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Don’t tell anyone but even very well travelled characters sometimes enjoy simple domestic chores. Yes I have been constructing a small herb garden, planting a pole for a creeper to grow over, weeding in the cactus garden, cutting grass, making garden tables from old bits of wood, washing and hanging out the clothes, burning wasp nests, designing a lounge room couch and cooking up storms in the kitchen which includes cleaning the mess after each such storm. I have also completed a short film titled DUMBSHOW which compresses a year of Antarctic beard growing activity into a four minute and 56 second long movie. Please go to – http://www.vimeo.com/16277406. On this same site you can also find the documentary - HUNTING LANDSCAPE IN KALLAALIT NUNNAT. This short doco looks at our residency in Upernavik Greenland last May. http://www.vimeo.com/16732989. On a recent trip to Catamarca, Cordoba and Santa Maria we went cactus hunting in the landscape to add to Carolinas succulent garden. Cactus forests in Catamarca are impressive and well worth strolling about one afternoon if anyone is in Northern Argentina. Highly recommended!  Summer kicks in with the occasional wild Zonda mountain wind blowing dust about and suddenly dropping the temperature down 25 C. Drastically turning summer back into winter for a few days. Bad news for the fruit trees as the last Zonda that blew in managed to freeze 40% of the Malbec crop. The beauty of farming! The festive season has landed and its time for most people to indulge in feasts, family, frivolity and fun. The southern summer makes me parched so its time to open a bottle of rose, always a fun thing to do. I must admit I have not drunk any beer for months so I am feeling rather un-Australian but I am sure this minor problem can be rectified over some summer dinner party. I count on a Swedish friend soon to visit who shall help with this particular cultural trauma of mine. Over the past month I have been working on a travel book that has actually been cooking for some time now. Yes another book to add to those bursting bookcases labelled ‘travel’ to be found in many bookstores. Who on earth would scan over my wandering verbiage and who would actually buy a copy? Who reads this blog? Why do I write it? What is the point? Who cares! OOhhh the pain…the birth of a book is often difficult.  Seems like another trauma coming on so I best restock the fridge with beer and the cellar with wine.
Last year at Mawson station I was able to collate, collect my thoughts, construct and clobber many words together into a literary form that made some sense to me but now my desire is to make that form sensible to others. This will take some time. To all who read this I wish you a happy transition from year 2010 to year 2011 with enough good things arriving on your plate to keep you busy and as happy as a dog that digs up a mammoth bone. Comments are closed.
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