Spring 2011

Tasma House and Gardens - Spring 2011

Spring 2011 at Tasma House and Gardens is in full flight.  The trees are abundant with new growth and blossoms.  The cockatoos, ravens, ducks, honey-eaters, rosellas, and kookaburras are all chiming in with their songs of the forest.  Tasma House is adjacent to the springs reserve and the Wombat Forest and provides a corridor for local birds and animals.  The other morning I bumped into Mr. Kangaroo on Table Hill rd, not with a car, but walking along.  Mrs. Wallaby has been leaving calling cards on the nature strip, as well.

The winter cold had Tasma House booked solid each weekend, with different groups celebrating stuff, getting older and wiser, learning and sharing things, and otherwise keeping warm together.  Daylesford has long been popular as a place in winter where you can relax, stay indoors or rug-up against the cold outdoors and do very little.  The cold acts as an effective excuse for this and an opportunity to cook slow meals and indulge in good company.  Friends and extended family groups have been doing this over winter, but with the spring sunshine, there is a distinct increase in the hoots and hollers of happy kids on the trampoline in the gardens, and the smell of BBQ's in the air as the activities move outside.  

The front verandah gets a healthy dose of sun in the afternoons, where a sunset can be enjoyed over the Wombat Forest, whilst watching all the birds that visit the ponds.  Give that rocking chair a good rockin' while you are at it, and the magic of Table Hill in the Central Highlands will truly reveal itself.  

Adrian

Autumn 2011

 Tasma House and Gardens - Autumn 2011

The Central Highlands in Autumn.  Color, sunlight, earthy delights from the garden, growth and water all around.  Tasma's gardens are alive with the best that Autumn provides.  The senses are tickled with layers of activity.

The parrots that cannot be seen for heavy foliage in summer, suddenly show themselves with the baring of the trees.  The cockatoos are stripping the last ripe fruit from the trees, and coming close by to chat about the season.  A pair of wood ducks have a nest and eggs being looked after -- strange time of year for that, but what a strange year it has been in other ways, too.

Tasma House and Gardens is on a flat hill called, "Table Hill," but high enough to be considered in the mountains, making it colder here than in Melbourne or in other lower lying cities.  The wet Autumn leaves sparkle and glisten with morning dew and soon we'll see occasional frosts.

In Autumn, there are occasional blasts of sunny, crisp, days followed by cool nights that make you want to stay under the doona and revel in the time to cocoon.  Maybe take a long hot bath and read the paper all day.  While staying at Tasma House, people bush-walk or jump on the trampoline or play table tennis in the barn to get their blood going, then relax inside, warm and cozy from the bite of cool mountain night air.

There is something about mountain air that makes you sleep well.  That and the sound of nothing but the birds, frogs, and Autumn leaves falling on still ponds.  A friend told me once that people come to Daylesford in the colder times because it gives them the absolute opportunity or excuse to do nothing.  With only a couple of weekends left available at Tasma until spring, this must be true.  It's a tough job facilitating people doing nothing, but someone's got to do it!

This Autumn we have a group of knitters, celebrations for 30th, 40th, and 60th birthdays, family gatherings, multiple family sharings, a wedding party, and more.  I wish all of them a peaceful, memorable, and inspirational time here at Tasma, in the gardens, on the hill, in the highlands.

Adrian

March 2011

Tasma House and Gardens - March 2011

It’s the beginning of March 2011, and the Garden feels spectacular. The wettest season on record has made a difference, after 11 years of drought. A "hedges trimmed, lawns mowed," type of feeling, but more still. The biggest, toughest, piece of hedge -- one I have stared at for 2 years and nibbled at the corners of, has been cut down to manageable size.  I was there at the planting; but, 12 years on, there were parts of this cypress hedge that needed lopping, to keep the beautiful Wombat Forest in view and perspective.

The hedge job of March 2011 was a family effort, a birthday present both unexpected and unplanned, rather totally opportunistic use of strong helpers on a weekend spent otherwise indulging in far more relaxed pursuits -- watching the ducks with their crazy rituals, watching us.

The Cockatoos visit every day, bringing with them their cheeky screams of delight. The sun and rain combine to drench the area's rich abundance. It’s cold enough, sometimes, at night to think of fires outside without the bushfire menace being the first thought.

Tasma House is shaping up to be full of the joys of celebration for many in the coming 12 months. All kinds of private events are scheduled, together with a select few public ones.

The Tasma House calendar is filling as far away as 2012, which, in turn, feeds and nurtures those who sail her. Sorry about the ship analogy, being in the mountains and all, but I often think of Tasma House as a quirky old eccentric cruise ship.

Working on this blog, and one for my other interests, has felt like spring cleaning, even though spring is a looong way away.  Finding places for stuff, cleaning, and sorting, for me, has always been something to put off, yet it energises at the same time.

The Labour Day weekend means “Chillout Festival” in Daylesford, where thousands of people descend on the town.  I just had a conversation with a guest who has an official capacity with the festival but was enjoying his own style of "chill out," hanging out on the verandah, glass of wine in hand, watching the ducks on the pond.  It looked like he felt a million miles from worry.

Here’s a toast to both types of chilling out,........

@drian

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