Regent Park Tasmania - lifestyle of artist in country Tasmania

The birds, in mobs, are racing around, chasing, being chased, singing and heralding. The creek is high from recent rains, chinese cabbage and brocoli have bolted, the mini nectarine is already in full flower and if there was any doubt at all .....   the wattles are out. and then there is #Snowcone ... such a sweet girl - our dairy cow in retirement  find her on our youtube channel here ... and check out this hilarious one where she got out and i had not a clue what to do ! 

a lovely surprise  - a great excuse now for regular #brunchdates  love this car ... lunch at the Raspberry Farm was so good. and the little walk around afterwards was enjoyable in lovely surrounds. 

July and we have been experiencing many days and night of rain. we needed it as the paddocks had got very dry, turning wheat coloured over summer.  it only took a couple of days of rain to return to green again and we get these little visitors at night.     image below - link refers to info on the little brown tree frog. and it was such a nice surprise to find, online, the sound it makes - surprise because i always assumed THIS sound was crickets but it is actually the little brown tree frog.  It was October (i think) 2022 when the creek flooded - a once in 7 year flood (apparently) ... there is a  playlist of flood videos  that happened in 2022 on our you tube hoping it is is indeed once in 7 years ... or longer - we will be fine as the house is up the hill but the studio got flooded and that took 6 weeks to clean up !

recently moved to the country and more natural ways to clean and what is disposed of is top of mind ...we have water tanks and a septic tank which requires gentle cleaning products for it to work well.

on a recent walk discovered this lovely flowering - Fatsia Japonica - i wrote about it here .  a winter flowering.  look forward to seeing how big it gets - apparently quite large and wide. i took photos of this particular part of the creek, from the bridge and came back at night to take shots of around the same area, from the bridge.   still discovering things along our journey here -the creek has filled a little since we have been getting regular rains - the paddocks have greened over and the wallabies are gathering in large groups during the night to chomp on the grass. check out this video on youtube of blackfish in the creek  and i am doing monthly videos (just started this year) - we have been here 3 years and i began the monthly vids so i can notice the differences and changes each year.

THEN & NOW. Archie on the left and Kimba on the right (in both images) They came to us as a pair after we lost Harry - a beautiful boy that was with us for a short time (2 years) - a bold, cheeky, independent ginger that was cross eyed, pigeon toed, highly talkative and much loved.   THIS IS HARRY (below) and so the twins arrived ... Archie and Kimba - such beautiful little souls that have been with us for 4 years now having come to us as very tiny little beings.  check out the cat run that was built for them - including the early days and planning - the full playlist here - my list of must haves was room to move outside, in the sun, with shelter and trees.   #livingwithcats #countryliving

Paprikas is pronounced - 'cheerke paap-ree-kysh' INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons butter or *pork lard   6-8 chicken pieces, *bone-in and skin-on 2 medium onions, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 tomatoes, very finely diced (Roma are good) 1 Hungarian bell pepper, diced (optional) 3-4 tablespoons of quality, genuine imported sweet Hungarian paprika. (this is the secret ingredient) 2 cups chicken broth (*homemade preferably - just boil chicken wings and bones for hours with whole onion, salt and peppercorn) 1 and half teaspoons sea salt half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3/4 cup full fat sour cream , room temperature (full fat prevents lumpy cream) 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream *traditionally used for the best flavour METHOD : Heat the lard in a heavy pot and brown the chicken all over   Let the chicken rest on a plate.  In the same oil, add the onions and fry until golden brown.    Add tomatoes, garlic and peppe...