Veronika Wild

Yes, I Know it's bad for the footpath, but I couldn't help liking it anyway. "This was an experiment by kindergarten children. They dropped seeds into cracks in the pavement to see what would happen"         per Giles Paley- Phillips Twitter.com   Have my own little impromptu experiment going in the backyard. I usually drink my coffee here, but it's been wet over the last week or so. This vine is quite remarkable - it's a hop I think. I have cut it back hard repeatedly, but it comes back with a vengeance. It's so much more enthusiastic than the plants I plant deliberately and nurture with great care. Looks like I'll have to try to make a trellis for it, which would give me a nice shady spot in the summer. Who am I to quarrel with nature? There's little enough of it around.   By the way, it's only a small thing but in solidarity with Ukraine, son and friends have stopped eating at McDonald's and have protected all Ukrainian players in their ...

Start of the Leslie Vale Track  Af ter the Mt. Dromedary fiasco, I have set my sights a little lower literally this past week and my friends and I have gone for gentler, shorter walks, not far from home. On both days the weather was still a bit drizzly, hence the rather dull picture quality, but quite pleasant walking weather all the same. The first walk was the Leslie Vale Track through horsey country at the back of Kingston.   This is in fact one of several horse trails in the area and should take about an hour and a half if all goes well. The first part travels through farmland alongside the main highway and then does a short traverse through the bush before re -emerging between five acre paddocks. Unfortunately, we then came upon a “Y” junction which was not marked on the map and with no indication of whether to go left or right.   This seems to be the story of my life lately. Since this was to lead us to a road, we decided on the route to the right, w...

Momijigari - the viewing of red leaves is especially valued in Japan and dates back to the first century It’s not necessary to go all the way to Mt. Field to see beautiful displays of colour. I popped down to the Botanic Gardens the other day, specifically to look at the Japanese Garden, but the whole area was ablaze with the rich tones of autumn. I am not sure what the fascination is, though as usual I have a theory. I  certainly think it is much more than people following a fashion to keep up with the folks on the hill and I am certain that science will eventually prove me right. I believe that just as other life forms   respond to declining sunlight – the lower angle of the sun as it enters the outer perimeter of its orbit, that makes birds begin their long migrations, squirrels put by nuts, and trees   invest energy in their roots rather than leaves and shoots, we too have a conditioned evolutionary response, though our need for storing food is less ...

Gifts from the sea Were Tasmania not generously endowed with spectacular landforms, these two at  suburban Blackman’s Bay, only about 20 minutes from the city centre would be famous.  The first is the Blowhole, just off the Channel Highway along aptly named Blowhole Road.  It is almost as deep as the Devil's Kitchen on the Tasman Peninsula and locals say they have seen the spray spilling out of the top. There is ample parking and should you get tired of the churning and billowing, the cliffs nearby and the views across the bay are spectacular as well. Just don’t bring your dog. It is also a bird sanctuary.  The Blowhole Another natural wonder is only a little further on. Follow the coast road south to end of the beach and take the right hand fork.   After you have left all the houses behind and it looks like there can’t possibly be anything else, watch out for a small dirt road on your left called Fossil Cove Road.   The track starts at ...