As the weather warms up and the days get warmer, I thought I would share five things I love about Spring:
1. Nature coming to life after the depths of Winter, like my good friend here, the hibiscus. 2. Longer days - its still light when I leave work and I can't tell you how exciting that feels. Running group is not just a string of lights spread along the path. There is birdcall as I wake... 3. Getting outside - sunshine, walking, doggie walking, running, gardening. Most exciting: swimming. Had my first lap swim in ages the other day and it was great. 4. The joy of new life at the farm - last count we had two of this years calves, with more expected every week. 5. Salads! Don't get me wrong, I love a cooked vegetable, but I love the return of salad to our weeknight rotation. Every September, I hit the library up and see what's new in salad recipes. This year the wet weather drowned all of my herbs, so spring will also bring some new herbs to the garden, ready for salad season. What are you looking forward to as we dive into Spring? It's been a bit quiet round here lately, but that's because EE, Danielle and I have been busy with final edits on Tangled up in Blue. It all started with a discussion over dinner over a year ago, and now we're in pre-release, with our newest book due to hit the shelves 30th November 2020.
We're very excited. Along the way we've learned more about editing, publishing, and each other than I ever thought possible. So what's it all about? Think Australian small towns, family secrets, estranged sisters and unexpected romance. There are three separate stories and each of us has brought something new and exciting to the compilation - there's fortune cookies, baking, coffee, sherbet cones, antique hip flasks, diaries, postcards, adventure racing, annual festivals and most importantly love - unrequited love, instantaneous love, rekindled love, forbidden love and sisterly love. Oh, and there's bowerbirds.... I can't wait for you to read it. Winter in Brisbane isn't exactly onerous. We get about ten frigidly cold days (generally when there is snow on the mountains about 4 hours drive south of us), a month of cold, dry winds and that's about it. The days are sunny, the nights are cool.
The farm is at a higher elevation, and often dips into the minus temperatures with frost, and occasionally we get sleet. But we've missed out on winter at the farm this year because of border closures. I've tried to wait this last one out, but it looks like it will be prolonged, so I'm off to apply for an exemption. Hopefully I'll get down there again in enough time to use the fireplace. And to see some newborn calves that always arrive end of August. This is our social distancing walking path which goes to the acreages. If you scroll in, you can see the tips of the sky-scrapers in Brisbane city. We live at the city end of this road, and this was taken at sunset. There are koalas and kangaroos out here, and we spend a fair amount of time trying to spot them. No luck today... Upper Mt Gravatt (aka up Mt Gravatt) - 10th December The run started at Upper Mt Gravatt the suburb, then in a fit of "what the heck" it morphed into a run up Mt Gravatt. Which wouldn't be so bad except I'd already done Toowong in the pre-dawn, it was summer, I was on a narrow winding road with oh so many cars and cycles, and it was a very big hill. However, the view from the top was awesome. Victoria Point - 18th December 2017 Another pre-dawn run, and my first ever experience of a koala on the road, which scuttled away too quickly for me to get a good look. I followed the foreshore where someone had decorated the trees with Christmas decorations. I'll remember Victoria Point for the sense of community, and the peace. Wynnum - 20th December 2017 Ah, Wynnum. Many years ago we walked at Wynnum most afternoons, and on Sundays I would run from home to Wynnum to see the sunrise. But a house move that saw us move closer to the shore also stopped our trips to Wynnum. I don't know why. Another early morning run, and I promised myself I'd be back. Expo 88 site to XXXX brewery - 23rd December 2017 X proved to be challenging but a little bit of creative thinking gifted me a run I had done before, but not for a long time. It started at Southbank, the former home of Expo 88, where I spent a fair amount of time in my last year at Uni, took me over the Go-Between Bridge for the first time and over to the XXXX brewery, where Paddy Fitzgerald still adorns the walls of the brewery. This run was a trip down memory lane - of Brisbane half marathons and walking home to Toowong from Expo. So much change, yet some things are still the same Yeronga to Yerongpilly - 24th December 2017 It was a beautiful calm day for my next to last run on the A-Z run of Brisbane and I spent another glorious day on the River. There were streets I'd never been on, a new tennis centre, the old power station was now redeveloped, and best of all, a riverside park full of teddy bears wearing reindeer ears, draped with tinsel. Really? Yes really. Zillmere - 24th December 2017
In 1965/66 my parents ran a petrol station called the Zillmere Star, and so for the final run in my year long odyssey, I set off armed with an old photo to see if it was still standing. And it was. The building is exactly the same, repainted and rebranded, but exactly the same. I wondered what my parents, both long gone, would think of that. On the way back I found the Zillman waterholes, and marvelled at the diversity and beauty that is all around us in this city I've always called home. I was sad to say goodbye to the A-Z run, and I think perhaps I haven't really said my final farewells. A good friend suggested I do a sequential one way run from A to B to C to D and see if I could continue through the whole alphabet. Let me get my map... The A-Z Run of Brisbane of 2017 was well and truly off track - it was November and I was up to O. Ormiston - 12th November 2017 Ormiston was one of the hidden gems of the A-Z run - wide open streets, huge trees and a historic wool scour on the side of a creek. I spent all my time looking up for koalas, but sadly I didn't see one. Petrie - 20th November 2017 A meandering run alongside the Pine River, with glimpses of both suburbia and acreage. There was a huge off lead dog area on the riverbank and if not for the thought of the muddy paws in the car, I would bring the dogs here in a heartbeat. Queensport - 25th November 2017 So, the letter Q had me stumped until a friend brought in an old street directory showing a suburb called Queensport. Once upon a time Queensport was the site of an aquarium/funfair and people from Brisbane caught a steamer down to see it. Unfortunately a flood put an end to that. Now an industrial area, I could see the pine trees shown in the photos of the aquarium, and the brick foundations of the pier. This pub was gorgeous, although I didn't drop in. I also visited the site of the Queensport Meatworks - the ruins are directly under the Gateway Bridge and easily visible, although fenced off for safety. Redcliffe to Scarborough - 26th November 2017 This run was familiar territory - I've run here many times - some of my earliest memories are of Redcliffe and the day did not disappoint - it was gorgeous. I ran from Suttons's Beach at Redcliffe to Scarborough Boat Harbour and back, then finished the morning at the Redcliffe markets, where I had an icy cold homemade lemonade. Favourite bit of the whole run: A beach Santa, doing Santa photos - so much nicer than the shopping centre experience. Toowong - 10th December 2017
Toowong Cemetery is one of my absolute favourite places in the world - I love the history, the hills, the trees, the silence. I ran at dawn, alone with my thoughts and thousands of souls. What an awesome start to the day. And so the A-Z run of Brisbane continued, after a brief pause to train for and run my first half marathon in 11 years: Jacob's Well - 22nd October 2017 An awesome seaside village about 45 minutes from home and a place I'd never been to. There were horses, jet skis, kayaks and fishermen. I traversed the old town, complete with 'Home and Away" style caravan park, then went over to the new canal development where the houses were huge and the gardens immaculate. I think I preferred the old town. Kangaroo Point - 24th October 2017 I've spent a bit of time running the river banks of Kangaroo point but not since all the development went in - I loved the jacarandas, and the sense of community that's developed since the last time I ran through. And, just to prove I could, I took the scary rock stairs to the top of the cliffs and back down again, hoping that I didn't break an ankle. (I didn't) Lota - 28th October 2017 When I think of Lota I think of cute seaside village that you don't want to visit at dusk in summer because of the midges and mosquitoes. Yet, at dawn, the creeks and waterfront are beautiful. My run took me on a mangrove boardwalk, and through a nature reserve and if I'd wanted to I could have gone for hours. Mt Cootha - 29th October 2017 Back in the late 1980's, when I lived over that side of town, I used to run Mt Cootha every Saturday morning, then head to Toowong pool for a swim. The hill, I remember well - 2km of straight uphill slog. The view on the day of my visit wasn't great, but the joy of reaching the summit remains. I visited the park at the summit where my Mr Right popped the question, all those years ago. New Farm - 5th November 2017
Brisbane has the City Cats (river ferries) and I decided to park on my side of town, catch a City Cat to New Farm, then run. My goal was simple - to beat the City Cat back - it was going to St Lucia, I was heading towards the city and would turn when I thought it would reach St Lucia and try to beat it back. I did beat it back, and the sprint at the end felt awesome. A-Z Run of Brisbane - Fairfield, Glasshouse Mountains, Hemmant to Hamilton and Indooropilly8/5/2017
The A-Z run of Brisbane continues....
And still I am amazed at how much enjoyment it is bringing. I've found myself in a conundrum - I set a goal of a half marathon in September - which I completed. But training for speed/distance is very different to a weekly run focusing on exploring, photgraphing and experiencing something new. So I parked my A-Z run temporarily. Now, I'm behind schedule. I have about 80 days to the end of the year, and 17 letters to complete. Eeeeekkkk. F = Fairfield - 18/6/17 First up, we have Fairfield at dawn, which was spectacular. I had never run in Fairfield before - had run through it to cross the green bridge, but never explored Fairfield. To finish my Fairfield day, I spent the day with fellow author Danielle Birch at South Brisbane Cemetery Open Day and it was great. Mental note - lots of subsided, unmarked graves in South Brisbane Cemetery - never run on the grass... G = Glasshouse Mountains - 2/7/17 Next, the Glasshouse Mountains - and the disused railway tunnel in the Dularcha National Park . I've lived in South East Queensland all my life and until I started doing this A-Z run I did not know about this rail trail. Now I want to hike the length of the Glasshouse Mountains. It was a great day. H = Hemmant to Hamilton - 23/7/17 Hemmant to Hamilton return was the run that set the half-marathon firmly in motion. With no training, and not much in the way of pre-thought I woke up one Sunday and decided to see if I could run from Hemmant (never been there before) to Hamilton (which I rediscovered thanks to regular catchups with my old work crew). Courtesy of a wrong turn (thanks Google maps) it became 21km, with two crossings of the Gateway Bridge and what started as a vague notion of a half marathon firmed up as the kilometres ticked over. If I could run 21km with no training, imagine what would happen if I trained. (Answer, ran it one hour faster...) I = Indooropilly - 21/10/17 Indooropilly - and the Walter Taylor Bridge - was the most recent installment. I lived in nearby Toowong for 4 years during Uni, and yet I never visited Indooropilly shopping centre or crossed the bridge. Until this run, I hadn't even driven on it. October means Jacarandas, so I was hoping to catch some jacaranda action as well. As all UQ graduates know, if you haven't started studying by the time the jacarandas come out, you are in huge trouble. I will never see a jacaranda without remembering the local legend. Indooropilly was a mix of urban development and untouched original houses and as I ran I wondered how many more units could be shoe-horned onto its narrow streets. I had trouble finding a park at 6am in the morning. Sadly, it was raining, so I didn't take my dripping self to the shopping centre. That will have to wait until another day. So, its finally time to catch up on the A-Z run of Brisbane. I have been running, just having been posting. So here's a summary of the B,C,D and E runs B = Bribie Island - 22/1/17 As a child we lived near Bribie Island and my first trip to the beach was to Bribie's calm side with my kindy class. I was petrified. First bus trip. First beach trip. Spent the entire day clinging to the teacher. As an adult I haven't spent a lot of time on Bribie, and as I'm discovering during this sightseeing run of Brisbane, there's one common theme - Why don't I ever come here normally? Made a promise to myself as I stood on the beach, soaking up the atmosphere - I'm definitely coming back. C = Cleveland 5/2/17 So carrying on with the beach theme, my C run was at Cleveland. I parked at the point then explored the foreshore for the next hour and a bit. It was a glorious day, a bit hot, but everywhere I turned, it was beautiful. This is 20 mins from my house. Again, why do I never come here normally? While pondering this very thought, I ran past the terminal that runs the water taxi to Stradbroke Island. Hmmmmh... Do I really have to wait to get to S? Turns out, no. D = Dunwich, Stradbroke Island 12/3/17 Stradbroke Island is a 25 minute water taxi ride from Cleveland, and a million miles away. I had the best time. It was hot and humid and a bit later than I like to run (because of the ferry times) but I had a ball. Met a fabulously leathery skinned gent wearing very tiny shorts who lives on his boat off Straddie, who told me I was "very white" and asked if I was English. Nope, live over there, I tell him. Just not much into getting sunburnt. Biggest regrets of this run: 1. I couldn't stay all day, even though I wanted to 2. I didn't have time to get a pie from the pie shop before I got back on the water taxi. Clearly the pies are good, judging by the aroma coming from the pie shop, and the queues. I guess I'm going to have to go back... E = Eagle Junction 26/3/17
So I was spoilt for choice by the letter E - Eagle Farm, Eagle Junction, Eagleby. Turns out early Brisbane had a lot of Eagles. I was conflicted - I wanted to run Eagle Farm but its industrial and not somewhere I was sure I would be safe. So instead I chose the old stomping grounds of my sister - Eagle Junction. I was too young to drive when she lived there, so I tried to find the flat by starting at the train station, and I found it. Still can't believe it. This was an architecture run - spent a lot of time gazing at old houses made new again, old houses waiting for love, and discovering that streets I had driven down many times as an adult were so close to this area and I never realised before. Finished up with a loop into Clayfield to discover the old shops I remember are mostly gone, the hall our school used for its speech night is now a real estate office and potentially it isn't the area for me if the coffee shops were closed but the organic wheat grass smoothie shop was the only thing open. Merry Christmas all. Hope you had a great holiday season! As I do every year, once the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over and done with, my thoughts turn to New Year's Resolutions. Here's what I'm thinking about as options for 2017: 1, Alphabet Run/walk: Starting with A and progressing all the way through the alphabet, take some time to explore your city on foot by walking or running 5km in a suburb starting with this week's letter of the alphabet. You get two weeks for each letter. See, there's a reason we have a suburb called Zillmere, Yeronga, Gordon Park and Eagle Junction. I am however stuck on "Q" and "U". I don't think Quilpie or Urandangie (country towns) will cut the mustard. Trips planned in Sydney and Melbourne next year, so maybe that might help me out for the tricky ones. 2. Run Down Under A virtual run around Australia - all 14080km of it. This morning I logged 6km. If I keep up this pace every single day, I will complete my journey in 2346 days, or 6.4years. Alternatively, I could do 38.6km every day and finish in 2017. Actually, 14080 is more than my car does in a year. so I doubt my legs could make it (Maybe I need to rethink.) Details here, if anyone else is interested : www.rundownunder.com.au 3. 17 in 2017 17 what, I hear you ask? Well, this is the question. 17 books, 17 movies, 17 writing marathons, 17 actual marathons - the list is infinite and that's what's so good about this challenge. You can individualise it to what you like to do. 17 pieces of cheesecake? No worries - so long as its what you've put on your list at the start. Alternatively, put 17 fun things into a jar and pick one out, then do it, with the aim of emptying the jar by the end of the year. Those are my top 3 at the moment. What about you? What are you planning for your resolutions? We've had some spectacular skies as winter takes us in its grip and gives us a reason to rug up. Not that its been that cold. We moved from our traditional Queenslander, designed to catch the breeze in summer to a lowest brick, and I'm pretty sure I'll never be bone-crunchingly cold again. This new house is just so warm.
Here's some gorgeous sunset clouds, with just a promise of a cold night, taken a few days ago. |
Fiona Greene AuthorWhen you set out on a journey and night falls, that's when you will discover the stars." Archives
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