This will hurt me...

I took this photo not long before a storm hit. We could see the rain moving in from the north, north west and west (over the mountain). The problem with these kinds of early-summer days in Tasmania is that we can have a hot and humid 32°C air tempreture, but when you dip your toe in the drink, you’ll find it a far more bracing 13°C or so. Henry, as you can see, is a brave soul…

This is not a cherry tree. Lindisfarne, November 2010. The Eucalyptus down here in Tasmania are evergreen, which means that I get to enjoy the leaves all year round! Covered with oil glands, Eucalyptus leaves have a wonderful odour. In fact, Eucalyptus oil is a wonderful thing. Great for relieving the symptoms of flu and colds, it also has antibacterial effects on pathogenic bacteria in the respiratory tract. Inhaled eucalyptus oil vapour is a decongestant and treatment for bronchitis. What other things can this marvellous thing do? Well I’m glad you asked! Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting conclusion to THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF EUCALYPTUS ! Eucalyptus , how I love thee! Meanwhile, have a poem about another tree... Loveliest of Trees, the cherry now , by A.E. Houseman Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride Wearing white for Eastertide. Now, of my threescore years and ten, Twenty will not come again, And take from sev

Ezra here is set to start chomping on a snail he has found. Quick tip for begginers: we generally kill, clean, gut and cook the snails in garlic butter first!

Snails really are the most interesting creatures. Geilston Bay, November 2010. Two books read this week, and what a pair! I managed to complete parts two and three of the Lucifer Box trilogy. After reading The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss a few weeks back, I leant of the library and score numbers two and three. # 2 is The Devil in Amber , and takes place twenty years after the Edwardian adventures of #1. Lucifer is now middle aged, traumatised by the Great War, and under the pump from a new generation of secret agents. Of course, he remains as beautiful lithe as ever – and informs us on a regular basis – but seems a little less cocksure and a little more vulnerable than the earlier tale. Without giving too much away, the story is a little darker as Lucifer battles a horrible gang of Fascists with a bent for Satanism. It is not quite the romp of the first, and the maudlin tone of the interwar period is well captured. Finishing the set, we shoot forward another twenty-or-so years into a

What are your legs? Springs. Steel springs. What are they going to do? Hurl me down the track. How fast can you run? As fast as a leopard. How fast are you going to run? As fast as a leopard! Then let's see you do it!

Something has happened. New Town Road, New Town. November 2010. I've got to go to Ross today. Ross . I hope that there are no zombies in Ross. I suspect that zombies may well be responsible for the death of the poor chair featured above.

I count five Mr Men books on his lap. Care to hazard a guess as to who feature?

We call it Babel II . The living room, Geilston Bay. November 2010. If the boys let me, I can just about manage to get the Lego Duplo tower all the way to the ceiling. Then the race is on to knock the bugger down! For some reason, my children seem to take a profound and personal offence to the wonderful and impressive constructions...

Henry is an ideas man. He is a concepts man. A big picture kind of guy. Henry is not about the detail, he’s about the superstructure. Henry is a deity, he’s not a priest. Henry is Henry.

The beer is nourishing. This one is drinking. This one does not drink. Have you got that ladies? If you hit the grog while breastfeeding, you'll have a contented and thriving baby, an abundance of milk, a plump and bonny baby, a fulsome bust and a healthy head of hair. However, if you choose to eschew a few flower vases of the amber liquid each day, you will surely develop a stoop, your breasts will sag, your hair will become lank and greasy, and you shall be guaranteed to have a sickly, miserable little Konstantin Chernenko-doppelgänger wailing at your increasing grotesque tit all the time. If this happens, you can be guaranteed that you will not be keeping your husband for much longer either! You've been warned.

The horror as what lurks down low among the chives. The backyard, Geilston Bay. November 2010. Another day, another questionnaire... Today, What Kind of Cook Am I? Are you a good cook? I believe so. What kind of cook are you? An instinctive one. What is your speciality? It depends who you ask. I like my gulyás . Ezra likes my Kim-chi Bo-kum-bop . Henry likes my cakes. What was the last meal you ate? Evening meal? It was a steak sandwich with the lot. Do you eat breakfast? Yes, EVERY day. I have been better about this in the past six months. Name a food you dislike. I hate nuts, but then again, they hate me too. If I had to name something that wouldn’t kill me if I ate it, I’m not a big fan of tuna. What is your favourite fast food restaurant? It depends on my mood. I like Nandos. If there were an Oporto in Tasmania, I’d be a regular there. Where do you like to eat with friends? I should confess that I don’t like to eat with friends. Pancakes or French toast? I cook a lot more pancakes

Some days you just want to swing. And swing. And swing. And swing. And swing. And then swing a little bit more.

Railing outside the Withdrawal Unit. November 2010. When I was little, I used to close one eye and focus along the line of things: fences, poles, grass. You can get a good look at - for example - an ant. You can see the ant going about his business, meeting his friends and family. If you lucky, you can see him doing something really special...

You know that famous photo of Marylin Monroe covered in bubbles? Yeah, this photo is nothing like that...

Waiting for something to happen. Geilston Bay, November 2010. I took this photo just over the road from our place. It's a mite depressing that you can see - on the extreme upper left - the Carruthers Building. I suspect that with the right equipment, you'd even be able to zoom and and see my desk! Today's Sunday Top Five? Five Games In Which Henry Has Bested Me! SNAP! Connect Four Guess Who? Hide and Seek Memory If you've ever played games with Henry, you'll understand that sometimes taking one for the team is the better result for everybody...