Giday!

Well one thing, I never realised how much energy it took to hang on with your toes down under. Up here, on top of the world it is so much more relaxing not having to cling onto an upside down world!!
And actually, you feel as if one of us is upside down.

The reasons: here for instance they drive on the other (right) side of the road. Whilst it doesn't take long to adapt as a driver, it can be positively hazardous as a pedestrian. Easy to step off the footpath right into the path of the vehicle bearing down on you to the left. Another "upside down" thing are the light switches. You guessed it, up is ON and down is OFF. Coupled with the fact that light switches are often outside the door, you can raise the ire of your living companion after the sixth time you have turned off the light to the loo while they are in occupation. Then there is the fact that the warm winds blow from the south and the cold blasts from the north, not that we have had any warm winds. So far the average temperature is still around 5 degrees C and most days for the last week we have had snow, and its only spring. Last blog I mentioned that everything is brown in the winter and green in the summer, no matter how much rain falls in the winter and how hot it is in the summer (not very!) Then there's the language. If someone says "my dear" (or at least what sounds like that) they are not being affectionate, they are actually saying  "they haven't got the faintest". In addition there are not a few words that sound like very naughty words in english which can leave you a bit shocked in a friendly conversation!

So, with these things, small as they are, and a few I have not mentioned, you perhaps understand why it feels like either "us" or "them" are upside down. Amazing, isn't it, what we take for granted in our own environment.

I guess you've noticed when Aussies meet and don't know what to talk about it often comes down to the weather. So let's talk about the weather. As we have already mentioned the weather has been pretty cool. This is not really typical of April, so the locals tell us, though it is not unknown for it to be like this. Just hasn't happened for a few years. Its interesting for us to be living in this climate. In their spring time, which it is officially now, the weather can change very rapidly. As I am writing this I am sitting in our lounge room and the sun has been quite warm and bright. Then within just minutes, maybe 3 or 4 minutes, I look up and its snowing again. The changes come so quickly its hard to believe. Yesterday we must have had a dozen changes including full sun, hail, rain and snow, all in one day. Inspite of all this spring is certainly on the way and you can sense the excitement around as the first green shoots start to appear. We are told the larger trees, birches and oaks won't get their leaves until into May, and when that happens the landscape will undergo a radical change. Once this process starts, as we have seen on previous visits to Estonia, it is an explosion of vegetation, everything appearing to know that there is limited time to grow and flower before the slide into winter begins again. Estonia has a definite, observable and exotic seasonal experience, and at this particular junction of winter and spring everything is in a hurry.

This picture is taken at the same place just 3 weeks after the one above.                              

Estonia is the breading place of the White Stork (Ciconia Ciconia). It was first observed breeding in Estonia in 1841. The Stork winters in Africa and Spain leaving Estonia before the first snow falls in autumn. Every year this magnificent bird returns, not only to Estonia, but the same nest. The appearance of the Stork in early spring is a welcome indication that spring is definitely on the way. We have been excited to see the storks taking possession of their nests again and settling down to hatch the 2017 batch of new Storks. One of the peculiarities of the White Stork is its preference to build its nest in close proximity to housing and people. Rural families will develop a long term relationship with their particular family of Storks, who likely will build their nest on the top of the nearby electrical post. In the past, the stork more often nested on the top of chimney's, but this often caused inconvenience for the householder. One good aspect of "progress" has been the emergence of a multitude of electricity poles and the like, which provide the perfect location for a nest. The storks ability to adapt to new conditions is illustrated by the fact that in 1939  93% of the storks nests were located in trees. Flipping forward to 2008 there was 72% of storks nesting on poles. These nests are of considerable size, reportedly weighing up to half a ton and are refurbished and extended each breeding season. The well known Jabaru ( now officially known as the Black Necked Stork) of northern Australia is a relative of this northern bird. Given all this it is no surprise that the Stork in Estonia has iconic status.

                                           The beautiful stage at Ellerie Music School Tartu
                                              (yes thats a big window and a real forest )

This afternoon we are off to our fourth concert in four days! Surprisingly all these concerts are free. We have had full orchestra, mens choir and a number of chamber orchestra groups from four different countries in our region. An amazing feast of music and the display of incredible talent, especially amongst the young musicians of Estonia and their neighbours. All this provided freely, so that ordinary folks here can enjoy quality music, not just those who can afford $50+ ticket prices (and some times hundreds of dollars in Pop concerts) like we have in Australia. This approach to making artistic events available to all is something I have grown to appreciate here and to wonder why we , in Australia,have priced art out of the reach of those who would most benefit by inclusion. Australia with its mantra of "user pays" is missing out on the social benefits of artistic expression. Reducing art to a commodity to be traded is, I think, a big mistake that will bear unwanted fruit in generations to come. So tonight we will enjoy the talents of young Lithuanian and Latvian musicians, and tomorrow it will be Russian's turn.

Well, to next time. Cheers