Fortunately I have not blown away though the wind had a darn good try. On Tuesday I headed to town despite the forecast because I had some business to deal with. On the way home I stopped off to get some groceries and as I took the trolley out to the car the contents started to blow away. Pausing to hook them back into place I foolishly turned my back to the wind and lost my glasses! I did finally manage to wrestle everything into the back seat and get home safely, but it was a close run thing. Tomorrow is supposed to be seven degrees with rain which may mean snow, but as I have a patient to transport to Hobart it may be I will miss out on that. It's a last minute booking but does mean I can drop something off in Moonah as he is going to Glenorchy.

Dog and cats are lapping up the constant warmth of the woodheater and one little cat is still venturing into the bed for experimental purposes. I imagine she will work it out eventually.

I decided to take advantage of the sunshine to venture down to Chauncy Vale to investigate this drama. To put myself in a good mood I took the loop to the Caves first where I met a nice father and daughter group and had a nice chat (which gave me a chance to recover my breath). The track up to the caves remains steep, unstable and adventurous, though clearly much work has been done. A nice drystone bridge is a new addition over a gully.

By the time i got to the caves I was worrying that the rest of the loop might be as steep and stony as the bits I had already negotiated, but fortunately it is more ziggy zaggy so not so steep. It did provide its own challenges in the shape of a downed tree which presumably dropped during the last wind and has not been noticed by staff yet.






Having had my return to childhood pleasures I then had to address grown up concerns and the works described in the article and it seems the concern is valid (not quite the storm in a teacup my contacts in Council would have me believe).

Basically they seem to think they have finished but are in fact about a third of the way through the work required. No plantings, bed armouring, bank shaping, and the 'barrier' to divert the stream into its new course is a) subject to being short-cutted in a flood due to a pre-existing temporary course on the flood plain and b) loosely piled soil and rock with no effort to seal or compact.

See what I mean? Useless. Basically there are two of these, the one facing the stream has slightly larger rocks in it, but the matrix is similar. Then there is quite a deep ditch/pool the base of which is lower than either stream bed. Presumably the idea is that if the first wall is breached, the water will pond in this. Problem is, once it is deep enough to top the further wall, the lack of structure in that one will result in catastrophic collapse and a wall of rock-bearing water hitting the eroded bank at high speed.

Downstream the failings in the works is even more apparent as even with the small amount of rain we have had of late, the brief flush caused by the downfall the other night has resulted in some fairly significant siltation at the discharge point of the diversion.


Here's what a proper job looks like (though I would settle for something less manicured, as long as it does the job.

It seems I have been derelict in my responsibilities for far too long. Sorry folks.

I have been busy doing all sorts of things like going to markets and meetings to raise my profile and sitting at home busily knitting to finish off the first side of the jumper. I have done this successfully which is all good. Dog and cats are all fine and healthy and patient transport has been involved too.

Yesterday it became apparent that Council has been up to something terrible and so between driving patients to Hobart and dropping them off to their destinations I have been chasing up sources of information to find out what happened and how.

Chauncy Vale is a nature reserve at Bagdad. It was first established by an author - Nan Chauncy - and her husband after various failed attempts at farming and orcharding. Nan wrote some of the iconic tales of Tasmanian life  during and immediately following on from the War. Her characters grew up at the same pace we did and visits  to the reserve are a part of most Tasmanian children's childhood. It is a place on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and is administered by a committee which includes the daughter of the family. The committee also includes two Councillors.

Some months ago the reserve was closed to the public as Council was carrying out work to deal with erosion that was undercutting one of the picnic sheds. The results of the work are horrendous. The have filled in the creek course for part of its length and have created a new channel which is not formed properly, has near vertical banks and no stabilisation. There's an article in the Tasmanian Times showing images of the destruction (there is no other word for it).

I contacted Council staff to get some clarification and was assured it was a 'storm in a teacup', that it was fully supported by the committee, that in a couple of years no-one would be able to tell the difference. I was not satisfied with this response, so I contacted Heritage Tas which was oblivious to the works. I have also contacted DPIPWE and await their reply. Permits and approvals would have been required from both before work commenced. Bit late now.

Having witnessed the methods by which Council obtains committee approval for things they wish to do (ie, feed them bullshit, create obstacles for any alternatives and threaten no action if their method is not supported), their claims to committee support are dubious at best.

I have also contacted a local councillor. I phoned and when there was no response sent a text seeking his intervention. His response was to text back with a request I supply him with the name of a competent conservation professional and recommend funding sources. I texted back asking for an email address so I could elaborate on my concerns - a request he refused. I continue to await a phone call from him.

So this, folks, is why I am standing for Council. In the mean time I am pursuing my inquiries and drafting a set of 'questions on notice' for Council's response. This will obtain a written response (assuming it is not 'lost' in transit). I have also requested an opportunity to address the meeting. I am sitting on the letter as I consider its wording and also who it is that should be copied into the email. Wish me luck.

Well I have finally found out that many of the protestors who attended the Council meeting were not even vaguely interested in the matter at hand but actually have their knickers in a twist about negotiations presumed to be going forward between Council and the proponent in relation to future management of the neighbouring Mill site (no wonder Council doesn't want to deal with them - I can't imagine their psychic powers are up to that). So I have suggested that that particular interest group direct a request to Council to have a meeting specific to their concerns and that they recognise that if negotiations are in fact going forward they will get a better response if they just set out the outcomes they expect Council to be seeking. Sigh.

My elderly neighbour arrived yesterday with family in tow and we had a good chat. He returned the roll of lino I gave him some time (damn, now I have to get rid of it myself) and we discussed house prices. I recommended he ask $180K which surprised him but my arguments seemed to convince him and he has already told someone that is the asking price. He seems to think the place is already sold but I suspect the 'mate' in question was just one of the usual vultures who circle around in such situations. I have also suggested the two real estate agents who actually seem to work for a living in these parts, and he is happy to take my advice on that. I now have the key to his back door so I can let myself in and he has my phone number so I can do that at times when lighting the fire or allowing access to necessary visitors is desirable. I have to say he is looking a lot healthier than he has for some time - the hospital food certainly seems to boost health in the elderly. But he is having memory lapses and gaps so he has definitely made a good decision and seems very happy with it.

Heavy rain this morning and occasionally during the day limited activities to the house.

The chilly morning yesterday was a bit of a shock, and it felt like snow. Not surprising when a peek out the kitchen window revealed the residue of snow on the bales of mulch piled near the garden bed. Today, on the other hand, was relatively mild.

I did get some washing done yesterday which was a bonus, but tomorrow will be nasty - very nasty by the looks of it. Fortunately I seem to have finally achieved the necessary skills to keep the fire, if not burning, at least smouldering overnight so I have hot coals available to urge life into the next day's fire.

A trip to the tip pretty well rounded out my day's activities for all that.

How time flies!. Thursday last week I attended an evening meeting which proposed to establish a Midlands branch of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture. I was the only attendee who is not in agriculture, but at least I half qualified, haha. It was all very sociable and seems to be a good idea. It is being driven by young women - mainly in their thirties - but has younger and older members and I know a fair few of them so it's all good. There is also a move to re-establish the Kempton branch of the CWA but that is a bit further afield so I am not sure if I am keen on that.  Good to see the younger folk bringing a resurgence of interest in social networks in the country.

It was a wet rainy night so I nearly didn't go, but at least it was dry on the way home.

I headed off to Tunbridge Market on Sunday, having completely failed to book a space, but have done so for next month so that's all good, and this weekend having forecasts around the seven degree mark I am not too keen on finding out whose market is on then.

Today I was at a meeting of Council to discuss the proposed re-zoning of land associated with the proposed distillery. There is once again a mob of nay-sayers and so much scuttlebutt around the town I figured it was the only way I would find out what was going on. I approached my preferred mayoral candidate to ask him to run and was pleased to discover he would be doing just that - he just hasn't gotten around to letting people know yet.

Meanwhile I have been run off my feet with neighbourly duties - new neighbours in the house up Austral Park Drive had come up to spend a week cleaning and painting before bringing their two year old into the place. Their kitchen sink was blocked, so my hose went up to sort that out for them (several feet of strange items emerged from the pipes!). And them over the road have blown up their motor (and are most indignant their comprehensive insurance won't buy them a new one), so yesterday I took her into town for various errands and to talk to our local mechanic and today I took him into the hospital to have his dressings changed. How he got home was his business as I had things to do in town.

Gordon (also over the road) disappeared some months ago and rumour finally located him in New Norfolk. So I phoned him yesterday to find out if he planned to come home. He is not the sort of person who would settle comfortably into a nursing home environment and if the only objection to him coming home had been that he lived alone I was quite happy to take responsibility for keeping an eye on him, but it turned out more complicated than that, and he has already decided to move to a unit closer to where his daughters live. He will be up this weekend so I will have a chance to say goodbye. I wish I had keys to the place though since the forecast for the weekend means the house will be unbearably cold, and I could let myself in to light the woodburner for them in advance of their arrival. Oh well.

I can't begin to imagine how much money I have spent over the years buying toys for the cats and dogs. Most get inspected with deep distrust and the ignored. Sometimes they get thrown around long enough to put them under a piece of furniture and never seen again. But yesterday I bought a toy for poppet that is apparently so appealing I can not even put it down long enough to take a photo for you without her stealing it.

It only cost $4.00 from Shiploads and is (from a human perspective) fairly unattractive. A mouse with two long floppy legs ending in pompoms, a black pointy nose and a towelling body. But it is apparently totally irresistable. Not even got catnip in it (something none of my cats has shown the slightest interest in). So that's good.

Meanwhile I headed into town and found a top at the Bargain Centre which will suffice for my night out, with a black camisole and singlet under it (said singlet being of the ornamental variety not the practical one), and over a black skirt. Not exactly a Day Dress (whatever that is) but smart and elegant and balancing evening wear with day wear since a seven PM start without food does not provide many cues for dress choice.

Tomorrow will be a long day as I have patient transport in the morning and in the evening a meeting I will be attending solely for the purpose of being seen.

Meanwhile I have done another panel of pattern on the jumper (two actually) and am about to embark on the next row of stars.