My head knows that the seasons here in Tasmania are back to front from my UK background. So I’m posting this monthly series to record the changing seasons and to
encourage my mind to grasp this southern hemisphere reality.

We are a week past the equinox – when the sun is directly overhead the Equator and day and night have equal length there.

Here, it was spring equinox, as we move from the shortest day in June with just under 9 hours of daylight, sunrise at 7.44am and sun set at 4.42pm, towards the longest day in December with over 15 hours of daylight, sunrise at 5.30am and sunset at 8.50pm

September has been pink, with waratah, cherry blossom and magnolia blooms.

Trees turning green with young leaves. Vines have new shoots.

The month had plenty of warm sunny days, a few hot days, bare foot walks on the sand, open top cars. Weekends at the beach, scooters forgotten for paddling and sandcastles.

So many beautiful flowers, some I know such as azalea and rhododendrons and forsythia, and wattle. Some native flowers that I have learnt about from my neighbour.

And some that I still can’t identify, even with library books and now a purchased copy of “Guide to flowers and plants of Tasmania”. Please comment if you know what these lovely flowers are. Thank you.

Oh and these. After I’d stopped to take photos on a walk home the other day, Aussie Mate pointed and announced “That’s an itchy ball tree.” Oh, what’s the proper name? I asked. “Just an itchy ball tree! You put the seed pods down someone’s collar, pat them on the back and they itch all day. Didn’t you do that at school?” Um, no! I believe these are plane trees.

September has also been the month where I have see “fuel reduction burns” taking place around the city. I’m glad I’d heard about these on the radio before I saw the smoke. Each one covered approximately 50 hectares of bushland.

Quote from media release by Tasmania Fire Service …
“ Fuel reduction burns are the most effective method for strategically reducing the risk of bush fires for Tasmanian communities. These two strategic burns will create smoke around the suburbs of Hobart, however burning will provide protection from a more damaging bushfire.”