Quilting was a delight today with lots of lovely people there, finished off one daffodil (albeit not to my satisfaction) and got five more petals on, to be joined by the trumpet (3 pieces) some time soon. Not much sewing has been done at home of late, so it was good to see a little progress. Called a prospective speaker for the meeting next month and spoke to him at length. He is a hydrogeologist and so has an understanding of the interconnectivity of the various aquifers underlying the area - always good to know - and a knowledge of surface water flows as well. Then I received a most unpleasant person telling me I had booked an advertisement in his magazine (I havent') and that he had a piece of paper with my signature on it to prove this. I asked him to scan the paper, but he declined, going on to threaten me with their legal department. I suggested he do just that as they might have a firmer grasp on due process. Then I came home after a huge lunch at quilting and am sitting listening to the rain falling once more - not sure how much I got last night as I have not ventured down to the gauge, but the wheelbarrow looks very promising!!

Always interesting to have friends from different backgrounds. Today I had lunch with three friends who are all died in the wool Greens and greeny haters. Much of the conversation revolved around the qualities of the two main party leaders and Tony Abbot seems to have won the Debate hands down (not what I heard from different sources, but i am not one to rock the boat, so buttoned my lips. Rather than considering policy (admittedly difficult when none has been discussed really) they discussed the candidates clothing hair-does, wives, personalities ... sigh. It was an uncomfortable lunch for me, though nice to catch up with them in an environment when we could talk without being monitored by the loathesome one. Quilting tomorrow too - so I will be cutting wood in the morning and heading out for the day. This morning,despite the temperature hovering above freezing, my pipes were frozen. Why did that happen? They were not frozen when we had minus 3 the other day, or when we had minus 7 the week before, so why this morning? All very confusing. My old Ag college seems to be working itself up to another reunion - hope I can afford to go - fingers crossed.

Sorry I'm late - just got back from our meeting with Dick Adams, our local federal polly to talk about unconventional gas mining as a national issue - apparently there was some argy bargy in Parliament about this some time ago and it was decided to set up an enquiry - possibly COAG? anyway, apparently Tassie chose not to participate, so no chance any of our decision-makers have had an exposure to the issue really - sad. Submissions have closed and a pile at least an inch high of objections was noticed at the Service Tas offices, which is encouraging - I also managed to get onto property owner down near Pontville who was also planning to submit an objection - I briefed him on the sorts of things he might object to... yay. So now we need to set up a strategy meeting of the inner circle to see where to now. phew. Bit overstimulated at present I have to say. I will be contacting another potential speaker tomorrow also (though he may not wish to be involved as he is still working). Anyone know any retired geologists, hydrographers or similar? Bitterly cold tonight so I am glad the fire did not go out. The dog has demanded a chance to go out nevertheless. Sigh. Time to put some dinner on.

A positively balmy day today. I tried to upload a modified picture onto the Stop Coal and Gas mining site, so our email address was readily available. But Telstra conspired against me, so it is still buried somewhere in the chat section. For anyone interested it is stopfrackingourfarms@outlook.com, but it comes through to me, so not much point if you already have my personal email. With 446 Likes and a demographic between 35 and 54 we seem to be getting to a cross section of the community. Hopefully more will follow. The deadline for submissions is tomorrow, but my meeting with our local member will not permit me to see how many last minute objections are lodged. I know a few have already been through ST as they told me when I was in there (local gossip networks are wonderful!). Had a visit from our former vet and her husband today - he is working on the Community garden project and quite the most frustrating person to communicate with - showing the key characteristics of why women hate talking to men. Elusive, gets huffy if pressed, doesn't make any commitments - sound familiar? She admired Shadow and his clipped ear and made nice comments about his health and age, which was nice of her. He is loafing in the loungeroom at present, rather awkwardly as Ester has commandeered the dog bed.

A bit of a lazy day today to be frank. Have made a few more comments on the opinion pages of the Examiner, read the Mercury - what twaddle! and finished off a really good book. I am presently reading David Leaman's study notes on Water in Tasmania which I find quite interesting - though he needs to work on his writing style!! And a friend dropped off her copy of the 1965 publication from the ANZAAS conference held in Hobart. We used to have a copy of this in the family library so it is a bit of a trip down memory lane. Mum bought a new frock for the conference. Layers of yellow gauze with a fitted draped bodice and a large fabric rose at the front. Cocktail length - we all thought she looked lovely. It must be working its way toward Summer as the days are definitely longer - five o'clock and still daylight. The wind must have blown the night away. Will have to sharpen the chain on the chainsaw as I am getting splinters at the cut edge now, will have to find the file - it is on the kitchen table somewhere under all this stuff!!

A fairly sudden rush of likes today has taken us to 400 which is great. And apparently over 8800 people watching the page ... Including Petragas no doubt. We are planning to incorporate as soon as possible to protect us individually from any action they may choose to take. I apparently need to change my diet to mung beans as I have no idea how greenies keep up the pace in situations like this. The good news is that despite a particularly poorly researched article in the Tas Country (which quotes the proponent as once again claiming he has not been invited to any meetings - a bit of sophistry at best, a lie at worst) is that the ABC has broadcast a Country Hour which included interviews with some expert and also the proponent. The expert highlighted a number of the issues that have concerned me, and the proponent tried to hose down many of them. Included in this exercise on his part, however, was the rather alarming news that his 5-layer casing protecting the aquifer from the effects of the mining activity was a material called ... lead-cement. Now, I don't know about you, but the thought of all those lead-cement casings degrading into the aquifers over time is a little alarming - wouldn't you say? So to avert any possible reason for concern, I lodged my objection today (making it clear I referred only to impacts of exploratory drilling in my vicinity) and as a separate document I submitted five pages of comments (including a copy of Monika's invitation to the company). Copies will also be sent to my local Federal candidates, to my local members, to the Premier (with clear reservations about the ability of the Minister to make decisions on this matter when the conflict between his many portfolios is apparent - the Russ Hinze of Tas, our Brian Green) and to the Minister himself (not being quite so direct about the conflict, but ... well you know. Just received an invitation to lunch on Tuesday - 12:15 at the Pancake Parlour, and also a present of a large sweet potato from the same person. I was worried she was feeling conflicted as she declined my offer of a copy of the video, so I am glad things are back on track in that department. Lunch and an afternoon of hand-sewing sounds like just the thing!! PS We have radio time on the ABC on Monday morning, so keep tuned to your rural radio!!

So the climb is steadying - 360+ likes at present - over 2000 people watching the site, however. Interesting. There was an interesting mix of articles in the Mercury today - Liberal MP saying he worries about climate change (but is apparently unable to influence party policy), Petragas Manager giving statements about wanting to consult with individuals (still no response to my email), and one other article from the Dark Side. Then ... one article about the concerns we have, with a brief mention of Monika in passing. Nice Balanced Reporting Mr Murdoch... NOT Have distributed electronic copies of the two flyers I drafted this morning - one is a double-sided job which will really only be relevant till Monday, the other a trifold brochure. Interestingly the company proposing this is a newly formed subsidiary of another company, formed solely to explore Tassie - and the parent company apparently has only 5 million cash reserve (having lost 2 million last year. Does not bode well if we want to recover costs for any environmental harm - hopefully this will be a matter for consideration by the Tribunal... So other than running around like a headless hen trying to rapidly come to grips with being a greenie (long time since that last happened), I have cut wood, and settled in front of the fire for the rest of the evening.