HERE ON THE COAST…
A distant shower of rain passes in front of kunanyi-Mt Wellington over Hobart way.
With the dull lighting of the day the scene was almost a study in grey tones, so I decided to make it so by rendering it as a black-and-white image.
Wellington is around 40, maybe slightly more kilometres west of us here on the southeast coast. Still, it dominates the skyline just as it does in Hobart.
We got none of the rain that was falling in the city. No matter. We’ve had a few good falls up to Christmas but we could do with a few more.
Magnificent views to and from #MountWellington, #Hobart, #Tasmania. #family #holidays
Today, I found out the TV transmission tower on kunanyi/Mount Wellington was built in 1995. I lived in Hobart between 1990 and 1996, and I have no memory of the tower not being there. Or of it being built. Or anyone mentioning it being built.
I don't doubt it, but it's a weird moment where my memories and facts are having trouble reconciling.
photo: Gary Houston via Wiki Commons
Even when it's just a DEM model (elevation data) and a c.1805 map, Hobart's terrain is unmistakeable.
Don't know how much rain we just got in that mini-storm, but it was enough to do this in just ten minutes:
#MountWellington #Cloudburst
searching for dynamite
Distillery of words,
Pierces cloud with shrub and rock.
Thin air, unending stare,
Towers over city square,
Infinite against the clock.
Each step a trespass-
A risk for perfect rhyme.
A search, of sorts,
Of forest and thoughts,
Which thicken as I climb.
The cold, and sweat, and rain endured
Remind me that I live.
With body bent
And daylight spent,
I still have more to give.
Ascend and breath and think aloud,
And lean from tallest tree-
Inhale the pages
While speak, do the ages,
And lightning strikes at thee.
Returning, as the darkness falls
And weary, sit to write.
The closing day, with me does stay,
Yet nothing do I have to say
Of views or mountain's height.
Did I not learn upon my hike?
Did I, perhaps, just fail to see
What others claim the Alpine air
And contemplative wildlife stare
Permits with crisp identity.
I found, without great celebration,
The thing that often shines so clear:
intentions, good or bad, mean naught,
As always comes recurring thought;
I simply need a beer.
I forgot about this photo until I was looking for a fresh banner image to put up here. This was a mid-winter sunset over kunanyi/Mt Wellington, or – as Hobartians know it – simply 'The Mountain'.
And this really wasn't even anything special, just a run-of-the-mill evening.