Still life

OK, I know, don't give up the day job. But still, I thought the success of MrsM's outdoor tomatoes should be celebrated. This is far from the entire crop, which is gratifying in a miserable summer. Miserable for bees, anyway, but not for butterflies according to the newspaper, which reports 'experts' being surprised by the large number of sightings in the last few weeks. A warm wet summer produces plentry of green leaves as caterpillar food, is the working hypothesis

We think the spiky cucumber may be a variety that is grown for turning into gherkins, but it was fine in a salad. Obviously, Tasmanian honey is not our own harvest, but it arrived yesterday as a gift from our daughter, now returned from four hard but worthwhile weeks in Melbourne and Adelaide

I've never heard of Leatherwood, so I did a bit of Internet digging, and it sounds quite interesting. Eucryphia lucida is endemic to the forests of (particularly) western Tasmania, though I think it is now also planted as a garden tree. It is an understorey tree - a bit like our holly, maple, rowan or wild cherry - though the description of its leathery leaves (hence the name) makes it sound more like the detestable rhodedendron. In January to March, it has a profusion of white flowers, each one composed of four petals, with a lot of large, attractive stamens radiating from the centre. By all accounts, the flowers exude copious ammounts of nectar - enough to make the whole flower sticky - and the combination of flower and nectar produce a heady scent. It sounds like a sight worth seeing

So does western Tasmania. It remains, it seems, a genuinely remote and inaccessible temperate rainforest wilderness, some parts of which are 50km from the road, comprising rugged peaks, steep valleys and dramatic coastline. Settlers found it 'harsh and inaccessible' and there are stories that it may still have a remnant pooulation of (formally extinct) 'Tasmanian devils tigers'. The guide warns that the two tracks that cross it are for "experienced walkers only"! The parks authority have erected 'No Influencers' signs (no, I made that bit up)

Into this terra incognita, the intrepid Tasmanian Honey Company transport their hives during the leatherwood season, and camp out in the wilderness, carrying out honey extraction as it is produced, and presumably protecting the hives from the Devils Tigers. Hardcore beekeeping. They are understandably proud of the honey: "magnificent, quite unlike any other... extraordinary floral aromas... spicy and piquant... a true distillate of magnificent ancient landscapes."

I'll let you know

(The hedgehog came again - same time, same place - today it seemed brighter: heard & saw me and scuttled under a choisya bush to hide)