Today I’m participating in Shannon’s ‘Around the World in 80 Blogs’. You can find the other participants here. I personally am looking forward to clicking around the world and finding myself some new blogs to read as well.
I live in Tasmania, at the bottom of Australia. I’ve done posts about Tasmania (with photos!) before on my other blog if you’re interested.
I’m about 50 minutes drive from Hobart, the capital city. Being Tassie though, that leaves me in the middle of nowhere. I’ve got farmland on three sides of me and a road on the fourth side, with more farmland across the road. Last year my neighbouring paddocks held sheep and the occasional herd of cows.
I suppose I am in the middle of a tiny little township, there is a pub [a bad pub. food is shocking, I've seen inside their kitchen] and maybe half a dozen houses within a kilometre radius.
Last year I took photos of sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.
This year however, I’m surrounded by a sea of Opium poppies.
Yay me.
I’ve also got abandoned houses to photograph.
And creeks where bushrangers used to swim. Author Nan Chauncy lived here and now, it is named after her. Chauncy Vale.
We don’t get very much snow where I am living at the moment. The occasional dusting on the surrounding hills is about it.
You can’t see the mountain from where I live, but Mt Wellington is gorgeous. I could happily live underneath it (again – we used to live in the city, underneath the mountain) if it wasn’t for the damp and the cold. Also snow. I don’t do well with cold and wet.
I take a lot of photos from the car. Sorry about that.
I don’t go into Hobart very often anymore, as I don’t drive. I miss being within walking distance of the city.
A few months ago, it flooded here. Rained and rained and rained. I’m fairly sure that the underneath of my house has only just started to dry out. My grey water system and the back corner of my paddock still hasn’t recovered.
[This is not the back corner of my paddock. This is the river, breaking it's banks and flooding my neigbouring paddock.]
I’m almost tempted to nip over and pinch one of the pine trees for our Christmas tree this year. Do you think the farm manager would notice a missing tree? Then again, that is part of the poppy paddock. It’s probably wise not to venture into that one this year.
Tasmania has a lot (A LOT) of spiders. Snakes too. All our snakes are poisonous so I do my utmost to avoid any and all snakes. It didn’t stop a snake scaring the shit out of me a few times a week when I was a kid though. There are also lots of insects.
We’ve also got echidnas. Aren’t they cute?
And Blue Tongue Lizards.
Pretty architecture too.
So really, all you’ve learnt from this foray into my corner of the world is that I live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a sea of poppies.
We get good sunsets though. I’m not complaining.
Brenda
/ December 14, 2009Love your slice of paradise there Veronica.
Kristin
/ December 14, 2009I still think it’s terribly romantic (except, perhaps, for the spiders and poisonous snakes). I love anywhere rural and that’s what makes Kansas tolerable for me. We don’t have a harbor, though. That’s a couple thousand miles away.
Shannon
/ December 14, 2009Tasmania looks STUNNING. I’ve always wanted to go. Your post has made me all dribbly with envy, the photos are brilliant.
Fantastic view of your world and I’ll link you as soon as the post goes up.
Lily
/ December 14, 2009Gorgeous landscape… So much space to take a breath and relax.
Jeanette
/ December 15, 2009My word, looks like a beautiful place
Miss Ash
/ December 15, 2009I definitely need to see such a marvelous place in person!
Siera
/ December 15, 2009I love the simple beauty of wehre you live. You’re very luck to live there.
lceel
/ December 15, 2009The one thing (well, the two things, actually) that would bring me to Taz more than any other, are you and your Mum.
Kris
/ December 15, 2009Wow – what a gorgeous place to live. Your photos are lovely too – even the car photos
Thank you for sharing. I probably couldn’t be further from you (Upstate New York), but it’s nice meeting you.
QoB
/ December 15, 2009The first time I saw an echidna I was mesmerised. They don’t walk, they kinda rotate/roll… I think if I lived in Tassie, I’d just watch them all the time…
~Easy
/ December 15, 2009It all looks like beautiful country. I think I could do without the spiders, tho
geohde
/ December 15, 2009I can go down the road from my place and make faces at cows, but that’s urban sprawl for you
g
Katy
/ December 15, 2009Wow….just…wow!
I wish Pittsburgh got sunsets like that!
diamond dave
/ December 15, 2009Some pretty scenery you got there. Love the shots of the hills and the countryside. But all the poisonous spiders and snakes would make me very skittish.
river
/ December 15, 2009I used to dream of visiting Tassie. Now you’ve woken those dreams again with your photos. Who cares if you take them from the car? At least we get to see bits of your wonderful countryside.
Brenda
/ December 17, 2009I’d love to visit Tassie, but the snakes and bugs really aren’t my thing. Lovely countryside, even if it is the middle of nowhere.
Fi
/ December 24, 2009Ah, just beautiful!
Merry Christmas over there in Tasmania from us over here in New Zealand
Randy
/ June 6, 2010I visited Tasmania when I was a teenager in 1977. I don’t have any pictures, but I remember it being very, very beautiful. I will never forget that place. Thanks for the stunning pictures.
Randy Blackmon
Mobile, Alabama