rose that has been transplanted from the old house. it is a David Austin climbing rose called ' Strawberry Hill ' .

A  daily ritual of sorts .... sometimes i go this way and sometimes i walk to the studio from another direction. Its looking dry - an indication of hot summer days right now - no complaints; just hot. The garden centre structure was here when we arrived along with a lemon tree and what looks to be an apple tree that is old (based on the trunk) but struggling a bit i think .... we have tried to embrace the structure as a vegetable plot - lots of cabbages at present, corn is growing high, lettuce has been harvested and tomatoes are in progress.; some ready for picking each day as the rest suck in the sun and water. all a new learning process ... potatoes are also flowering along with pumpkin.

  it was so nice to see a pair arrive. we may be newly arrived at this property but the swallows had nests up under the eaves of the house, by the back door. lovely to see them come 'home'. and then there were 4 more! 3 fledglings were being fed on the washing line for around 3 days when all of a sudden there were 4. there was a terrible moment for a few mornings when a crow was making a racket trying to get to their nest .... i chased it off for 3 mornings and then set up a screen to protect the little birds. i think the crow got the message - haven't seen him since. this was taken a week or so ago and they are no longer dependent on mum - i see them flying as a group of 6 in the evenings catching bugs and they settle into their nest for the night. they pretty much disappear during the day - they must be in training and strengthening their wings in readiness for their long winter journey to ring in spring somewhere over the oceans.

F orgive the wobbly camera work - i am yet to figure out how to film 'well' when hand-held. Laughing doesnt help and we are currently 'playing' with filming just about everything so there is no takes or rehearsals. We just 'go'. My intention often is to edit the film which i am yet to learn ... so warts and all at the moment.

 when we moved in 9 months ago the cat run was a priority ! As it happens other things take over priority so now we are heading down that pathway of 'getting there' and a cat run is now underway. woohoo. a few videos here but more on my youtube channel and if you find the playlist titled 'the outdoor cat run' a day or two before getting down to building the cat run - or part thereof an inspection of what has been built a day or two later since our conversation (above) the next couple of days later an inspection of the partial build of the cat run ... the run, tunnel and out into the pen - a smaller version of the pen just to get a cat out ... as it happens that was Millie - she did the test run of the facility. The gingers are not yet going to go out ... one of them Kimba would be just fine but Archie is a surefire Houdini and looks for every opportunity to escape ... he doesnt go anywhere he just loves the 'chase'... so here is the inspection of the parti...

on occasion, there always seems (to me) to be a saga in our household ... hilarious engagement on this saga ... a small indication of daily rituals really - i/we are new to this filming thing (so forgive any ineptitudes) but he cracks me up and i think its worth a look-see.

 Christmas 2022 - T he highlight for family visiting was making friends with Snowcone - a dairy cow that is now living in retirement. We are all discovering our new place in this little pocket of paradise - 25 acres of mixed pasture and native bush with a creek (Claytons Rivulet) running through the whole place. Feeding Snowcone - she loves vegetables, some fruit and her pellets. She cant keep up with the lush grass and she gets hay also. We go down twice a day to say hello and feed her. When cooking I put aside all the scraps and get them to her every couple of days. Also she gets the vegetables in the veggie patch that have gone to seed or just in a cleanup of outer leaves of lettuce, cabbage and such.

The bees love this plant - i am happy it was one i could keep within the turning circle as a few plants had to go having been misplanted so they were overgrown onto the driveway where cars come and go. And then it flowered ... a wondrous AHA moment for me.

  love the colours in this range of gold and white, the pattern as it dances in the light across rocks and seaweed waving in the water. this was taken at East Devonport Beach. when we lived at the Ports House i walked often a short distance to the beach exploring colour, sound, rocks and shells.

 We are still in awe of discovering this 25 acres of mixed paddocks and native bush surrounded by gum trees and wattle trees. A rivulet (Claytons Rivulet) runs through the whole property with endangered species of bird, fish and small crayfish. Exploring and discovering new (to us) species of flora and fauna while watching fledgling swallows learning to fly and feed as we hit summer and glorious hot days. The grass is starting to turn brown in the heat and 6 months in we are yet to complete an outdoor area for the cats who are currently interned in the house. Second image on the right shows a peek at my new studio. A huge shed that looks like it could house an aeroplane is now filled with spaces that are my office, a painting area for acrylic, oils and pastels, a 'clean' area for book making and paper based artworks, an assemblage area and a space where textiles are laid out in readiness for stitching at night (back up at the house) .   Bottom image : that beautiful col...

  I enjoy #getaway a few times a year and mostly head out to a beach. Sometimes I will grab a few hours and go for a walk on a local beach nearby. There are many beaches within 10 t0 45 minutes drive from here. These include Turners Beach, Burnie, Sulphur Creek, Penguin, Boat Harbour, Sisters Beach, Bakers Beach Narawantapu National Park, Ulverstone, Devonport, East Devonport, Port Sorrell, Hawley Beach. I am sure there are others within this radius to discover. The walks always bring something different each time - the nature of oceans i guess where there is its own micro-climate, weather conditions, reshaping of beaches and coastline - something different each time to discover. These 2 little videos are from Hawley Beach just 30 minutes from here. A lovely day on an empty beach cove tucked into the coastline. 

  A lot of native hens live across our property with a small family that hang around the studio. They are a protected species and known colloquially as Turbo Chooks. They run extremely fast when they get going and are known to be very good mothers. They build nests to lay eggs in and they also build nursery nests where they tend to the chicks. There are always more than 1 'mother', looking after the chicks which they keep close day and night until they are grown. The chicks are pure black from tip to beak until they become of age which is when they take on the colouring of the native hen. They are described as large, heavy-bodied, flightless birds; adults measure between 43 and 51cms (17-20 inches) in length. They have large yellow bills, red eyes, brown heads and black wings. They are slate grey on their underparts and their tails are long and narrow. They are very powerful in their leges which are grey in colour and they have a yellow beak. This little group of 3 adul...

In the middle of a cleared thicket of cypress we found this cute fellow who is begging to be repainted. Any ideas ? One of the first jobs we tackled was to cut back a row of cypress that had overgrown the driveway up to the house. They can be seen on the left of the picture in the image below. A huge job that went quicker than i anticipated - man with a truck and a mulcher and 3 days later it was cleared. Now to plant it out.

  He is very beautiful ... scary. We found him at one of the back blocks just before Christmas - sunning himself on the bank of the rivulet below a bridge we were standing on. Image thank you to Jon Greville. I would like to go and see if i can see him again but i am a bit frightened - dont want to get caught in a compromising position with a snake. There are three varieties of snakes in Tasmania; the tiger, copperhead and the white-lipped snake - all are venomous. lots of good info on Google ... local info with good advice learning to live in the country - in regional rural northwest Tasmania after 12 years in a house on the Port.

  Learning to garden with wallabies, potorros and bandicoots that eat many garden plantings. These were brought in from our last house and placed around the place here and there - come were put into the ground to see what gets eaten but more importantly what does not.

 Amazing, right? For a few years i had 'suggested' to my partner that I wanted a warehouse. yes a warehouse - i could envision the diverse areas i work in under one roof. This request was always received with a knowing smile along with a little reality check in his eye. But here you are ... here I am ... I do feel most fortunate as my partner runs a small car hire business and the shed would have been good for him too particularly since it has a very very large hoist sitting in it. There seemed to be no real conversation when we found the house with said shed and I moved in happily. Admittedly i felt guilty ... for all of FIVE minutes. I love it ... and it is so well set up for my arts practice - this i will show in blog posts as we go along this journey.

When we first moved in, nearly 8 months ago. (April 2022) ... it was everywhere we looked - 25 acres of mixed pasture and native bush with gum trees that reach the sky, supported by wattle trees, blackwood trees and various understorey. The creek, Claytons Rivulet runs through the whole property covering areas from one end to the other.