This will hurt me...

The storm after the calm. Geilston Bay, January 2012. Watery Wednesday today, and we celebrated a day early here in Hobart as the storms kicked in yesterday evening bringing both a few boatloads of rain and breaking the mini-heat wave that we'd had the previous few days.

Raindrops on the road. East Derwent Highway, Geilston Bay. November 2011. Today's Sunday Top Five is an appropriately themed one: My Top Five Songs That Feature The Word "Sunday" In The Title ! Sunday Morning Coming Down , Kris Kristofferson Sunday, Bloody Sunday , U2 Every Day Is Like Sunday , Morrissey Lazy Sunday , The Small Faces Sunday , David Bowie Just missing the cut (but quality choons nonetheless): Sunday , Sonic Youth; One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning , The Flaming Lips; Sunday Night , The Go-Betweens; and Gloomy Sunday , Billie Holiday

QUICKLY ! Get that pot of gold boys… Geilston Bay, January 2011. Rainbows: optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere; or something infinitely more sinister? In Greek mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven. In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours. In the Epic of Gilgamesh: the rainbow is the "jewelled necklace of the Great Mother Ishtar" that she lifts into the sky as a promise that she "will never forget these days of the great flood" that destroyed her children. In Norse Mythology, a rainbow called the Bifröst Bridge connects the realms of Ásgard and Midgard, the homes of the gods and humans. In Hindu mythology, the rainbow is called Indradhanush, meaning "the bow of Indra, the god of lightning, t...

The view east of the bay of Geilston Bay. October 2010. Rain, rain, rain. Rain all night and it's still raining this morning. Which leads me to today's Sunday Top Five: My Top Five Songs Featuring The Word 'Rain' In The Title ! Rain , by The Beatles Have You Ever Seen the Rain , by Creedence Clearwater Revival Rainy Days and Mondays , by The Carpenters I Can't Stand the Rain , by Ann Peebles It's Raining Again , by Supertramp Just missing the cut (and in no particular order) were Blind Melon's No Rain , Garbage's Only Happy When It Rains , The Be Good Tanya's Rain and Snow , Here Comes the Rain Again by The Eurythmics, Walking in the Rain by The Ronettes and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain by Willie Nelson. All right, what have I missed?

Cranky Hanky slowly carves his way through the scrub to the wonders of Seven Mile Beach…

Another Spring morning in Hobart of course means more rain, snow again on the mountain and 4⁰C greeting me on my walk into walk today. Oh for the heady days of summer! Above are some Salamanca sweltering in the heat.

Here is one of the surviving branches down on Salamanca Lawns this morning. I reckon that it has rained pretty much non-stop for the past three days. Indeed, talk of the weather has garnered Tasmania a few headlines this morning . We enjoyed a few hours without electricity yesterday, delightfully coinciding with a feverish desire on behalf of two littlies for DVDs that only the most innovative use of Duplo could quench.

A familiar view here in Geilston Bay the past three or four months. That, coupled with grizzling children caked in snot has ensured our share of [ahem] interesting evenings. I did consult with the most recent guide to the Geneva Convention rules and regulations, and wouldn't you know it, there, on page 367, full colour prints of Henry and Ezra! Designated deliverers of cruel and unusual torture , it reckons...

A solitary lamp post on Elizabeth Street in the early afternoon makes a lonely sight... So after a decent weekend, weather-wise, I again have the rich harmonies of Supertramp buzzing around my head. For you see, It's Raining Again [...Oh no, my love's atanend...] I'm not sure why my brain settled on a moderately successful single from 1982 to soundtrack this morning, but it has. I'm happy with Supertramp buzzing around my head though, as I generally stick to humming it. Heaven forbid I get Creedence Clearwater Revival's Have You Ever Seen The Rain? , as I can't help but belt out the chorus to all and sundry. Thus I come to today's Tuesday Q and A! Do you have a song that you can't resist singing out aloud to? What is it?

Here is the river Derwent enjoying a spell of good weather yesterday morning. Of course, it is Theme Thursday yet again, and the theme is a challenging one for me, stuck here in Tasmania during the coldest and wetest winter in my memory since that Annus horribilis of 1996. The theme, you see, is that of FESTIVAL. A FESTIVAL is an event , usually staged by a local community, which centres on some unique , interesting or exciting aspect of that community. Back in June we had the Ninth Antarctic Midwinter Festival down here in Hobart, but the only event I wanted to go to got called off because of winter rain. Who knew that Huskies don't like getting wet? You see, it's been too cold, too wet, and there have just been too many pandemic scares to get anyone in a party mood. My house have pretty much seen an endless loop of coughing, cranky and tired people clutching wet handkerchiefs while snapping at each other and grizzling. Oh, and complaining about the endless rain. Yes, th...

What compels them to find the highest point, and then endeavour to stand bolt upright? I don't know the science that might be able to explain it, but I do know a little arithmetic: heavy rain + cranky baby compelled to climb + toddler oblivious to rules = not a lot of fun .

We've had a bit of rain about this week, which acts as a bit of a disincentive to get out with the camera. If you are interested in shots of raindrops or puddles, this is the place to be. Here is a railing down in Sullivan's Cove, just across the road from Parliament House. I haven't counted each raindrop, but won't stop you if you wish to.

No it is not a webcam, but this photograph was taken a mere forty-five ago on my way in to work. Here you can see a good old fashioned Hobart autumn morning, with the rain pelting down and me getting drenched. This one was taken on the corner of Macquarie and Elizabeth, while I was waiting for the lights to change. Come on Ampelmännchen ! Today is my wedding anniversary, an apparently I need to be showering Jen with leather -related goodies. Va-va-vaVOOM! To you Jennifer, here is a poem I wrote this very morning. Anniversary I love you i love you iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou I LOVE you I love YOU iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou I LOVE YOU iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou Happy anniversary

The photo above was taken as I was walking up the road to the bus stop this morning. As you can see, it was a lovely and bright morning. Actually is was incredibly dark and pelting down with rain. It was also about three degrees, so I briskly made my way to the stop (and some protection from the rain and wind). By the time that I made it into town the rain had stopped and (some) sun had emerged. This brief reprieve from the rain presented a lovely view of the mountain liberally coated in snow. Because I have featured the mountain a little too much of late , I have attached today’s effort only as a supplementary photograph.

I was greeted with a far lovelier scene out on the fire escape this morning. No doubt, you will recall the snow photographed yesterday. Well, it is still there! Only this time, it had a friendly rainbow there to keep it company. I want to share with you all part of my day. I just went to a launch of a campaign designed by, and aimed at, 'young people'. It was an open thing, hip and happening. There were TV cameras there, lots of money thrown at glossy brochures, stickers, stick-on tattoos, a new-fangled website, carry bags, magnets, the lot. The central component is a website projected as a 'multimedia portal for young people by young people' and by and large, they have done a reasonable job in their task, I wouldn't want to suggest otherwise. The thing that I have to note though is the audience. As I said, it was an open launch that was promoted widely. There were tables full of grub and drink for people to pick over. So who was there? Conservatively, I would wa...

The Tasmanian Parliament. In the morning. In the rain. Yes it is cold. Very cold. Yes. It is still the robot. Today I have a quiz. Today I will name five names and you have to guess what it is that these people have in common. Here are the names: Raquel Welsh Teri Hatcher Cameron Diaz Sandra Bullock and current US President George W. Bush Answers in the comment section. First correct answer wins a prize. The prize will be the deep satisfaction that can only come with knowing that you have won a meaningless contest.

The seemed to be a fair bit of rain last night and this morning, but it appeared to clear in time for my walk to the bus stop, and then from the other bus stop into work. Naturally, the wet weather did nothing to persuade the many fools in high performance motor vehicles who (in an endeavour to demonstrate their own joie de vivre ) routinely accelerate to preposterous degrees in the attempt to claim victory in that oh-so-meaningful feat of reaching the next red light first! Might I add that, despite the impression one would get from the esteemed Tasmanian press, the aforementioned hoons are not always young men draped in gold jewellery and featuring ghastly haircuts. Just as often one can spot the middle aged female – similarly draped in gold jewellery and with ghastly haircut – looking to drop young Cassandra off at the elite ladies college up the road ("ten thousand dollars a year, but worth every cent!") Then, she will proceed to a big grey building where she, and many li...