Told You It Was Cold...

Apparently, it was a 'student-free' day at school today. That doesn't actually mean 'students get in free'. Nor does it mean you get a free student if you show up. No, it means the teachers are there suckin' back the coffee and downing the iced vo-vos without the interference of the little grubs who make the whole 'school' gig such a pain in the arse.


I wish somebody had bothered to tell me, is all. Then I might not have gone through the routine of rounding up the boys, organising lunches, prodding them into dressing for school, etc. Of course, I'd have driven down to the school anyhow. Monday is the day the Mau-Mau and her best friend, whom I shall dub the Microblonde, go to day-care at the school based facility.

Happily, the day-care facility wasn't having a kid-free day. But I did have to turn around with two boys in the car. Mind you, once we turned for home, we noticed that the cold snap and the rain had resulted in a decent snowfall atop Mount Barrow.

Student-free day. Free snow on the mountaintop. Well, what else can you do? We fired up the Trusty Earth King, put on our warmest snuggies, and headed for the hills.


There wasn't a vast pile of snow or anything, but it's always nice. And from the snowy peak we had a hell of a view. More snow on distant mountains. Green lowlands beneath. The Bass Strait glittering like hammered brass in the distance.


We froze our arses off, of course. But then, that's the point, isn't it? Then we came home, and made hot bread. How good is that?

I'm going to make mulled wine tonight. Ha! Take that, you Saxon dogs!

Hey -- Did Somebody Order A Winter?

Holy sheepdip! That was fast. Where the flock did that come from? Couple days ago it was all shirt's off, snoozing under the sheet with the windows open. Then all of a sudden, it's Tasmania!

We've had a couple days of rain now. No -- three, actually. And not just rain: that cold, wet, insistent, continuous rain that characterises a Tasmanian winter. In keeping with the them, temperatures have plunged. We've got the wood heater going, and all the windows are misted up on the inside. When the clouds opened briefly this morning, I saw a fresh snowfall atop Mount Barrow. Thought about taking the kids, but the weather was too dodgy. I have no desire to find myself trapped on the mountaintop when the weather really closes in - and given that it only got worse all afternoon, I think that was a good decision.

I hope we get a real winter this year. It's been a bit dry and warm for the last three in a row. We need a serious winter's worth of rain to bring the aquifers back to life, and refill the whole hydroelectric scheme, and generally remind mainlanders that the don't want to be here, no sir, far too wet and drippy and cold, that's right, ignore those flowers...

Indoors stuff today. No chainsawing for me. Just a lot of reading, editing and writing. I made hot chocolate for the kids, played Scrabble with Natalie -- and whipped her arse something terrifying! -- made pizzas, etc. With the woodfire burning and the world outside dissolved into a grey-green mist, gentle rain falling on the roof, the coziness of this house beggars description.

May winter treat all of you as kindly.