It would seem that The Pea are settling in. During the week, while I slept (night-shifter), visitors observed them dancing together, a sinuous undulation reminiscent of dolphins swimming, while weaving in & out around each other—very entertaining! Thursday afternoon, in the warm sunlight, Xerxes displayed. He is still quite young & yet to develop the glorious train-of-eyes that one expects on a Peacock, but his array of bronzey wings & tail was fully hoist & he shimmied engagingly. Not to be outdone, his sister, Esmeralda, fronted up to him, also displayed, & appeared to have been answered with an "Oi! That's *my* department! Find your own party trick!".

Watching the sun set usually brings me a sense of peace—now, it is enhanced by watching The Pea ascend to their chosen roost. Until last evening, they habitually slept twenty feet off the ground—no more, no less. Last night, they reached the previously favoured limb, then one of them looked up & lifted off, another twenty feet higher. They are large birds, yet they seem almost to float, quietly, upon the air, & at times, ascend nearly vertically.

The Pea sleep on a tree branch, open to the weather, so, it's a tad peculiar that they spend much of the day, under cover, on the back porch, & seem to delight in roosting on (or, in) the laundry tubs. With The Pea on the sink & The Goose inspecting their reflections in the front-loading washing machine's window, it can be an adventure accessing the toilet & shower.


Xerxes, on deck, & Esmeralda, aloft.

Last Sunday afternoon, I treated myself to the ABC Classic FM free concert, held in the Sir Stanley Burbury Theatre, at the Uni.. It's not often that these concerts come to Hobart; I've always managed to miss them in the past. Christopher Lawrence introduced the Kingfisher Trio (Duncan Gifford - piano, Susan Collins - violin, Sue-Ellen Paulsen - cello) performing Mozart’s Divertimento in B flat, K254, and Schumann’s Piano Trio No 3 in G minor, Op 110. During the first movement of the Mozart piece (the allegro) the piano seemed rather flat, as 'though the sound could only lift about three feet above the instrument. I'm certain that the pianist was playing well—p'raps the piano had not warmed up on such a cold day, or, indeed, my ear-drums had not warmed after the drive to the venue. Both ladies on strings played magnificently, & the piano's sound slowly unfurled its petals during the adagio, to be in full blossom, throughout the auditorium, by the end of the movement.

Listening to recorded music, or the radio, as I generally do, it is so easy to forget the joys of a live performance—feeling the music enfold about one's self, observing the musicians, *their* involvement in the music, their facial expressions & body language, & noticing the reactions of others within the audience.

On Thursday night, ABC Classic FM broadcast Verdi's Requiem—a fine performance which took me back a number of years to the night that the wonderfully musical kirieldp took me to Llewellyn Hall, at the Australian National University, Canberra, to experience this same piece.

Two battalions (mixed choirs) were deployed as Regimental artillery, arrayed behind a large orchestra, which provided a rolling barrage. The soprano, alto, tenor, & bass Siege Guns were positioned at the Front, & archangelic brass sniped, periodically, from strategic corners of the cavernous bunker. Enthroned upon a cloud, we were thrilled: the roof echoed, trembled, & lifted as a troop of howling Valkyries & the Wild Hunt met in a great turbulence & moil.

A grand night out, for one & all!

The Pea are free!!

This morning, after feeding Xerxes & Esmeralda, my Pea-youngsters, I opened a corner of their pen & wandered off. Later, I saw that The Goose had entered the pen, lured by the lush growth that they've lusted after, this last fortnight.

Some hours passed. I went in search of the Pea, circling the house a few times, becoming (admittedly) concerned that they might have absconded. Eventually, they were found, sheltering under the *Cotoneaster* by the top pond. They spent the afternoon, quietly, on the verandah of the big shed. I endeavoured to tempt them with small slices of apple, & threw them occasional hands'-ful of grain.

Around sunset, the Pea approached me, quite near to the house, then walked (cautiously!) past, only a few feet away. Unfortunately, around the corner lurked Rinaldo, who asserted his dominance by removing a tail-feather from one of the Pea. I grabbed him, in a somewhat unceremonious fashion, admonished him, & sent him to bed, then looked for the Pea, locating them in time to witness a near-vertical flight to a stout branch twenty feet up a solid gum tree. It seems that the Pea will be fine, as long as Rinaldo doesn't chase them away.



Not my Pea, but a pretty bird, nonetheless!

This morning, in view of the recent rains, I decided to check the relative levels of the tanks around the property. So, nine feet in the air, perched atop the large concrete tank, wearing nowt but me trusty gumboots & a smile (as you do), I perceived a vehicle inbound, up me driveway. Not being sociably inclined, partially in view of my state of (un)dress, I high-tailed it down the hill towards the house, reaching the bunk-house co-synchronously with a rather large four-wheel-drive.

As I endeavoured to drape an old T-shirt in a somewhat decorous fashion, I was spotted through the bunk-house window. Without so much as a "Bye your leave?", a distinguished-looking gentleman of advanced years appeared around the corner, bearing aloft a publication of the title "Awake!". Upon noticing my state of deshabitude, he instructed someone within the vehicle to delay, as I had obviously just "stepped out of the shower".

To abbreviate the encounter, I said "No religious--have a nice day". He replied with "Can we just talk with you?", to which I countered, gesturing at the T-shirt, "Would you like me to drop this & step around the corner?"

I was offered a courteous, if brief, "Good day!"

A win for the skin, p'raps? ; )

This evening, shortly after twilight, I returned to the house, said "Hello!" to two of the resident possums, who were busily fossicking about for Chook-spilled barley, & was surprised to have a small, long-tailed hopping critter (I'm guessing a Potoroo) almost trip over my foot as I stood on the door-mat. It's the first time I've seen this particular individual—hopefully, not the last.
Earlier, during the afternoon, I had the pleasure of squatting by the (fish) pond, with a cool, misty breeze tickling my nethers, as my six fish lazed about after their flakes, The Goose blinked at me sleepily from an arm's reach away, & the Chooks eyed me, quizzically, in hopes of more cake.
I received a lovely post-card from the wonderful kirieldp depicting, in clear colour, a beautifully carved wooden drinking horn from 13th C. Sweden, of which I'd previously only seen a small b&w photograph. It lives in the Historiska Museet, Stockholm.
Short of a large stone house on acreage, the love & understanding of a good woman, & a brace of Irish Wolfhounds, does Life get much better than this?

Today developed, from a cold, hazy morning, to warm & sunny--perfect for sitting outside & carving bone, rather than working seventeen hours, at two worksites. I pottered amongst my shrubberies, weeding & re-potting, & throwing scraps out for the local ravens.

I enjoyed watching the two Hens, & Rinaldo, going about their rounds, & eating (devouring!) cake for afternoon tea; The Goose, wending their purposeful way around the place, carolling, & occasionally, practising take-off run-ups; &, as a novel experience, observing the behaviour of two young Peafowl who have joined us here, at Casa Snorri. They are this Spring's progeny, supplied my Madryn (as were The Goose), & seeming to settle in. Sunday night, while attempting to roost, they were confused by the overhead netting, but this afternoon's sunshine saw them preening & basking, stretched upon the warm ground.
Rinaldo, a sizeable Rhode Island Red rooster, is fascinated by them--they are of a similar height, with longer legs, longer plumage, & feathery topknots, instead of combs. The Goose have had a good look at them, also, but the young'uns, having grown up around both chooks & geese, appear unfazed.

After yesterday's adventures in revealing & arranging the Library, at the bottom of the last stack of books tucked into the farthest, darkest corner of the lounge-room, I discovered--Wait for it!...Eureka!--the Ann Hyland books that I sought. Not only were there "The Medieval Warhorse: From Byzantium to the Crusades", Grange Books, London, 1994, & "Training the Roman Cavalry: From Arrian's 'Ars Tactica'", Grange Books, London, 1993, but also "The Horse in the Middle Ages", Sutton Publishing, 1999!!

Oh, & a couple of books on general horse-handling & riding, "de rigeur"...

And, there was rejoicing! : )

So, this afternoon, inspired by yesterday's bit o'horsey fun, I decided to locate a few of my horsey-flavoured books. After unpacking a number of boxes of books, some of which have not seen the light of day for 15 years, or so; having unpacked & shelved six hundred (!) books, & assorted publications; having discovered, to my joy, that I *did* own a copy of Michael Camille's "The Medieval Art of Love", in addition to his "Image on the Edge: The Margins of Medieval Art", Reaktion Books, 1992 (Here's looking at *you*, quatrefoil); having found books on pre-historic & 19th C. seafaring, architecture over the past 10,000 years, the "visual arts" over a similar time-span, natural history, literature--spanning the globe (in trans., mostly) since cuneiform first dried in the hot sun, drama (predominantly Medieval or Renaissance), culinary topics, horticulture, Saxon & Norse sociology, other scientific topics (not much physics or maths), metalwork (of varying types), woodwork (historical examples--Drool!), ceramic work (over thousands of years--more drool...), battle in the ancient Middle East, from when they were throwing stones at each other (Oh! Wait...), battle across the 20th C., in its plethora of guises, the French Foreign Legion, & last, but not least, my beloved Marine Corps; would you think that I could, possibly, find the two that I sought?

All I wanted was to locate Ann Hyland's books on the Medieval Warhorse & her examination of Arrian's (?) treatise on training the Roman Cavalry. Ann has worked with Peter Connolly (& probably, others) on equine reconstructive archaeology. My recollection of her books, from some years ago, was that they were well researched & approachable for reading.

Happily, I located A. Azzaroli's "An Early History of Horsemanship", E.J. Brill, Leiden, Nederlands, 1985, but I knew where to look for that one...& I found "The Royal Hordes: Nomad Peoples of the Steppes", E.D. Phillips, Thames & Hudson, 1965; which I had forgotten that I owned--it can go with the other Scythian material. : )

Back to the Hallstadt mines...Hi-ho!

Having awoken at 0330, 0430, & 0530, I was happy enough to roll out of the rack at 0800. Fed the Chooks, the Goose, & the Fleur. Tidied the kitchen, emptied the fireplace, helped a friend off-load some personal possessions to store here, at Casa Snorri.

Then, it was off to Lord P.'s, for the inaugural gathering of the Equestrianly-interested folks. We each introduced ourselves, speaking of experience & aspiration, before going outside to view equipment, & become acquainted with Valiant, a half-bred Friesian. Glossy-coated, full-of-himself, black Stallion (& doesn't he know it!).

Lord P., & his Lady, B., rode their mounts past the Turk's Heads & Quintain, simulating, or actually, striking the target. Milady B.'s mount was notable in that, with minimal training/exposure, she coped with a large number of people, weapons being waved about, & targets being dropped. This is a Good Thing (tm).

Lord P. showed that he, & Valiant, were quite proficient at quintain work, & the Turk's Head sword-play, also.

This evening, I accompanied H., M., & Kareina to the new CD launch of Harlequin: their "Devil's Horseman"--a fully Medieval playlist. They're lovely folks, who play good music, on (mostly) hand-made instruments, frequently crafted from endemic Tasmanian timbers (you *really* want to hear, see, or purchase these instruments!!). Always a pleasure to listen to Harlequin!

Yesterday, it was a beautifully still, cool, sunny morning. As I pottered about my Tropical corner, watering, potting-up, re-arranging foliage, I heard a quiet whickering from the direction of the open door. Looking around, I saw Clarice, the more timid of my Goose girls, tip-toeing across the kitchen floor towards me.( Of Goose & Fish )

The North-West facing window, that frames the view of the Nort-West corner of North-West Bay, appears to be an agreeable site for the warm climate plants in my life. The Tamarillo has grown & now sports two bright green, un-frost-damaged leaves, while the Banana is slowly unfurling its next banner.

: )

In poultry news, the poor White Hen chucked a nervous fit, last week, & moulted, almost overnight (recalls this time, last year, when both girls had a serious nocturnal scare). It may be that she is getting too much attention from the Rusty Red Leviathan that Rinaldo has become (he's huge!) while the Black Chook has been ensconced in her broody box. Thankfully, the Black Chook is coming off the brood, & the White Hen has again started sleeping with her, in the box. It's not all that cold at night, but, with no feathers...

The Goose are a joy to have about the place. Little Fleur is growing, filling out, & developing into a real sweetie, although still shy of strangers.

There may be Pea Fowl in our near future!!

Further to yester-eve's generosity, today His Illustriousness, the P.M., gifted me a Macadamia Nut Tree & a Tamarillo. Sadly, both were slightly the worse for the recent frosts (& cheaper, because of; the nice lady at the nursery thanked me for adopting the Macadamia!), yet, esconced within the North-West facing window, one may hope for a speedy recovery. Now, all one needs do is to move the Avocados indoors, & it'll be a li'l slice of tropical Qld. in the lounge-room! Cheap holiday, what!?!

May one smile, now? : )

"Day-o! Da-a-ay-o! Daylight come & me wanna go home!"

Two days after the first frost of the season, in order to stimulate the economy, the Honourable Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, presented me with a Banana tree!!

How cool is that?

He also presented me with a rather nice set of stain(resistant) steel measuring cups, a sizeable 18/10 stain(resistant) steel roasting pan, & two books--"Treasures of the British Museum", Viking Press, 1972; & "Wealth of the Roman World, A.D. 300-700", Kent & Painter(eds.), British Museums Pubs., 1977. The first is a bit dated, but has many photographs of sexy artifacts, while the second is a formal exhibition catalogue of gold & silver artifacts of the period.

Yummy!

Yesterday morning, having returned home from night-shift, I engaged in a real-time textual intercourse with a dear friend on the other side of the planet--we could almost hear each other yawn (it was 0-dark-30 hours, over there).

Later, my sister called, on the telephone, from Florida. We could actually *hear* each others' voices!!

The Marvels of Modern Technology--whatever will be next?

Maybe some bright spark will hatch a plan to put a man on the Moon!

Had a pleasant afternoon hanging out with a third-year Life Sciences student & her house-mate. The first two of us looked around Salamanca Market & the Hobart waterfront, explored Fitzroy Gardens (some lovely Oaks, Elms, Ashes, Birches, Hawthorns, Plane Trees & such), & chatted about her third fantasy novel, before the fun house-mate returned & we teased the young'un about life-stuff, from our exalted position of Experience ; ) .

This evening, I went to a small dance, featuring Tessa Lee & the Verandahcoots--fun stuff.

After work, this morning, Classiarius D. accompanied me home to work upon some knives he has in progress.

I showed him the results of my steel-work on Monday

--Instant Seax Envy!!!

He has made a number of smaller, table-knife sized seaxes; by comparison, mine is *Huge*!. He was incensed to think that I may have stolen a march on him when it comes to a larger blade.

So, D. set about an old, curved car spring that I had out the back, in an effort to "keep up with the Snorri". Hmmm...

When he asked me to help him straighten his cut-out blank, I wielded an axe (doesn't everyone?) for eight, or ten, blows upon it (it were *airborne*!), upon which the tang separated itself from the blade (it were *airborne*, too!!).

So, did I, as more or less accused, deliberately queer his pitch, a la attacklaurel's finer instructions on keeping the masses suitably humble? Or, did I provide him with an opportunity to express himself, not so much by the *length* of his weapon, but through his creativity in developing the shorter blank into a finely finished product? *His* seax


is promised to be "much nicer" than mine, when completed! In my most complacently patronising tone, I reassured him that aspirations were a "wonderful thing".



I leave it to the Discerning Reader to reach their own decision, on these projects-in-progress.


My seax is longer! : )

On Saturday, the delightful Stella, Our Seneschal, Lord L., & Our Lady-in-Waiting, Lady D., en-waggoned together to survey the verdant fields of Ynys Fawr, & to travel North to Hollybank, a forest reserve populated with oaks, ashes, elms, maples, birches, & an assortment of Northern Hemisphere conifers (one-hundred foot tall Douglas Firs, for instance--an *Avenue* of them!)

It was a glorious day--the early Autumn sunshine parted the glowingly-green foliage with its gentle fingers, birds belled, cool breezes whispered back & forth. A number of us visited together & nibbled upon a variety of temptations, including Lord W.'s Apple Crumble (Divine!), a Caramel Mud Cake, & Lord H.'s cooked-on-the-spot Bannocks, with home-grown Honey, freshly made "Skyr", home-made Butter, & Blackberries picked that morning.

Speaking of Lord H.: he was carrying what appeared to be a jumbo-sized "Rambo" knife, HUGE, & with a wicked-looking serrated back edge...it turns out that it was actually a "Mastermyr"-find handsaw in progress. H. wants to build a boat, but first, he must make the tools with which to craft his boat. Doesn't everyone?? : )

The very talented Lord C. patterned my foot for a pair of 10th. C. booties; others perused an assortment of interesting books. Too soon, it was time to turn homewards.

Having been distracted by the company, & conversation, within the waggon, I thought it but a little surprise to have spotted only one Echidna along the way.

The recent spate of artisany activity around home has had a beneficial side-effect--this morning, feeling inspired, I fossicked out a chunk of spring steel from hitherto hidden depths & applied it to a grinder. Having also waved assorted implements of destruction at an antler-beam, I now have an "objet" with a passing resemblance to a "Langseax". It should be useful for opening letters, trimming toe-nails (once properly sharpened), & tethering small-ish horses.

This evening, at Dance Practice, we had an attendance of twenty-nine!! Not all danced; most did, & had a great time!

The wonderful bend_gules requested pictorial representation of last Monday's metallic ornament fabrication session.

Et, voila!!




A pretty piece of work--shame about the pale blue, synthetic cloth backdrop...how's about a rich, blood-red velvet, instead?

Here, at Casa Snorri, it is that magical time of an evening, when the molten eye of the Sun has just slipped behind the Pelverata hills, gently gathering the soft folds of its apricot & lavender-hued skirts behind it. The air has a coolness to it, muting the occasional passing motor-grumble, or the odd dog's bark.

Snug Tier, Pelverata, Cathedral Rock & the Montagus all appear to be deep blue collages against a paler wash.

All is calm.



Looking across North-West Bay (to the West), during yesterday's mid-afternoon, bright sunlight





& North-West, towards Cathedral Rock & the Montagus

The inestimable eithni pointed me at this little gem--hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

We Haven’t Got There Yet.


by Harry Turtledove.