Tag: winter

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Cold

Winter in Tasmania

It is almost summer here so this week’s photos will be mostly reruns.

Compared to the weather some of my blogging friends experience in winter ours are pretty mild. Although mountainous areas get snow in winter low-level snow is rare enough that we get a bit excited about it. If we get some it usually isn’t a lot and doesn’t last long. Here are a couple of pictures from snowy days in 2015 and 2017. In 2015 we had some very heavy falls that came below 300 metres which meant that bus services to Hobart were restricted for a day or so. I was traveling to see David in the hospital during this time and the second photo was taken on one of those trips.

Untouched snow. This is about as heavy as it usually gets in Geeveston although higher altitudes will get more. Near Geeveston 2017

 

Taken from the bus window June 2015

What we mostly get in winter though is rain, frost, and fog. The damp and the greyness of almost everything is what makes it seem colder than it probably is.

We get a bit of fog here, especially in winter time.
frosty morning 2015
Bus Stop in the rain.

It rained almost continuously when we went to Strahan for a weekend. During a stop on our Gordon River cruise, our guide soldiered on regardless telling us about the flora and fauna and while Bruce and I took as many photos as we could.

Our guide braves the rain.
Bruce taking photos on our Gordon River cruise.
A cold rainy day 20 May 2012.

 

 

Snapshot Sunday: Wattle

Wattle in bloom taken on my phone.

One of the bus drivers that used to drive the Dover to Hobart bus used to say “When you see the wattle you will see the snow. ” Well the wattle is blooming and snow is forecast for parts of Tasmania tomorrow. I don’t think we will get any but more elevated areas probably will.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Winter-Water

Winter-Water

Winter is not quite here yet so here are some photos of winters past.

I remember this day quite well even though it was nine years ago. It was a fine Sunday, the first day of June which most Australians consider the start of winter. David and I decided to go for a drive to enjoy the weather and take some photos. I took this one somewhere along the Huon, somewhere near Lymington on the Channel Highway I think. That is on the opposite bank of the river  to us so we had to drive north to Huonville to cross the bridge before going south again. The photo was taken with the little Kodak digital camera I had at the time and I have since cropped it as I did not know how to stop the date from appearing on the picture back then.

Huon River, first day of winter . 1 Jun 2008

The next three photos were taken during the big snow of August 2015. We do get snow in Tasmania but not the amounts that some of you get every winter in the northern hemisphere. This was heavy snow for us. I snapped the photo from the bus window on one of my  trips to Hobart to visit David in hospital that winter. The buses were actually unable to run for a  day or so but as soon as the main road was cleared they started again. It was a slow trip but I felt much safer on the bus with its big wide tyres than in a car.

A snowy day August 2015
Southern Outlet Hobart in winter
The Southern Outlet, the main route to Hobart on a snowy morning.
Incident on the Southern Outlet,.

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge -2015 – Week #34

Which Way – The Southern Outlet

Last night the weather forecast was for more snow down to the 300 metre level so I expected that there might be a bit on Vince’s Saddle where I took some photographs recently. I had to go to Hobart today but as the snow was not forecast until later in the day I thought it would be OK to make the trip. Although I was not expecting to take photos at the last minute I picked up the camera bag.

It was a cold wet morning and as the bus travelled through Longley on the way to Hobart I could see that the hills above the township had fresh snow. The rain changed to hail and by the time we reached Kingston which is 11km from Hobart it was hailing very hard. From Kingston the bus travels on the Southern Outlet to Hobart and as we continued the hail turned to sleet. Suddenly I noticed that the road was white, we slowed right down as did all the other  traffic. I saw cars stopped at the side of the road whose owners didn’t want to continue in these conditions.

I was quite surprised to see how bad this was
I was quite surprised to see how bad this was
Snow and ice on the road
Snow and ice on the road

Normally after the morning rush traffic on the Southern Outlet is not heavy especially going away from Hobart but now cars were banked up as everyone tried to negotiate the icy road and make it down to Hobart safely.

Cars stranded on the side of the road
Cars stranded on the side of the road

The upside of this was that as we were going so slowly I was able to take photos out of the window without the usual problems of trying to focus.

I made it safely to Hobart but was concerned about whether I would be able to get home again later so after visiting Hubby I rang the bus company to check. The weather had improved by then and all the ice and snow I saw on the road on the way down was gone on the way back although we did have more hail.

Despite being a bit anxious about getting home I was pleased on the whole because now I have a “Which Way” for this week.

Cars bank up as the weather turns bad. This is about 4km from Hobart.
Cars bank up as the weather turns bad. This is about 4km from Hobart.

Chilly Mornings – Frost and Fog

Winter has begun and the chilly weather does bring some opportunities for new photo experiments. Although people I know who live in more elevated spots have had snow already I have only seen it from the window of the bus and have not managed to photograph any yet. I keep hoping, as I do every winter, that we will get one good dump that I can get to.

What we are having a lot of though is frost and fog. It’s common now for the fog not to lift until after 9 am so I’ve been trying to capture some images that show what it is like around our place. These photos were taken on several different mornings in the past week or so either in our backyard or out the front of the house.

frosty morning 2015
We get a bit of fog here especially in winter time.

Rainbow’s End

It’s winter here in Tasmania. The days are short and the weather unpredictable. Some days, like today, it’s mild and sunny but others we don’t see the sun all day. The grey days are a bit depressing, mostly because of the lack of sunlight but I don’t mind a good downpour. I like the sound of rain on our galvanised iron roof and the sound of a thunderstorm.

The other day I looked outside and the sky was as black as the ace of spades. We live next door to an electricity power sub station and in this photo you can see the black clouds with just a few patches of blue. At first I thought  we might get a  heavy downpour or even a sprinkle of snow but instead there was a very light rain. I spotted a rainbow so I rushed back inside to get the camera and see if I could capture it.  One of the things I like here in Tassie is that usually you can see the entire rainbow. I didn’t see that so much in South Australia, often you’d only see a part of it where I lived.

I like rainbows. I think of the song “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and of the pot of gold that mum used to say was at the end of it. I used to think that it would be wonderful to find it but soon realised that the more you chase a rainbow the further away it gets. That is until we came here. This is Rainbow’s End for me.

Black as the ace of spades.
Black as the ace of spades.

 

The rainbow could be seen across the road from my house.
The rainbow could be seen across the road from my house.
Rainbow in a dark sky.
Rainbow in a dark sky.

Daily Prompt: Set for Solstice

Set for Solstice

Today’s Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere). How are you taking advantage of the extra hours of light this time of year? Do you like it, or do you already miss earlier sunsets?

Down here at the bottom of the world today was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. I looked out of the window at 5:15 pm and it was already dark. It was a nice day though, bright and sunny and warm enough to sit outside.

I do enjoy the long summer evenings we get here in Tasmania. The twilight is longer here than in Adelaide and as it’s not so hot in summer it’s nice to have the extra time to be out and about. The week between Christmas and New Year is such a busy one in Hobart with yachts to see, the Taste of Tasmania and night cricket matches that we really need all that extra daylight. Or it’s nice to just sit outside and enjoy the long evenings.

I don’t mind the short winter days though. I don’t have to be up and on the bus in the dark any more but I remember that when I did I’d see the dawn breaking over the Huon River and as we’d climb out of the valley the sun would sometimes burst out from amongst the clouds and dazzle us. It would often be dark when I got home but it was warm and cosy inside with the heater on and  the curtains drawn.

That’s the nice thing about the changing seasons, there is always something to look forward to.

Late afternoon on a July day in Oatlands.
Late afternoon on a July day in Oatlands.