tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41890919067535874812024-03-14T07:40:17.470+11:00eucalyptusan open woodlandGardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-71334511154809328622017-05-17T12:18:00.002+10:002017-05-17T12:27:25.535+10:00their ghosts may be heard ...<span id="fullpost">
<p>We had a wet year in 2016, and a cool summer. The autumn rains started earlier than we have been expecting, given the last 20 years experience of the variablility of rainfall in this part of the world. And because it was wet and warm the mushrooms mushroomed. This fairy ring, as they are called, was under the elm avenue just up from the front gate. </p>
<p>One picture shows the view down the avenue from the gate. The avenue is about a kilometre long, elms all the way with some gaps. These elms are very old, they appear on a photomosaic made from 1947 aerial photography, and were probably planted sometime in the late 19th early 20th century. They lead to the mansion, <i>Glenormiston</i>, which was begun in 1859 by Niel Black, a prominent Western Districts squatter and landowner. <i>Glenormiston </i>was established in March 1839 as <i>Strathdownie</i> by McKillop and Smith, and managed by a Fredk. Taylor, who became notorious for the massacre of a group of Aborigines. Black bought the right of run and the stock from McKillop and Smith in late December 1839 and changed the name to <i>Glenormiston</i>, after the home of one of the partners in Niel Black & co. The run was more than 60,000 acres but encroachment, common the early years of European settlement in the district, reduced it to about 45,000. On-line there is considerable carelessness about the name of the old squatter station, and even the Melbourne Museum is wrong on the matter. This is made worse by Taylor's massacre, and its consequences into the present.</p>
<p>In 1847 Black built a house on the stony rise, as shown in the Hannay photo (from the SLV collection), near where the present mansion is situated, and built the mansion when he returned to Australia after a sojourn in Britain getting a wife. The houses were surrounded by the common native vegetation of the time, manna gums, <i>Eucalyptus viminalis</i>.</p>
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvQbKIWeB18lkQpTzAx3cK2viP68lyoQtiMcS2POerkFsWxaSpPLHn-Jy8QJvIyVfOQDWl_SN8jISKKRtfpO7j7l-R145kXEDN6Cu4wXB4ldl9OXYtpMTKprAWtCbXAnGX2_kp5IXQZg/s1600/IMGP8170.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvQbKIWeB18lkQpTzAx3cK2viP68lyoQtiMcS2POerkFsWxaSpPLHn-Jy8QJvIyVfOQDWl_SN8jISKKRtfpO7j7l-R145kXEDN6Cu4wXB4ldl9OXYtpMTKprAWtCbXAnGX2_kp5IXQZg/s400/IMGP8170.jpg" width="400" height="265" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3E2pQeIHQ3vtofpoeSodzUi-iP_rdrJY2ZH6oqMXSumskaGo64aGsiAIb7B_6_t1MTUIUh7pJfwqDfTGs2kHxw-7aahiTaqwu4lRHe6x9DBSooLeqjhsh5hh4te-3_ZbzRp6BlcolMs/s1600/IMGP8171.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3E2pQeIHQ3vtofpoeSodzUi-iP_rdrJY2ZH6oqMXSumskaGo64aGsiAIb7B_6_t1MTUIUh7pJfwqDfTGs2kHxw-7aahiTaqwu4lRHe6x9DBSooLeqjhsh5hh4te-3_ZbzRp6BlcolMs/s400/IMGP8171.jpg" width="400" height="265" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZozZiC0UXSSCh1WPmoUZqhyZlhCKfd-jQKm-HEYN2JoFhsL4AsAWQzGp0WC1OMEIaDbv1iCDrHPFyuB03_fmNd1ITqisMHvnxnEc_73dz1C5tWZAw_etEwKmlU9bE6AfUtU12r_0OaKQ/s1600/IMGP8174.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZozZiC0UXSSCh1WPmoUZqhyZlhCKfd-jQKm-HEYN2JoFhsL4AsAWQzGp0WC1OMEIaDbv1iCDrHPFyuB03_fmNd1ITqisMHvnxnEc_73dz1C5tWZAw_etEwKmlU9bE6AfUtU12r_0OaKQ/s400/IMGP8174.jpg" width="400" height="265" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UrBVKpoi-niNtKpoqr3t2eUcMFbGPL5dgNMgAl5S-Bk92-E1p_NpfVT808j9L7E2OnagoUahk0I8VxdmHjxq_DlAG9wvi9YQt5I07MB7VvCBIWTOsV6rXLARZcbRI205AxiEQ8Uaics/s1600/download+%252881%2529a.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UrBVKpoi-niNtKpoqr3t2eUcMFbGPL5dgNMgAl5S-Bk92-E1p_NpfVT808j9L7E2OnagoUahk0I8VxdmHjxq_DlAG9wvi9YQt5I07MB7VvCBIWTOsV6rXLARZcbRI205AxiEQ8Uaics/s400/download+%252881%2529a.jpg" width="400" height="232" /></a></a>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-88893752651597897942011-09-02T10:51:00.002+10:002011-09-02T10:56:53.327+10:00Look at this!Found on <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/sep/01/ancient-trees-green-shoots#/?picture=378490109&index=0">The Guardian</a> site this morning.
<br />
<br />I decided after a long absence to renew my acquaintance with trees and record them here. I will put a few on the site over the next few weeks.
<br />
<br />Kevin Brewer
<br /><span id="fullpost"></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-80082078023392978712010-09-06T19:06:00.004+10:002010-09-06T19:50:47.728+10:00Ain't misbehavin'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDRPzJEaymKm1lBTcgYLcw2QxOHSbmEdvB5DFYuGd-Uc_FcE3uSOsOyXaLz4MBE8F_KpQWJcpMTaLSZFtczjacNP9PEFIMmvPDK4ZBr7sRKVqJbbQsj8bU33muNMtOlrsoI5LYQpd1us/s1600/march+and+april+2010+216.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDRPzJEaymKm1lBTcgYLcw2QxOHSbmEdvB5DFYuGd-Uc_FcE3uSOsOyXaLz4MBE8F_KpQWJcpMTaLSZFtczjacNP9PEFIMmvPDK4ZBr7sRKVqJbbQsj8bU33muNMtOlrsoI5LYQpd1us/s400/march+and+april+2010+216.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513725101424518050" target="blank" border="0" /></a>'Tis an odd thing in this tree business that causes one wonder at how the world works its ways so mysteriously that my daughters, adrift from me by the unfathomable workings of their mother's mind, should turn up in an English village in Derbyshire with the view of a Spotted Gum, <span style="font-style: italic;">E. maculata</span>, on a slight rise across the road from my youngest's bedroom window. Two days after I took these photographs it snowed for the last time in the early spring of 2010. So these trees-there is apparently several others in the vicinty along the private drive to a local manor.<span id="fullpost"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcr0VQCqh6Ey1_ERZILBja11QS57jYyJTh2G0o67T05uPmgn3XV3nUbz1Q4Vi2siCZK-zZ0TnbqGeOUk4NOHtlPGv-WWqZr-Nc34JHGsWQe6HEy-Y_VoOD9VKpZ9f5U-T0s3Y5oJ1M_Jo/s1600/march+and+april+2010+215.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcr0VQCqh6Ey1_ERZILBja11QS57jYyJTh2G0o67T05uPmgn3XV3nUbz1Q4Vi2siCZK-zZ0TnbqGeOUk4NOHtlPGv-WWqZr-Nc34JHGsWQe6HEy-Y_VoOD9VKpZ9f5U-T0s3Y5oJ1M_Jo/s400/march+and+april+2010+215.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513725092579503890" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The Spotted Gum is an odd choice for a tree transplanted to a place where it remains leaved while every other tree in the place is denuded from the late autumn. The green and grey is perhaps more aesthetically pleasing in a village such as this, a grey stone and slatey place in the typical Midlands style of in a gully stretched along an upwards trending road. This is a place where for more than half a year the place lacks any sign of treed life, and even the 1200 year old yew in the churchyard with its stiff placidity, seems more lively than this gum.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNRVqsQCllKDWSFrGQUHzRHQqptRx-921Rhg1LWoWYMfSHuljcnYHZj7MyPNWD9emDm9JtwqXnv4B5dINxZfWPPL-MXX1txlS47VQK-PkvvYFpe92ZHcNHTtSAfJA3CP0XVngWH8GHy4/s1600/march+and+april+2010+217.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNRVqsQCllKDWSFrGQUHzRHQqptRx-921Rhg1LWoWYMfSHuljcnYHZj7MyPNWD9emDm9JtwqXnv4B5dINxZfWPPL-MXX1txlS47VQK-PkvvYFpe92ZHcNHTtSAfJA3CP0XVngWH8GHy4/s400/march+and+april+2010+217.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513725088839374194" border="0" target="blank"/></a>A month later I spoke to the farmer of these few acres as he let his sheep into the field, and he told me that a previous owner of the place had an affection for Australia, where he had lived for a few years, that made him bring some seeds back to England, of which this tree is one. The barrier around the base is obviously to protect the base of the tree, although not even sheep, after a long winter cooped up in a barn would hazard a gnaw at the tart bark.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCTowCuB4iJC4M56aSrFmeqPRN6l5q15cblzFsn1HTHkcFLa4orLlbNmOSNkhuFDHoFxc4bgnuVctYK9iW28jwsqRAgdtpJAI-XKNW9guyb7F4jjiWspqwk02BmD3LirnTKXlT6ZFByU/s1600/march+and+april+2010+214.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCTowCuB4iJC4M56aSrFmeqPRN6l5q15cblzFsn1HTHkcFLa4orLlbNmOSNkhuFDHoFxc4bgnuVctYK9iW28jwsqRAgdtpJAI-XKNW9guyb7F4jjiWspqwk02BmD3LirnTKXlT6ZFByU/s400/march+and+april+2010+214.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513725082995718594" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This tree is distributed in Australia, apart from the street trees we see in all our cities, along the coast from Bundaberg in the region of the Tropic of Capricorn (lat. 25S), to around the NSW-Victorian border near the Victorian town of Orbost (Lat. 37S). So this tree likes warm and wet, favouring summer rain. In its natural environment it flowers between May and September, or over the southern winter. I am now waiting on my daughter's observations as to the flowering time of this tree. I expect it to flower in the late autumn, before it gets too cold.<br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-25105666428733359842010-05-19T02:57:00.007+10:002010-05-19T03:12:31.922+10:00While we are on the subject...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQAo8d-yHBFRtcVmu_3jtbNA-wZ6WYx8MZDOhHwskjs848bTJ0myHxxnkiCCF5DT_KPgoegISn_EBsaxbhkkZdOgXF95NHsuJZU0pQciEzpH85q66PpRb3ogY9f25V37drt81_GwsOuU/s1600/IMG_0071a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQAo8d-yHBFRtcVmu_3jtbNA-wZ6WYx8MZDOhHwskjs848bTJ0myHxxnkiCCF5DT_KPgoegISn_EBsaxbhkkZdOgXF95NHsuJZU0pQciEzpH85q66PpRb3ogY9f25V37drt81_GwsOuU/s400/IMG_0071a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472655482257434482" border="0" /></a>Here's one I prepared earlier....<br /><br />Here is an even younger me-1967-the car belongs to a friend of mine from what my children call 'the olden days'. The picture was taken in the south west of Western Australia near the town of Walpole. The tree is a Red Tingle (<em>Eucalyptus jacksonii</em> ). I have always thought it was a karri (<span style="font-style: italic;">E. diversicolor</span>), but that was because when I was young I didn't pay much attention to the sort of detail necessary to describe a tree. I have not been back to see this tree in 40 years, so I am not sure whether you can park your car in it now, but I would imagine not. The world has moved on from that sort of vandalism. <em>Jacksonii</em> grows up to 60m and has a very large buttressed base of up to 16m. The tree is in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park, an area of Western Australia in the south west which has a high rainfall, up to 40 inches a year in parts.<span id="fullpost"><br />Nowadays there are tree top walks in the area to keep people's dirty shoes out of the undercover in an attempt to stop the spread of <em>phytophthoria cinnamomi</em>, or dieback. See: <a href="http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/content/view/213/548/1/3/">http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/content/view/213/548/1/3/</a> for more info. Including maps and a discussion of management. E. Jacksonii doesn't appear to get effected by the disease, although <em>Eucalyptus marginata</em> – Jarrah- is susceptible. See here for a list of WA species susceptible to the disease: <a href="http://www.dieback.org.au/go/what-is-dieback/susceptible-species">http://www.dieback.org.au/go/what-is-dieback/susceptible-species</a> . <br />I visited this area twice, once as the tourist pictured and once while we were revising the national mapping for the area. The mapping exercise allowed less time to marvel at the sheer scale of the trees, but we got to see a lot more of them.</span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-82541984931614078802010-05-18T22:54:00.002+10:002010-05-18T22:59:43.603+10:00Home and Away<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaBefDXeBmw2zvOcozcPbqjHZjyZVnQ3JIEGUBW9utUgmkzLfD6m2Y3Wgw1ZNYwNQIlTBYjJFXe5BchEPp6vOPO5h_gGTR3ylPwRQsrcNLnTs4-bKvlbNFk6vEb6pOpXHIxBlflE7vOI/s1600/IMG_0001a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihaBefDXeBmw2zvOcozcPbqjHZjyZVnQ3JIEGUBW9utUgmkzLfD6m2Y3Wgw1ZNYwNQIlTBYjJFXe5BchEPp6vOPO5h_gGTR3ylPwRQsrcNLnTs4-bKvlbNFk6vEb6pOpXHIxBlflE7vOI/s400/IMG_0001a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472593783660891906" border="0" /></a><span xmlns=""><p>The picture shows me standing next to a boab tree (<em>Adansonia gregorii</em>) near Derby, WA, in the dry season of 1968. I was in the army at the time, and the Survey Unit of which I was a member was in the Kimberley of Western Australia doing some basic control work for 250,000 mapping of the area. We were camped on the Derby airstrip. The day this was taken was probably our day off, and we were visiting various highlights of the district, this being the only one I can remember. The tree was hollow inside and had been used at some points in its life as a gaol. Since I am less than 2 metres tall, I would estimate the diameter of the tree at more than 4 metres, or about 12 -14 feet. It wasn't a particularly lively tree-the leaf cover wasn't much-but the tree was very old. Some researchers propose the boab, which came from Africa, was brought to Australia in the migration out of Africa more than 70,000 years ago, and can't see an accidental landing of seeds from the sea. See <a href="http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Boab%20Origins.html">http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/Boab Origins.html</a> for some discussion on the matter, particularly the relationship between the boab and Bradshaw style Aboriginal paintings. As for me, I no longer look like that, and probably <span><span xmlns="">in shape </span></span>look more like the tree.</p></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-77028696372649019642009-05-13T17:22:00.002+10:002009-05-13T17:26:13.026+10:00Climbing trees...Like to climb trees? Try <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/richard_preston_on_the_giant_trees.html">this site</a>, it's fabulous. And you can take the kids, they apparently love it.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-3880986325769844472009-04-16T12:12:00.002+10:002009-04-16T12:19:35.351+10:00The tree inside...Here's a bit about a man becoming his own carbon sink:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/5152953/Surgeons-find-fir-tree-growing-inside-patients-lung.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/5152953/Surgeons-find-fir-tree-growing-inside-patients-lung.html</a><br /><br />I'm not sure what to make of this, but if you look closely at the shots on the monitor in the fillum you can see a fly appearing to crawl over the flesh. I want to know whether the fly was on the monitor or the opened chest.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-64363623719145128772009-04-12T12:34:00.005+10:002009-04-12T14:00:26.678+10:00Old trees...There was an article in <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-mulberry-tree-that-has-gone-round-and-round-the-world-20090410-a2xi.html" target="blank">The Age</a> the other day -11th April-about an old mulberry tree in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern which was grown from a cutting taken from a tree George Bernard Shaw planted Malvern UK in 1936. The cutting has prospered but the original was blown down in a storm. There are now intentions of replacing the original with a cutting from the cutting.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />In the way these things do, it reminded me of a feast I had as a child in a mulberry tree, the oldest exotic tree in South Australia, a <a href="http://www.heritageatrisk.org.au/Mulberry_Tree,_Kangaroo_Island.html" target="blank">mulberry tree</a> planted in 1836 at Reeves Point near Kingscote on Kangaroo Island. This tree is now approaching its 175th anniversary and is still fruiting. That particular day the neighbour's sons, my brother and I spent several hours eating mulberries. We ate so many our mouths were purple it seems now for days. None of us ate too many, it's not possible to eat too many mulberries. Fruit was expensive in the late 50s, so a free feed was that, and very welcome. (Crayfish were expensive too, my father used to buy them from the fishermen for ten bob, big ones, the size they no longer grow.) There's a nice picture of the Kangaroo Island tree on Google Earth.<br /><br />This Yorke Peninsula mulberry tree is also connected to me, although I have nevereaten fruit from it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvq8qm6dgSR7vBXsWLMDmyO0aNTOwahTpuvA2ZGyWgT9b8KpJW6l7AfvULid_CaPdsmE9hy3e7uq9QNzwS1tiBUbkwatvY5m8x4UAVsEcxmVzAQjav-bcfHMZsiCY71PIGueHyX-sJqc/s1600-h/yp+and++082.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvq8qm6dgSR7vBXsWLMDmyO0aNTOwahTpuvA2ZGyWgT9b8KpJW6l7AfvULid_CaPdsmE9hy3e7uq9QNzwS1tiBUbkwatvY5m8x4UAVsEcxmVzAQjav-bcfHMZsiCY71PIGueHyX-sJqc/s400/yp+and++082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323639667364028466" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This tree would probably predate the Shaw tree mentioned above. The ruin behind the tree is my paternal grandfather's house, built of stone found on the land, plugged together with sand and cement. My family occupied the land in 1912 and left after the banks terminated their mortgage in the early 1930s. The house, and my great grandmother's neighbouring house were built by my grandfather and his brother. The trees are now neglected.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7rdD0dEhehyphenhyphenKiJebIWycfCsZ5v9JC3X86dXzA05WDvisska6ZRbRw4EdJqeXYYZHVfGf0-gkNWPkl9bTu-dg1pTq59TSETMeiOajTFvBFFrUiwFOwt0vw9Foeyp5pSr1-Ki0SbAH0Jw/s1600-h/yp+and++072.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7rdD0dEhehyphenhyphenKiJebIWycfCsZ5v9JC3X86dXzA05WDvisska6ZRbRw4EdJqeXYYZHVfGf0-gkNWPkl9bTu-dg1pTq59TSETMeiOajTFvBFFrUiwFOwt0vw9Foeyp5pSr1-Ki0SbAH0Jw/s400/yp+and++072.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323639665910799986" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Lichen, dry at the time of my visit, encrusts the bark on the south side of the tree.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-ZoRXU8OGTVvrTA28ZUl0UkAAhvzw6prNnfEi3yJr0mLLlG_rfaPyl4z9LMkjxIK8hmggZI7UPRajWt_UHo5kBHUWzKcU8BrhyphenhyphenH5Lm8auZ-OJQbl103KznCYYoyT6EVPKMyy98sbB8M/s1600-h/yp+and++071.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-ZoRXU8OGTVvrTA28ZUl0UkAAhvzw6prNnfEi3yJr0mLLlG_rfaPyl4z9LMkjxIK8hmggZI7UPRajWt_UHo5kBHUWzKcU8BrhyphenhyphenH5Lm8auZ-OJQbl103KznCYYoyT6EVPKMyy98sbB8M/s400/yp+and++071.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323639658192930226" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The tree is in a small patch of ground which hasn't been ploughed since the land was built on, hence it is grassy, with weedy species like wild oats. The large object behind is a piece of an old water tank.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFYA8l0rdWHV4nyjvwGE_mF242BrDZWqcgAFHkAsk72zPsipZHHRLNTM8c6-mCyIML_lbAHzqmy75ndOfCyGgM09hTIqPW5YKcnJXq225Ei5k5mocK7oW0FBHy8_VPOPjGz8h_u4lX1Y/s1600-h/yp+and++068.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFYA8l0rdWHV4nyjvwGE_mF242BrDZWqcgAFHkAsk72zPsipZHHRLNTM8c6-mCyIML_lbAHzqmy75ndOfCyGgM09hTIqPW5YKcnJXq225Ei5k5mocK7oW0FBHy8_VPOPjGz8h_u4lX1Y/s400/yp+and++068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323639656871113986" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This tree is still fruiting too. The picture was taken in the spring of 2007. It appears from the date it was very late at night, an indication of bad photographic process more likely: I didn't turn off the date/time stamp. I took a few cuttings from the tree to try and strike them, but it was too late in the spring. This year I will be back in the same are and will take some more.<br /><br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-23499420279316152562009-04-02T21:31:00.008+11:002009-04-02T23:07:38.581+11:00Black Saturday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimw0iACigfuDXJ9ge5mxfCg-LUY6OL0oX4C3kBEI73yyYhbeWungyCv8eXCDAFb4GQAw9XSomp4wtaJR5YSlES-pIoQPcGffJxJdFDNYoPuo74LHU768x2b-rxHRHW05af4XL_OI6J2c0/s1600-h/fire4_gallery__311x400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimw0iACigfuDXJ9ge5mxfCg-LUY6OL0oX4C3kBEI73yyYhbeWungyCv8eXCDAFb4GQAw9XSomp4wtaJR5YSlES-pIoQPcGffJxJdFDNYoPuo74LHU768x2b-rxHRHW05af4XL_OI6J2c0/s400/fire4_gallery__311x400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320040056297274306" target="blank" border="0" /></a>In yesterday's blog I mentioned Mountain ash (<span style="font-style: italic;">E. regnans</span>), the tallest tree ever grown, and how the Back Friday 1939 trees were already pushing 80 metres. The above, from where it came I have no recollection now but I think it was from our morning daily paper <span style="font-style: italic;">The Age</span>, is a man blacking out at the base of tree after the great bushfires passed through that country during the weeks after the 7th February 2009 fires-now known as Black Saturday in keeping with a very long tradition that goes back to 1851 when Black Thursday -February 6th-when a bush fire burnt an estimated 5 million hectares, 12 million acres or about 19000 sq. miles.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fuszffw_fQQATmw1_-ByejkPrpzB9x_udsd-8Su-BRosp1Oiju5zeKQuhcVshR-JWmO7rfPbfiOtzc7ptkBIMTTH3lqS7daBn9BzHThjQcRA3uBVmqn3QAvH5dUhB0LIs1gTYiAiglg/s1600-h/ePosVriende17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fuszffw_fQQATmw1_-ByejkPrpzB9x_udsd-8Su-BRosp1Oiju5zeKQuhcVshR-JWmO7rfPbfiOtzc7ptkBIMTTH3lqS7daBn9BzHThjQcRA3uBVmqn3QAvH5dUhB0LIs1gTYiAiglg/s400/ePosVriende17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320051923820044050" target="blank" border="0" /></a><span id="fullpost">Wikipedia says of that day: "</span>The year preceeding the fires was exceptionally hot and dry and this trend continued into the summer of 1851. On Black Thursday, a northerly wind set in early and the temperature in Melbourne was reported to have peaked at 47.2 degrees C (117 degrees F) at 11:00am. This is the hottest temperature ever recorded in the city—although it has never been an official record, as the Bureau of Meteorology had not been established at the time.<sup id="cite_ref-Argus_Newspaper_.28Melbourne.2C_Victoria.29.2C_8th_February_1851_1-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Thursday_%281851%29#cite_note-Argus_Newspaper_.28Melbourne.2C_Victoria.29.2C_8th_February_1851-1" title=""><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></a></sup> The north wind was so strong that thick black smoke reached northern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmania" title="Tasmania">Tasmania</a>, creating a murky mist, resembling a combination of smoke and fog.<sup id="cite_ref-The_Maitland_Mercury.2C_and_Hunter_River_General_Advertiser_.28Tasmania.29.2C_Saturday_22_February_1851_2-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Thursday_%281851%29#cite_note-The_Maitland_Mercury.2C_and_Hunter_River_General_Advertiser_.28Tasmania.29.2C_Saturday_22_February_1851-2" title=""><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup> A ship 20 miles (32km) out to sea came under burning ember attack and was covered in cinders and dust. In the evening, a cool change brought with it cooler conditions and light rain." Below is an image from the firezone, square miles of sticks and ash, a blue haze.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWtBDCPVjdILqEoVvbC7YCMirqC1FCsWz5ZxqWvnaopH5j-KqR7n4V1ONsNN6prud5Hh-x8HIk3G3Vo-kVRdBFk5egPYrEs8SgkKNByKMyURuW46agbzdn-ICgWajYOjZ2jMyPfOAmfY/s1600-h/Bushfire-devastation-A-di-010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWtBDCPVjdILqEoVvbC7YCMirqC1FCsWz5ZxqWvnaopH5j-KqR7n4V1ONsNN6prud5Hh-x8HIk3G3Vo-kVRdBFk5egPYrEs8SgkKNByKMyURuW46agbzdn-ICgWajYOjZ2jMyPfOAmfY/s400/Bushfire-devastation-A-di-010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320051917847884674" target="blank" border="0" /></a> This description is almost exactly of what happened on 7th February 2009. Except we had had 3 or 4 days the previous week where the temperature was in the 40s, which had dried everything out. When Eucalypts are stressed by drought or lack of water they adopt a somewhat deciduous life style dropping leaves, bark and limbs, and falling over as their roots strees past breaking. (This happened to a tree in the front yard of the apartment where I was staying that Saturday and we had to remove it from the road. The day was like standing next to a very hot forge). The air temperature was over 46C and the the flash point of eucalyptus oil is about 50C. The hills were an alarmingly beautiful tinge of blue, in other words the air was full of volatiles. When the flash came the place went up. THESE FIRES ARE HOT: 1200C. They were moving in places at up to 100km an hour. From my doorstep nothing much seemed to be happening, a bit of smoke to the north and to the east, unlike other days other years when the place was bathed in smoke for weeks.<br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb2uHT1DGY6Nk4KikHJU3PnoSz-l2bkdFEhK5PZp9oA8sCfAOiZq-i4bPZ3L67HuhLoHa2XRAXVoIec52EBGoe7Y8XtjZNRx5dDqQ-MK10FnjgSSQXFO0qowaohZMuQYEVbzoXCmxBLU/s1600-h/ePosVriende23.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmb2uHT1DGY6Nk4KikHJU3PnoSz-l2bkdFEhK5PZp9oA8sCfAOiZq-i4bPZ3L67HuhLoHa2XRAXVoIec52EBGoe7Y8XtjZNRx5dDqQ-MK10FnjgSSQXFO0qowaohZMuQYEVbzoXCmxBLU/s400/ePosVriende23.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320051906659351266" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This man is looking at the effect of a bushfire on the aluminium bits in his car. His rims have melted and flowed away. What would happen to an engine block in the same circumstances? Firetrucks these days don't have much aluminium, after the Linton fires of 2 December 1998 where two trucks were trapped and the aluminium cabin burnt, killing five firemen.<br /></p><p>Someone I heard talking on the wireless during the fires said they had seen a small car -mainly plastic and aluminium alloys-almost melt in front of them, and on the news on tv one night I saw <span><span id="fullpost">a four wheel drive with </span></span>part of the bumper bar melted off.</p>These pictures were found mainly on the Guardian, The Age, and ePosVriende's blog. There is a lot of material and images on this disaster on the net. And we are having a Royal Commission into the fires, so there will be a lot more.<br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-89783702563485933532009-04-02T10:35:00.003+11:002009-04-02T11:07:26.917+11:00NCIS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXjgjbHuHrYaXVP82LQUoEKZUwkqT2lvsDZ0MAkJrUsj0gF01cngegTLym-_P7kX_nvnKoMpberrHe97AGQtHE8PKwVuAwU-c-r3Ul7704LLxZdM3lIt-mrLPf975LytXNEg-C_ccC4w/s1600-h/vlcsnap-35317.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXjgjbHuHrYaXVP82LQUoEKZUwkqT2lvsDZ0MAkJrUsj0gF01cngegTLym-_P7kX_nvnKoMpberrHe97AGQtHE8PKwVuAwU-c-r3Ul7704LLxZdM3lIt-mrLPf975LytXNEg-C_ccC4w/s400/vlcsnap-35317.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319872338430222722" target="blank" border="0" /></a>A scene from an episode of NCIS, one of my favourite tv shows. I think it is in series 4. The black car at the foot of the is on its way to a stake out at a nearby warehouse somewhere in Virginia. A reasonably tight shot, but the sunshine in thr bg is not the only problem with this shot. Virginia it ain't: NCIS is shot in California. Smack bang in the middle of the screen is what we on this side of the world call a gum tree. <span id="fullpost"><br /><br />Here is Agent Ziva aiming at the warehouse, just before the team launch their assault.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQaA09jPLBAmjw1b4cn8_6pK1UyGpd5LUWduVqbi1KzYYZJfGd0419CKp8qru-o2yDYmocw70ENx9H3_-M5MNKGFecpZ_BX-6Wt4obdCBxVfJmNYZ8rBxKn095EY-y_cocq-EmzdEH3k/s1600-h/vlcsnap-35388.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQaA09jPLBAmjw1b4cn8_6pK1UyGpd5LUWduVqbi1KzYYZJfGd0419CKp8qru-o2yDYmocw70ENx9H3_-M5MNKGFecpZ_BX-6Wt4obdCBxVfJmNYZ8rBxKn095EY-y_cocq-EmzdEH3k/s400/vlcsnap-35388.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319875948440904434" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br />This is not the first gum tree I have seen in the movies either. NCIS has a few, and I will go back and look for them. Any film shot in Australia is going to contain lots of them, but I think the it was either <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Red One</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">The Thin Red Line</span> where the denouement of the film, set in Europe, takes place beside a tree lined ditch, and every one of those trees is a gum tree.<br /><br />The tree in the NCIS shot is <span style="font-style: italic;">E. leucoxylon</span>, Blue Gum.<br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-88024498110891937032009-04-01T18:50:00.003+11:002009-04-02T10:34:36.940+11:00Britain's tallest treeBBC news item I found today about a 60metre tree being Britain's tallest found so far. The clip shows how tall trees are measured. Ignore the ad for the Philippines that may come on first. The man mentions some redwoods which are also contenders. Which means imported trees.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7975434.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7975434.stm</a><br /><br />To our Australian ears 60 metres isn't bad as a tree, but remember some of the mountain ash (<span style="font-style: italic;">E. regnans</span>) that seeded after Black Friday 1939 are already pushing 80 metres. The trees of that cohort that survived Black Saturday (Feb. 7th 2009) will make it well past that height. Redwoods have attained thier heights over a couple millenia in climates of 2500mm of rainfall a year. These mountain ash were seeded in the early to mid 20th century.<br /><br />This statement of course gets us into the tallest tree competition that agitates many-myself inluded-and that brings me to Bob Beale's book "If Trees could Speak: stories of Australia's greatest trees" ISBN9781741142761. Beale mentions three 1926 generation ash trees he and Brett Mifsud measured at 85 metres. he also mentions an 1872 report by Inspector of State Forests William Ferguson, who measured a fallen tree that straddled a tributary of the Watts river from the roots to the extreme end at 435 feet, the tree was 18 feet in diameter at 5 feet and the end break was 3 feet in diameter. Ferguson estimated the original heith of the tree at 500 feet (152 m).Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-80181761781932745902008-11-05T19:23:00.005+11:002008-11-05T20:53:58.383+11:00Down by the seaside...<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXQz9QTCe8ZSNpRnu3cBumQggaCxaxJySObY_QlAoJm2eAFVuqlUFs6rwCpeJHn1xIXfWrZZd5mrH5TSUSGCQU7CtL_dnvJ_UvFrstSdwdXjniuuwx3who6M461hwRTEnikUAIGTMse0/s1600-h/mangrove-101.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXQz9QTCe8ZSNpRnu3cBumQggaCxaxJySObY_QlAoJm2eAFVuqlUFs6rwCpeJHn1xIXfWrZZd5mrH5TSUSGCQU7CtL_dnvJ_UvFrstSdwdXjniuuwx3who6M461hwRTEnikUAIGTMse0/s400/mangrove-101.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265094223904320882" target="blank" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-size:130%;" ><i face="times new roman">Avicennia marina</i></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;" > -the Grey mangrove</span><span style="font-family: times new roman;font-size:130%;" >.</span> </span>This tree is on the eastern shore of Macleay Island, about 100 metres from my sister's block of land. The tide is out, but the water is still close, blue and warm. The edge of the small bay is covered with these mangroves, with small gaps between trees from which it is possible to launch one's boat to do a spot of fishing, an activity about which my sister's family is very enthusiastic.<br /></div><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJaFIr3K4BeTgXWgo-8aS7oHCXAMSqfzXAvlJ0hArkmCRj7fhXn6BAMhVPkJG7P54LKjTOv50_EKlKJY0qUMISNgNmbHDafR0gon6Nt06WnMVsFiFaBzB8gMnNV8h7hwKShcPz59eIvo/s1600-h/mangrove-093.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJaFIr3K4BeTgXWgo-8aS7oHCXAMSqfzXAvlJ0hArkmCRj7fhXn6BAMhVPkJG7P54LKjTOv50_EKlKJY0qUMISNgNmbHDafR0gon6Nt06WnMVsFiFaBzB8gMnNV8h7hwKShcPz59eIvo/s400/mangrove-093.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265093730765947842" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Another tree nearby, showing the tree structure, branching out from a short stump.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2wYyXv-9jZSc0kUGZNzhWpqzVobSutSyYFeaZXhP1bwQJxK-a4QMNcW-JhfxD4K9AJPUN3WO9QjRWP_XDOuQtHvjsATm2PNut49OiCTJasNpmJsuY9hRc50ZXBZjVUEznheB8Tat5iQ/s1600-h/mangrove-098.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2wYyXv-9jZSc0kUGZNzhWpqzVobSutSyYFeaZXhP1bwQJxK-a4QMNcW-JhfxD4K9AJPUN3WO9QjRWP_XDOuQtHvjsATm2PNut49OiCTJasNpmJsuY9hRc50ZXBZjVUEznheB8Tat5iQ/s400/mangrove-098.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265093738567886322" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This is the stump of the tree.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpQ4rkKBsDdgNgNdqR8hJRRQSsU5VI8VBLiKXNUg3jJXRZ2_83lL7zLuIeiUxqhWioJzpsLzRO3K0uPF-29KNcxygD3pP392pyXMrhD6_y1-C3JZpjwvw8he7UAeGwJG-7w2_j0no6_Q/s1600-h/mangrove-097.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpQ4rkKBsDdgNgNdqR8hJRRQSsU5VI8VBLiKXNUg3jJXRZ2_83lL7zLuIeiUxqhWioJzpsLzRO3K0uPF-29KNcxygD3pP392pyXMrhD6_y1-C3JZpjwvw8he7UAeGwJG-7w2_j0no6_Q/s400/mangrove-097.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265093734075084098" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Leaves.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1AdQI0umcObDrGPQg_YoRfcL648eQnQDEoSrWf-4av2M68ux5tZ2r1NNFHu3-VJHEjufiYcSXpQJeXE_XUzMHwA3hdgRvR2r4VT2ZUT5h2YMfygZWGzvJ-OCqOlRiXSnWGyZGJ60kug/s1600-h/mangrove-095.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1AdQI0umcObDrGPQg_YoRfcL648eQnQDEoSrWf-4av2M68ux5tZ2r1NNFHu3-VJHEjufiYcSXpQJeXE_XUzMHwA3hdgRvR2r4VT2ZUT5h2YMfygZWGzvJ-OCqOlRiXSnWGyZGJ60kug/s400/mangrove-095.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265093732032884658" border="0" /></a>The roots growing out of the mud are called <i>pneumatophores</i>. They filter much of the salt from the water.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ518KQAI2f8p0RqydmSiUsI9cCX9zYspiEolNm3VenaicGIw4uTxoTBSennnTzLdrK_SUYV__LvngoMKBd2sD4ZFDku0Z9a8D7jPlcbfQ7V3TR1KJjVD9FuP7n_6Kuk6nNTnf_nMjUOg/s1600-h/mangrove-099.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ518KQAI2f8p0RqydmSiUsI9cCX9zYspiEolNm3VenaicGIw4uTxoTBSennnTzLdrK_SUYV__LvngoMKBd2sD4ZFDku0Z9a8D7jPlcbfQ7V3TR1KJjVD9FuP7n_6Kuk6nNTnf_nMjUOg/s400/mangrove-099.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265093743303748226" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Part of a tree, showing the bark. This reminds me of the curlew, which looks like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VXAPFL4DPN1bQ3VxrsIy88wlY-mvRFwBaiL39rNvia6APLTEQFiizi-nP-lhOX-L5B4yX83Hkys4uCSNQGxpfmsKhTM1FKQWTjpujhv30jb7MERNZ-LhNmgAf3pOYW1NSBifGQLeDPE/s1600-h/curlews-130.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VXAPFL4DPN1bQ3VxrsIy88wlY-mvRFwBaiL39rNvia6APLTEQFiizi-nP-lhOX-L5B4yX83Hkys4uCSNQGxpfmsKhTM1FKQWTjpujhv30jb7MERNZ-LhNmgAf3pOYW1NSBifGQLeDPE/s400/curlews-130.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265107817716031074" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-66200625065744333342008-11-05T19:06:00.003+11:002008-11-05T19:23:00.939+11:00The other side...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-4TJRXNpSC78-cFsBeMshB-8t-ex8U_ML57vDGJ4LGOL-CD9Blek6AUYip2ovAbhVegDUt-lQ8Cz9O1jIb7XrOI_NIPqaQGle_h_UCwJ0XHzUf6dpoWXaeVJBdAtaybbq_PUYXJLGK0/s1600-h/swamp-apple-114.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-4TJRXNpSC78-cFsBeMshB-8t-ex8U_ML57vDGJ4LGOL-CD9Blek6AUYip2ovAbhVegDUt-lQ8Cz9O1jIb7XrOI_NIPqaQGle_h_UCwJ0XHzUf6dpoWXaeVJBdAtaybbq_PUYXJLGK0/s400/swamp-apple-114.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265082180721363522" border="0" target="blank" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Eucalyptus bridgesiana</span>, Swamp apple or Swamp box. These two trees grow on the south side of my sister's block on Macleay Island in Moreton Bay, Qld, near where their proposed house will be built. The right hand tree will be removed, it is an ugly tree anyway and shows signs of insect damage, but they will keep the tree on the left which will help screen the house from the neighbour's.<span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsTVam0lWlP4OWTLH33Z0rx6zPCMh_qBTAa4viZM2idCMKTmcJdhyPqt_xI-411ouiO7psmFhUotnhIJnrNqCj84YxD8JlRUy-23sbuaSgPy2FB4LD4HmgVVOYaKUcaRF8WbR-PthYuY/s1600-h/swamp-apple-113.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsTVam0lWlP4OWTLH33Z0rx6zPCMh_qBTAa4viZM2idCMKTmcJdhyPqt_xI-411ouiO7psmFhUotnhIJnrNqCj84YxD8JlRUy-23sbuaSgPy2FB4LD4HmgVVOYaKUcaRF8WbR-PthYuY/s400/swamp-apple-113.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265082176813527026" border="0" target="blank"/></a>These leaves are young, showing signs of being ovate. You can see some caterpillar damage on the edge of one of the leaves.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXSE99IDCiI4fAf7nEx4wFY9DM4x5L67hn_CAYmf1VtYeT1Us6xxOUeIXNGtx00AKjbEhIx-Edtgtx4JUFWHOMwcvyYVGHP1z3IBhOcUaUY1Gxgi_TxrrHMLwjvxwj0tBKB3_kaJDiGg/s1600-h/swamp-apple-111.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXSE99IDCiI4fAf7nEx4wFY9DM4x5L67hn_CAYmf1VtYeT1Us6xxOUeIXNGtx00AKjbEhIx-Edtgtx4JUFWHOMwcvyYVGHP1z3IBhOcUaUY1Gxgi_TxrrHMLwjvxwj0tBKB3_kaJDiGg/s400/swamp-apple-111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265082175527904466" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Trunk, showing bark, which is similar to the neighbouring E. microcorys. The soil here is a sandy loam which appears to be quite good. Re-seeded clumps of Themeda triandra, kangaroo grasshave sprung up on the block which has been cleared and the soil surface disturbed by considerable levelling.<br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-38757347047362233632008-11-05T18:39:00.003+11:002008-11-05T19:05:26.666+11:00Island life...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEKpuT1q-auPebnRFriL4KA4HP9d1CSmuCbSRHlKehOroZQTte77VDw3C5KTv5wK30AGl6dnvwT40a44YwUWOLwDCbP0I8BOPrKKQoDxdxhH8rRoJV_XKSyh9xx5y2uc2NNwTh_fud3Q/s1600-h/tAllow-084.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEKpuT1q-auPebnRFriL4KA4HP9d1CSmuCbSRHlKehOroZQTte77VDw3C5KTv5wK30AGl6dnvwT40a44YwUWOLwDCbP0I8BOPrKKQoDxdxhH8rRoJV_XKSyh9xx5y2uc2NNwTh_fud3Q/s400/tAllow-084.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265076992581718370" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This is Tallowwood, <span style="font-style: italic;">Eucalyptus microcorys</span>, an interesting specimen of which is on my sister's block of land on Macleay Island in Moreton Bay in Queensland. This tree will eventually be removed, logged in fact, and probably end up as floor boards or furniture in the house they intend to build on the block. The tree is about 30m high, the butt is not quite a metre in diameter. As can be seen above the tree has just finished flowering. The flowers are usually a creamy white.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEnyWgK3sP7RFD6dK-owP5xofvPrOgY2tlfQ9T4jpk2M5S9nAm7tpgvyuqOWzWVt1mSojyzEaB4dtf_axSDhZMCIDwNZpp5Shyed_gNruoONIal7HSNIxeex_xzGv5j5OfQ3qEpeKGr4/s1600-h/tallow-082.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEnyWgK3sP7RFD6dK-owP5xofvPrOgY2tlfQ9T4jpk2M5S9nAm7tpgvyuqOWzWVt1mSojyzEaB4dtf_axSDhZMCIDwNZpp5Shyed_gNruoONIal7HSNIxeex_xzGv5j5OfQ3qEpeKGr4/s400/tallow-082.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265076140828135330" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This is the tree from the front of the black. It is surprisingly straight from the ground to about 15m, before it branches. The branches are heavy at the base, but are short. There is no sign the tree sheds branches.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmq0w-CL_-Csr2ZhvG4aEIUgRtjgcoEkFF-71INLInOYeKZ6NEtKKazcIZLF3XD5rbzjbSp17YS2tRrLqFoo-w52qDfiqqUsfnGKV1vYYWknxaNZyLHm6CNe1ftlcWk7r9jbeJLUMownA/s1600-h/tallow-083.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmq0w-CL_-Csr2ZhvG4aEIUgRtjgcoEkFF-71INLInOYeKZ6NEtKKazcIZLF3XD5rbzjbSp17YS2tRrLqFoo-w52qDfiqqUsfnGKV1vYYWknxaNZyLHm6CNe1ftlcWk7r9jbeJLUMownA/s400/tallow-083.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265076140885741506" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The tree bark is described as "rough and persistent" to the branches, with long fibres.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQJZFIzi3SYvdUGRDL9FuaApzPlOfPwYIVOUBdrORzZdUZ7ZAlViH8_kNPOiZAaTFQG3l4h-w578I2AZqAd1-Sf8YAb5hKVrukgAvhleBankwQ801pAQar_7_tyIxyiQKvdbj4Z2vp6s/s1600-h/tallow-log-087.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQJZFIzi3SYvdUGRDL9FuaApzPlOfPwYIVOUBdrORzZdUZ7ZAlViH8_kNPOiZAaTFQG3l4h-w578I2AZqAd1-Sf8YAb5hKVrukgAvhleBankwQ801pAQar_7_tyIxyiQKvdbj4Z2vp6s/s400/tallow-log-087.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265076147778874946" border="0" target="blank" /></a>This is a log from a Tallow wood which was on the neighbouring block. The tree was cut down and rolled over to form part of the boundary between two blocks. The timber is apparently somewhat slippery, and difficult to work because of it. Hence tallowwood. But it apparently is a good timber for flooring and furniture. There is no reason why these logs shouldn't be sliced and diced and walked and sat upon.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuy6YChy93Lh3HYWDsD2mC-IPcPhEYWxV6BWoweHUMqtLDdYY2MBgAxlz_HAYCRLrLEMA0wEtfb0v5jkDouoEZDkrzNhfsxmjpJmfOjr5xNcQuABOmvL-nUGsiYmDdZ65lwiG7yxry1so/s1600-h/tallow-shoot-090.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuy6YChy93Lh3HYWDsD2mC-IPcPhEYWxV6BWoweHUMqtLDdYY2MBgAxlz_HAYCRLrLEMA0wEtfb0v5jkDouoEZDkrzNhfsxmjpJmfOjr5xNcQuABOmvL-nUGsiYmDdZ65lwiG7yxry1so/s400/tallow-shoot-090.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265076152449327778" border="0" target="blank" /></a>Here is the next generation, most of which are going to be weeded for any garden my sister can make.<br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-70755039442140531812008-08-18T17:28:00.002+10:002008-08-18T17:36:37.305+10:00the past is a different country...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxfsaNLmlLrGgJWVHyPXLguqKfOqHwkrFKmrJJryn2GePZRu150_1KfhdxY0cJB6s7uIqyNXYdu1fezq_PwvgsOT_JW14xC0EsN940Ax77BQNAnXcybjD3wFdX2r92bwuF3rQ9K2mcSw/s1600-h/Tree-stump.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxfsaNLmlLrGgJWVHyPXLguqKfOqHwkrFKmrJJryn2GePZRu150_1KfhdxY0cJB6s7uIqyNXYdu1fezq_PwvgsOT_JW14xC0EsN940Ax77BQNAnXcybjD3wFdX2r92bwuF3rQ9K2mcSw/s400/Tree-stump.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235756530097133202" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br />This picture was taken in the forests east of where I live in the early 1980s. I am the one on the right with a beanie and my hands in my pockets. The tree stump is the remains of <span style="font-style: italic;">E. regnans</span> cut many years ago. The axeman's steps are very clear in this photograph, he cut them, pushed a plank into the highest, stood on it and cut the tree down. The timber would have been used for building, flooring or fencing. This is a relatively young stump. The tallest tree ever measured on the ground in these forests was 425 feet long, and the top was said to have been damaged by lightning. Regnans needs fire to regenerate, but is not epicormic, unlike many other eucalypts.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-78205715164960891402008-08-18T16:11:00.004+10:002008-08-18T16:57:23.708+10:00Acacias...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HWwj3fQEm_dk5C5X5L0h8Nsjtiom-FfkT7p3Zixp8YmhuSQg5vr7E4OsqCGDnl_NAqhLnXcUz4qGq6Z9W2nXlocf_MuoVkMzpcePMJVtqWhcoTdubSjI6Uh-J4ze-RoLPKmzM1xLye8/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-122-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9HWwj3fQEm_dk5C5X5L0h8Nsjtiom-FfkT7p3Zixp8YmhuSQg5vr7E4OsqCGDnl_NAqhLnXcUz4qGq6Z9W2nXlocf_MuoVkMzpcePMJVtqWhcoTdubSjI6Uh-J4ze-RoLPKmzM1xLye8/s400/L10-Aug13-122-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739156947396114" target="blank" border="0" /></a>It is that time of the year again when the acacia begin to flower. We know it is late winter, and the yellow cheers us up as we go for our daily walks in the scrub in the loacl parks. The acacia seem to be in better humour than they were last year, perhaps because this winter has been colder and a lot wetter than the last. A couple of weeks ago it snowed less than 5km from this park, and for the benefit of northerners, that is very unusual. The eqivalent would be 45C in London. I think this is <span style="font-style: italic;">acacia dealbata</span>, the silver wattle.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY9F6gqxfNjJ_W9rI45aqse3ujXP3yPDLdXXXFOiNQWfum2qjc-q0g2e8jBSHw-R13m6iV_6nm2RXoxD2RgWcr-u9Dy3fKds4vxNsmcelBoTb184qiX5Beya1JJ7bI9GI2x-i1QJbMeo/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-126-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY9F6gqxfNjJ_W9rI45aqse3ujXP3yPDLdXXXFOiNQWfum2qjc-q0g2e8jBSHw-R13m6iV_6nm2RXoxD2RgWcr-u9Dy3fKds4vxNsmcelBoTb184qiX5Beya1JJ7bI9GI2x-i1QJbMeo/s400/L10-Aug13-126-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739165483565682" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The odd thing about this flowering there are very few nectar eating birds about, especially the small ones. The park is called Bellbird Dell, and the bird it is named after are very aggressive and hunt out weaker less aggressive birds. They have, however, a beautiful song with a very pure tone.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGYmp7YPzrqvH4HoJl5D_WMaDJ3Or_MeMP8V4menH48J-3iv5E4Jgy0wIGvg7GsiorV_vBIT5numEWs3Q8sUVjF4-zTBqs4XlAlQ0kGaHISKHxwDgg1q0pyRlVYKBL-fk-ZZ98WHtZ6A/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-132-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGYmp7YPzrqvH4HoJl5D_WMaDJ3Or_MeMP8V4menH48J-3iv5E4Jgy0wIGvg7GsiorV_vBIT5numEWs3Q8sUVjF4-zTBqs4XlAlQ0kGaHISKHxwDgg1q0pyRlVYKBL-fk-ZZ98WHtZ6A/s400/L10-Aug13-132-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739487775159842" target="blank" border="0" /></a>I was on my way to the tram station when I saw these trees, and stopped to photograph them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPYDWslPCcAS9p0ocG2DCAP6umAIXt25QNoR2U4mxnWNdciBx-9o1kzsaMlNMRiZyGaFawLJgtA9-Gt19Uv51BUSA2lBzy3hG8lUuobKXIoB7JtS6GyOb2BqngXQwuVuWlTJAPK2_L3g/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-133-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjPYDWslPCcAS9p0ocG2DCAP6umAIXt25QNoR2U4mxnWNdciBx-9o1kzsaMlNMRiZyGaFawLJgtA9-Gt19Uv51BUSA2lBzy3hG8lUuobKXIoB7JtS6GyOb2BqngXQwuVuWlTJAPK2_L3g/s400/L10-Aug13-133-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739491701528674" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Notice the colour of the pool under this tree. This is storm water from the park and from neighbouring streets. In summer any remaining water will develope an algal bloom.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgdUXoRMyp26OIcDimWfRtzSblnrPnwCSn65SwhUqQo0RtZRhwEjf3Qu1X8MkyvpS5NsZTl-zwtO5XzYGlR_3stizl0HbdUjmtkpdLJwTl_B3xu6dyv069UU3CNDn8QakcJk9GKuiklg/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-121-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgdUXoRMyp26OIcDimWfRtzSblnrPnwCSn65SwhUqQo0RtZRhwEjf3Qu1X8MkyvpS5NsZTl-zwtO5XzYGlR_3stizl0HbdUjmtkpdLJwTl_B3xu6dyv069UU3CNDn8QakcJk9GKuiklg/s400/L10-Aug13-121-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739150286632562" target="blank" border="0" /></a>These trees seem to flower later the further south one goes. In the northern reaches of the State they would have been in blossom a month before these photos were taken-2 weeks ago-and will flower later in the higher, colder country. The Australian Alps are under a metre of snow at the moment, so it will be October before the acacia flower there.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu3jhT6jBFaqtapX9WnDua5q-gjBQDHWBCHioA9fNi-GAbxMYm0lseuzqGUZIn_WjMS_nP4d5UX8igMLNSGxW4EKh2mr5pzg2seIfPcOrK44hwrfVf6LqfwJ2uRoAZIqJvtU2_p6pbGI/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-124-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDu3jhT6jBFaqtapX9WnDua5q-gjBQDHWBCHioA9fNi-GAbxMYm0lseuzqGUZIn_WjMS_nP4d5UX8igMLNSGxW4EKh2mr5pzg2seIfPcOrK44hwrfVf6LqfwJ2uRoAZIqJvtU2_p6pbGI/s400/L10-Aug13-124-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739160134141794" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32mxIhFQFDm02A-cMf0w3QTA5tA8XAjB71P1VjTGI-WgDMU289ZK9ylJN21aAufNlwQSlQQkWXM36N5iM3vwUAmRzDCpJJBDeScz5Chtd6jephxJ06Ik6vHlqxhBjJE0gVtSCY9R7ynM/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-128-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32mxIhFQFDm02A-cMf0w3QTA5tA8XAjB71P1VjTGI-WgDMU289ZK9ylJN21aAufNlwQSlQQkWXM36N5iM3vwUAmRzDCpJJBDeScz5Chtd6jephxJ06Ik6vHlqxhBjJE0gVtSCY9R7ynM/s400/L10-Aug13-128-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739483228787218" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Close up of the blossom. These flowers have quite as sweet scent. If you are asthmatic, don't stick your nose anywhere near this. </span><span id="fullpost">Most Australian flowering plants are great pollinators</span> and some people believe them to be highly allergenic. The pollen is fairly heavy so is not usually carried on the wind, unlike grasses, rye grass is a particularly nasty grass, and so gets up one's nose with some difficulty. Not being allergic to anything, I like acacia, and I like particularly the idea of a movement of yellow across the countryside as the flowering front moves south.<span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuNhSm97Jtvw0axT5rofDKy4hO3g-ZJ2RlXXePdZak1s3kp1p3m1R_dH7HE8F2MKGMwr_3SJ2ybh1XsR3u7ZljqSRcINEzEzEWg1iRp1w168mc-W7rml0LLVhRg0kqvld69PurZC6w2s/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-130-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuNhSm97Jtvw0axT5rofDKy4hO3g-ZJ2RlXXePdZak1s3kp1p3m1R_dH7HE8F2MKGMwr_3SJ2ybh1XsR3u7ZljqSRcINEzEzEWg1iRp1w168mc-W7rml0LLVhRg0kqvld69PurZC6w2s/s400/L10-Aug13-130-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739480912767234" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd64cvYecWjKM3sCKulEE5odS55bnOG_zpoLePbla7VjYWBq6vsP-yW8-4Urbadhb5xMzQJCgpVMZKdJw7O0WhATrBoqhfFA4gyI80-a1LD_ixNIBRpK47RatsgdgzlLWVlx3ZXs2G2xc/s1600-h/L10-Aug13-127-acacia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd64cvYecWjKM3sCKulEE5odS55bnOG_zpoLePbla7VjYWBq6vsP-yW8-4Urbadhb5xMzQJCgpVMZKdJw7O0WhATrBoqhfFA4gyI80-a1LD_ixNIBRpK47RatsgdgzlLWVlx3ZXs2G2xc/s400/L10-Aug13-127-acacia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235739164780557826" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The trunk of these trees is slightly rough, but also quite tough. The bark is thin, and was often used for tanning leather, the timber is useful though not much used.<br /><br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-26870594675594893082008-08-18T15:13:00.013+10:002008-08-18T16:10:43.598+10:00timber 2....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfovO_pz-xR-IkPHgzlIiJeyL_cRlKuguBXawFq6hutzxldVzrPKDzU7NVlwaN8O8uFMzJbcLMlRScEFwKbca3W15PkZrZUBGPkxz12ITfUrksj7eeAyDz-CVXc_vvhff8Qb9059KM5k/s1600-h/20th-July-08-109-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfovO_pz-xR-IkPHgzlIiJeyL_cRlKuguBXawFq6hutzxldVzrPKDzU7NVlwaN8O8uFMzJbcLMlRScEFwKbca3W15PkZrZUBGPkxz12ITfUrksj7eeAyDz-CVXc_vvhff8Qb9059KM5k/s400/20th-July-08-109-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235730723164801810" border="0" target="blank"/></a><br />This the back of the house now. It is unfinished as yet, it hasn't been clad, although we were plastering the day I took this. Plastering is a trade that requires equanimity, it is designed to test friendships to the limit, and the sound proofing of the building. Fortunately the house is fairly soundproof, the air inside was electric some times. <span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZw8tpKD4udzEJj16bXBRwXZ38lFqgSok1TTBij7oxA9Oxt46bzv8OUWoZjxaqe3XfEled6m_QYkWc6hDxyX79hHkhZwfvzDh0Hm5SlbN6kJSPCX97vFMMrlN9e7-WV3N4op3YsGIqZw/s1600-h/20th-July-08-007-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZw8tpKD4udzEJj16bXBRwXZ38lFqgSok1TTBij7oxA9Oxt46bzv8OUWoZjxaqe3XfEled6m_QYkWc6hDxyX79hHkhZwfvzDh0Hm5SlbN6kJSPCX97vFMMrlN9e7-WV3N4op3YsGIqZw/s400/20th-July-08-007-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235722442665279810" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Sunny winter's day, birch still leaning. There is a simple reason for this tree leaning over. Near the corner of the house was a 30m liquid amber tree, just under the piles of timber in the picture below.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ytYdJ8XRJXNZuvIErK9M88GB6uV4r4JQUks_l_o58xERU5YjOHLzyPCyA_zpclano319rgOytQCSE_hiNDDAdQ7BqNwWJ6xGZaRegucgpHhrv7Tu9rG6lnKtweCvhIAQZEoUKoiR-b8/s1600-h/20th-July-08-002-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ytYdJ8XRJXNZuvIErK9M88GB6uV4r4JQUks_l_o58xERU5YjOHLzyPCyA_zpclano319rgOytQCSE_hiNDDAdQ7BqNwWJ6xGZaRegucgpHhrv7Tu9rG6lnKtweCvhIAQZEoUKoiR-b8/s400/20th-July-08-002-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726473902406066" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This tree was removed to make room for this extension. The birch had grown up in the shade of the liquid amber, and to get to the light had to grow outwards. Only when the liquid amber was removed did the birch become a problem. Besides it was not a healthy tree, the possums had eaten the top shoots and the tree was dying from the extremities back, the core of the trunk was rotted out, and the roots were intertwined with the remnants of the liquid amber roots, which were removed by this machine.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9cdOYaAUUMpTGCmVQVd3EMjbJ6k2Mm4BI4wgwpUyuyGmM5chU4XT7erSWWhM-JYeRM0-d5W1t6fTLd5zceggk-_UIJah88N9iH4BemhRAJlTdsGvF6nyGqrgYijFPOIzfa9RWBeqCGI/s1600-h/20th-July-08-118-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9cdOYaAUUMpTGCmVQVd3EMjbJ6k2Mm4BI4wgwpUyuyGmM5chU4XT7erSWWhM-JYeRM0-d5W1t6fTLd5zceggk-_UIJah88N9iH4BemhRAJlTdsGvF6nyGqrgYijFPOIzfa9RWBeqCGI/s400/20th-July-08-118-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235730718168982466" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This is a good way to make mulch.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcwhNjLn-9PSfuMbLMxjYynH7ThHz1YBa93Q7jHhRIRE-wGJrP64bLszJHyiCy-lvtd3TB5zaXavposLizlqd_zKsDeeeJuXkbQf726XiSIB9TXCUOyyN_AB9KCNoK-kXC8DkvpnCTcQ/s1600-h/20th-July-08-111-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcwhNjLn-9PSfuMbLMxjYynH7ThHz1YBa93Q7jHhRIRE-wGJrP64bLszJHyiCy-lvtd3TB5zaXavposLizlqd_zKsDeeeJuXkbQf726XiSIB9TXCUOyyN_AB9KCNoK-kXC8DkvpnCTcQ/s400/20th-July-08-111-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726469278249026" border="0" target="blank"/></a><br />The north wall of the house is 4m to roof, double glazed and with several layers of wall insulation under the plaster. The large overhang is supposed to shade the wall in summer. We will see. The metal sheet cladding is not on yet. The black lining is 18mm chipboard, painted with bituminous paint for water proofing.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GeLxeKG4KcmjDUCpFhwIgJInUl2tKmFkvodYsoZ9uwRZumy9gFdWP5qlXYPsVyPXkV0J8Ns1_n9l70i-8kw4pJqSNOdZP4q5xrdtB5cQMmsjdPs_-x7Zywk2bley_A-yHE_FAPkiMBI/s1600-h/20th-July-08-117-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GeLxeKG4KcmjDUCpFhwIgJInUl2tKmFkvodYsoZ9uwRZumy9gFdWP5qlXYPsVyPXkV0J8Ns1_n9l70i-8kw4pJqSNOdZP4q5xrdtB5cQMmsjdPs_-x7Zywk2bley_A-yHE_FAPkiMBI/s400/20th-July-08-117-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726469677427458" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This day a man and a machine pulled up at the neighbour's house.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUnNOK4iuQoinebww5yP-wjxqRwHp-KAZGUckcyaIFKE8MfPONb_yqKz7FgYL6ey8yZv-MkHSOBdUfOn-L2XvOm_Qcx7uhXZVh_16y6PRmha6H67nnUlbJkf9hzjumrIHpZkx9bULbP0/s1600-h/20th-July-08-129-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUnNOK4iuQoinebww5yP-wjxqRwHp-KAZGUckcyaIFKE8MfPONb_yqKz7FgYL6ey8yZv-MkHSOBdUfOn-L2XvOm_Qcx7uhXZVh_16y6PRmha6H67nnUlbJkf9hzjumrIHpZkx9bULbP0/s400/20th-July-08-129-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726041835828498" border="0" target="blank"/></a>The sun came out for awhile...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTh8W1Pbj6mo4hmVEwTx6Ez4FN5WGhR9F-gLCRlVwPcR7q_GioVJEbQDgHjyR08fMZe_e1QieGzTwNxdea1nSNSqGwkkIo4BmpXYfz94cd3Bk-KGXNdEyFUJTH44M309OYAW9AyaexZo/s1600-h/20th-July-08-138-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlTh8W1Pbj6mo4hmVEwTx6Ez4FN5WGhR9F-gLCRlVwPcR7q_GioVJEbQDgHjyR08fMZe_e1QieGzTwNxdea1nSNSqGwkkIo4BmpXYfz94cd3Bk-KGXNdEyFUJTH44M309OYAW9AyaexZo/s400/20th-July-08-138-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726039447809650" border="0" target="blank"/></a>A man began to climb the tree...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWnlnaXmvUxleYD_bKFt38WMNdUzEP4AnlOAcIDMOdREWFCX_j4ex3rVPX-Z5xuUxZWSRXIIc5YpibziC1-Vzu1aiyJ-NKcySIGTjbixHqO9mgBHBsPTQkpXCt0xU3CKlNT9QGeEgoPc/s1600-h/20th-July-08-139-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWnlnaXmvUxleYD_bKFt38WMNdUzEP4AnlOAcIDMOdREWFCX_j4ex3rVPX-Z5xuUxZWSRXIIc5YpibziC1-Vzu1aiyJ-NKcySIGTjbixHqO9mgBHBsPTQkpXCt0xU3CKlNT9QGeEgoPc/s400/20th-July-08-139-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726039321497682" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Higher...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40lrRrwdTO3aY_qClQMtkR3hbiAlB9IWwg6_PdMRCF3Qc3HaTvARnqeLuSO0KbhoQC2Wn2iJRs4J2vbq3Aadi-HHgJQ1BRubqxy23egiRVbFbQ69zcymdoqSR7aZKCvQrjIj-xUS9mt8/s1600-h/20th-July-08-140-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40lrRrwdTO3aY_qClQMtkR3hbiAlB9IWwg6_PdMRCF3Qc3HaTvARnqeLuSO0KbhoQC2Wn2iJRs4J2vbq3Aadi-HHgJQ1BRubqxy23egiRVbFbQ69zcymdoqSR7aZKCvQrjIj-xUS9mt8/s400/20th-July-08-140-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726040219875538" border="0" target="blank"/></a>And then he started his chain saw...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_ym0jv9gOt32cKgCdsNkBWmQX6Uug7UFtZCKW40EtpXB5yFXOKJy1pzq35oJUvUV4GtDsuX0cq_N_LXrJk9JQNoi2ONwD_aFDCnjrTLp38eJHXK9ByjWwEJrfhbmzmSGT5N4lgmG8oo/s1600-h/20th-July-08-142-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_ym0jv9gOt32cKgCdsNkBWmQX6Uug7UFtZCKW40EtpXB5yFXOKJy1pzq35oJUvUV4GtDsuX0cq_N_LXrJk9JQNoi2ONwD_aFDCnjrTLp38eJHXK9ByjWwEJrfhbmzmSGT5N4lgmG8oo/s400/20th-July-08-142-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235725542629147618" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Down came the tree, branches first...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-clGDY8VMeqdpZ_5nEhJZeaf8dVzbBNsqiOshxBGirD9jcXyoEld5tRYQ9A33rT5iMODOteHxF8n0RGyCDNxfytS1E1nr1OZUGkR8x4siEldCgv0wZUKb485EvgfuOEn92U1Pq0xKayA/s1600-h/20th-July-08-141-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-clGDY8VMeqdpZ_5nEhJZeaf8dVzbBNsqiOshxBGirD9jcXyoEld5tRYQ9A33rT5iMODOteHxF8n0RGyCDNxfytS1E1nr1OZUGkR8x4siEldCgv0wZUKb485EvgfuOEn92U1Pq0xKayA/s400/20th-July-08-141-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235725550455171858" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Then gradually the trunk was whittled back...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fxj1uslxleiwxYJYvMQrrL5bRwT7OPwKC1_iYIukwR93XMnOcH-OS_TGuo39AAc35kuNtVgkOTI496TY7hQveF0kG5EniPDD30dq3ELH7h3d4OnmZRC1cHC3qBK-VIQmtHkeoCf7SQ0/s1600-h/20th-July-08-144-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fxj1uslxleiwxYJYvMQrrL5bRwT7OPwKC1_iYIukwR93XMnOcH-OS_TGuo39AAc35kuNtVgkOTI496TY7hQveF0kG5EniPDD30dq3ELH7h3d4OnmZRC1cHC3qBK-VIQmtHkeoCf7SQ0/s400/20th-July-08-144-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235726034472475698" border="0" target="blank"/></a>More and more. The rain had set in by now...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAc4IzGSGs9BH6oNhcmnRaISQOkdbArbruDgZW9PMOtt4RF2o6EZKdv8CiTHGLPc6ntaAF3_JeFlk-jujwosCqKMceB-Ld3pk1CHYnu0UvgadXOqSMTM0SZQdqihNhUDuRMV8ZXTpKVw/s1600-h/20th-July-08-146-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAc4IzGSGs9BH6oNhcmnRaISQOkdbArbruDgZW9PMOtt4RF2o6EZKdv8CiTHGLPc6ntaAF3_JeFlk-jujwosCqKMceB-Ld3pk1CHYnu0UvgadXOqSMTM0SZQdqihNhUDuRMV8ZXTpKVw/s400/20th-July-08-146-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235725539065763682" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Not much to go...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUStztzkfnx8ICf402rn5BrBaM3GsqUnB0Sl106XGEXt-l7Izv3lgH3kS9BpQXC-XHAXrvnEEq0fP5tRdfD8KDRKGc_IBeGyavfOx8RtFSMNRM8J2JxaGxrtLsrxBt-NMSurPgnMI9V5I/s1600-h/20th-July-08-145-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUStztzkfnx8ICf402rn5BrBaM3GsqUnB0Sl106XGEXt-l7Izv3lgH3kS9BpQXC-XHAXrvnEEq0fP5tRdfD8KDRKGc_IBeGyavfOx8RtFSMNRM8J2JxaGxrtLsrxBt-NMSurPgnMI9V5I/s400/20th-July-08-145-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235725546455373650" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Going, going...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiwjH-3D-NyxXm7wf9180xvO9WJdTNLX5AvO-ypTxZqCUnosb_CtmmjSJf92qxcGhT6UoCN_e3_9G7Mt32Vg30ERR1SPNiCh6HyCngOfXt8RNFGBVASbzSoNuBGkA6sPZPCXNaashZRo/s1600-h/20th-July-08-148-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqiwjH-3D-NyxXm7wf9180xvO9WJdTNLX5AvO-ypTxZqCUnosb_CtmmjSJf92qxcGhT6UoCN_e3_9G7Mt32Vg30ERR1SPNiCh6HyCngOfXt8RNFGBVASbzSoNuBGkA6sPZPCXNaashZRo/s400/20th-July-08-148-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235725541667749442" border="0" target="blank"/></a><br />Gone.<br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-27713740573270447312008-08-18T14:50:00.007+10:002008-08-18T16:07:48.127+10:00timber...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gcYDHgcOTKYWcDIt8AYUOdSuddzwLifHYhl5fhiNDSxV8Vb3ykHDBg6CTQC8tcHSwgZHbQtJrCqcrKARRAR6xVR6wgPlf2zdfM1ZiS7DDykXnls_0tgmOpBfZ_ZGN7oimMoyfiPEG8g/s1600-h/DSCN1078-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gcYDHgcOTKYWcDIt8AYUOdSuddzwLifHYhl5fhiNDSxV8Vb3ykHDBg6CTQC8tcHSwgZHbQtJrCqcrKARRAR6xVR6wgPlf2zdfM1ZiS7DDykXnls_0tgmOpBfZ_ZGN7oimMoyfiPEG8g/s400/DSCN1078-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235716045102818850" border="0" /></a>This what I have being doing for most of the year, apart from recovering from a broken marriage. For obvious reasons I have left my previous vocation-house husband-and ventured out into some sort of paid employment. I have been the labourer for a friend who took long service leave, and leave of his senses, to demolish the rear of his house, and rebuild it. Demolition took a week as it was hot, work was all by hand, and the section of the house was held together by a large number of nails. There was a dead possum in the ceiling space-if fell on someone's head-and a lot of filth accumulated over the last 30 years. This shot shows the result of the demolition: half a house.<span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumfPJCutSfIzMDn7dRrJruqfIo0Rlz410wja5skQzh77Q7dwb621ENJKnGSnB1blFpj0PCoPrY8McyMWff5ACYKApWYhNzw6Z9FxhulHYGkR6AVnE7uGqwX7_QbBGdwlgqY0BwtguylA/s1600-h/DSCN1124a-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiumfPJCutSfIzMDn7dRrJruqfIo0Rlz410wja5skQzh77Q7dwb621ENJKnGSnB1blFpj0PCoPrY8McyMWff5ACYKApWYhNzw6Z9FxhulHYGkR6AVnE7uGqwX7_QbBGdwlgqY0BwtguylA/s400/DSCN1124a-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235716385896898626" border="0" /></a>We then built the form work for the waffle slab he was laying. Note the leaning birch over the side fence.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_YKuZBG49EMEHcXTg92F-cOXxOhccVfiCDh67P31Zeg7q5Pif2g8OAF8HQlAHNLP1T63KgBIW2A9M_Efh-dT0TGv2szw5oKvPtzkEum1NOBq_V2oS8hcaeVf8wVaKSooNGlWoN-vOwM/s1600-h/DSCN1152-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU_YKuZBG49EMEHcXTg92F-cOXxOhccVfiCDh67P31Zeg7q5Pif2g8OAF8HQlAHNLP1T63KgBIW2A9M_Efh-dT0TGv2szw5oKvPtzkEum1NOBq_V2oS8hcaeVf8wVaKSooNGlWoN-vOwM/s400/DSCN1152-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235716396816172050" border="0" /></a>The sab is ready for concrete. 100m2, about 15 cubic metres.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_A4YAVMomqAqhAB8lG_1uBFH9HzYvhaWq8b3zGaYCdQbBW_WSRXJUtK2ujs-2tYbvHuSHqBEO2imWPvVnp8oJcQn8RA-mcahyVBHoRzHAyjvYrehGb1nfL5Mvh8Glq6yRKXvl8gGe5Ko/s1600-h/DSCN1157-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_A4YAVMomqAqhAB8lG_1uBFH9HzYvhaWq8b3zGaYCdQbBW_WSRXJUtK2ujs-2tYbvHuSHqBEO2imWPvVnp8oJcQn8RA-mcahyVBHoRzHAyjvYrehGb1nfL5Mvh8Glq6yRKXvl8gGe5Ko/s400/DSCN1157-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235716393409152706" border="0" /></a>Freshly poured and finished. The concreters did the levelling and smoothing by hand and eye.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0iznAZ3Nr5lVxj3CHVutH4vijDgFmMShc3UnCZuslegZImUsyqFe_e_0iBn1kBVVng47p45b0CCcp7CZUDzsSin3XVPzMvS8edqeM4IvBy9nUixUMsqpxvHjYHjv95sgWmbwrncf9jc/s1600-h/DSCN1168-birch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0iznAZ3Nr5lVxj3CHVutH4vijDgFmMShc3UnCZuslegZImUsyqFe_e_0iBn1kBVVng47p45b0CCcp7CZUDzsSin3XVPzMvS8edqeM4IvBy9nUixUMsqpxvHjYHjv95sgWmbwrncf9jc/s400/DSCN1168-birch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235716043033160770" border="0" /></a>Sometime later the framework is up. The birch is still leaning. Next post.....<br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-11144396355991213052008-04-11T09:28:00.004+10:002008-04-11T09:47:23.943+10:00the horrors...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9PfukhsLgWiEFlcV_TKJTKe9prK_geUXP2e_Z_-YGEHxN0g4YcXpKkzgJwIHsvP_sx4kY37r5aic7TO-KhNbxBKTYLrvKIHh82Hs0OoCFH2lYazplhZM9m8Wn1GSryezt3BuhxkqiDU/s1600-h/tree1_thumbnail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9PfukhsLgWiEFlcV_TKJTKe9prK_geUXP2e_Z_-YGEHxN0g4YcXpKkzgJwIHsvP_sx4kY37r5aic7TO-KhNbxBKTYLrvKIHh82Hs0OoCFH2lYazplhZM9m8Wn1GSryezt3BuhxkqiDU/s400/tree1_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187766714264170930" border="0"></a>Just found this English <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/03/conservation.wildlife">site</a>. The same happens here in Australia where I live; in the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne as well as everywhere else.<br /><br />I've been busy lately so haven't been posting. I have been working for a friend who is rebuilding the back of his house; renovating is the great Australian hobby, more than fishing and drinking beer, and we have been using a lot of timber. Soon I will post a few pictures to show the demolition and framework.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-55024263556926052052008-01-07T15:49:00.002+11:002010-09-06T19:47:28.372+10:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkA4bur58WvBPE9lLoIGMHegDEP_KQlMQbvMkTvlK7XOX1wajLCt9I_eFTZqkpqspsR43VJv92i1IjD4Q65AxenzIHbofWXaCgfd7oGOkpJW0VhBjyTqL-Oi-j3OKZWpFV-MD7QFpBVSs/s1600-h/tower+hill+pan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkA4bur58WvBPE9lLoIGMHegDEP_KQlMQbvMkTvlK7XOX1wajLCt9I_eFTZqkpqspsR43VJv92i1IjD4Q65AxenzIHbofWXaCgfd7oGOkpJW0VhBjyTqL-Oi-j3OKZWpFV-MD7QFpBVSs/s400/tower+hill+pan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152598887093069250" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Tower Hill is a nested maar type of dormant volcano, notice it isn't extinct. <a href="http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/glenregn.nsf/pages/eruption_points_tower_hill">More here</a>. The treed area in the centre of the picture are a number of volcanic cones, the flat area in the foreground is part of the crater, and in wetter times is a large lake. Apparently the area was occupied by humans at the tme of the most recent eruptions between 20 and 30000 years ago. <span id="fullpost">This area is part of a significant volcanic zone stretching from the south east of South Australia to central Victoria, within which the most recent eruptions were around Mt Gambier in SA about 4800 years ago. Tower Hill was declared a National Park in 1892. It was painted by a number of important artists including Eugen von Guerard, whose painting of 1855 is considered accurate enough to be used as a document of vegetation types, and which has guided revegetation from the 1950s onwards. Some where along the line they introduced this little animal.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVliN5ax6kvesiQfr6Kngo6awWSdu0EvIjR6Oy9PolicDqOxfp9RYbHeWUXI-axE2BVcxs6-_seUuKIhT_WsvTTbOTB6ovn99j0mh45RBeW_hfNa122mGPeobB3C4aVUKYXQnktVlIBoQ/s1600-h/koala.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVliN5ax6kvesiQfr6Kngo6awWSdu0EvIjR6Oy9PolicDqOxfp9RYbHeWUXI-axE2BVcxs6-_seUuKIhT_WsvTTbOTB6ovn99j0mh45RBeW_hfNa122mGPeobB3C4aVUKYXQnktVlIBoQ/s400/koala.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152592573491144082" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This koala <i>(Phascolarctos cinereus) </i>is sitting in a tree in the Tower Hill National park near Koroit in Victoria's south west. I climbed the highest of the peaks in the park one day and on the way down was directed by some other visitors to this rather cute sight. We all take great pleasure in watching these animals, which are protected both by the law and national sentiment. Even when they piss on Ministers of the Government and ruin their expensive suits, we laugh, then hand a few over to zoos elsewhere in the world.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUyRU9vfhicsUY0ihAa_3cmHQISsVqx2jaVdGTj_TUyfdcUut9bsyZIw-OpQ1kWJVp4T9UcAq4zko68maWrMJxTcQMbx50ozf-q4cNyfy_Pm9yQNT3o0rSY83lrjgk01o3qbA8MYqZvY/s1600-h/koala-003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAUyRU9vfhicsUY0ihAa_3cmHQISsVqx2jaVdGTj_TUyfdcUut9bsyZIw-OpQ1kWJVp4T9UcAq4zko68maWrMJxTcQMbx50ozf-q4cNyfy_Pm9yQNT3o0rSY83lrjgk01o3qbA8MYqZvY/s400/koala-003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152596786854061490" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Koalas like a small subset of the 800 odd species of eucalypts and related trees. Manna gum (<span style="font-style: italic;">E. viminalis</span>) and Swamp gum (<span style="font-style: italic;">E. ovata</span>) are the main components of their diet, although they are known to browse up to 50 species and even eat from other tree species. They are fairly territorial and have favourite trees, they are social, but they eat up to a kilogram of leaves a day, and eucalypts are not thickly leaved trees, so they can quickly denude a tree. They were not in the park in an earlier European incarnation as grazing land and quarry. They now have eaten out the trees they like, there are vastly greater numbers and the park authorities are playing the ring a roses game of moving numbers to other locations to ease congestion. This is a common problem. I grew up on Kangaroo Island, where a colony of koalas was established in the early 1920s from French Island in Victoria, where, according to Tim Low in his book <span style="font-style: italic;">The New Nature</span>, ISBN 0143001949, they had been taken in 1898. When I was a kid we had to drive a long way over some very rough dirt roads to see a koala, and I remember seeing a couple on one such excursion in the 50s.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvcoWevCzCNEUN7_pvIDSAo_oxBTOFrATzGDiMuUjzquZDd8SIGTPKSDfCMg5vhzpStPuTKbKQfDY0hJxODp6BFztgJ8HPPEhpaqFCWdPF1w0nlpzNX9LRHeJzXHyMVARTLEwD3wJT4o/s1600-h/koala010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvcoWevCzCNEUN7_pvIDSAo_oxBTOFrATzGDiMuUjzquZDd8SIGTPKSDfCMg5vhzpStPuTKbKQfDY0hJxODp6BFztgJ8HPPEhpaqFCWdPF1w0nlpzNX9LRHeJzXHyMVARTLEwD3wJT4o/s400/koala010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152596786854061474" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This is the environment the koala (centre of picture) is living in. The light coloured trees are food trees. This animal is eating itself out of house and home. Further to the French Island and Kangaroo Island stories, where the animals have also eaten themselves out of trees, according to Lowe one person </span><span id="fullpost">on French Island in the 20s </span><span id="fullpost">counted 2300 koalas on a 5 miles stretch of road. 15000 animals have been relocated from French and adjacent Phillip Islands so far, with little net result. The 18 koalas taken to Kangaroo Island had multiplied to more than 5000 70 years later. The locals wanted a cull, they got expensive and selective sterilisation. Koalas were then released up a tree, still eating their way out of house and home. The problem is two fold, political and sentimental. The pollies are gutless, they don't want to do the sensible thing, cull, because it would look bad in the media especially overseas. They won't fund the awareness campaigns to raise the level of debate above the cuteness and national icon level, so we can deal with the problem we created by not managing animal numbers. These animals were food once to the original Australians, they kept numbers in check by roasting them. Kangaroos, emus, possums were also eaten, and now they are all largely protected. I have eaten roo and emu meat, nutritious, low cholesterol meats both. Possums? Give us an open season on the buggers, three days is all we need, let me shoot fat Freddy who lives in my roof, pisses on my ceiling, shits in my nice warm insulation. Save the kangaroo? Save the koala? Only by managing the numbers, like humans once did.Thanks to Tim Low, who opened my eyes.<br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-35105962721498721452007-12-15T17:24:00.000+11:002007-12-17T22:20:23.384+11:00barking ....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTB-KaSmoFsdxCbpQ4e3MY5PSo6pfnLlpfHd4dubjBMWkmt3jQpOjdU5fEqCxks5z3BCJqXfCA2IRXpl4Q1GD5WNtvfqO_lp7vVPPL70MOs7qt6jjJdbW9R1p5snKDBQjUHywiHYxlO0/s1600-h/woodleigh1-441.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTB-KaSmoFsdxCbpQ4e3MY5PSo6pfnLlpfHd4dubjBMWkmt3jQpOjdU5fEqCxks5z3BCJqXfCA2IRXpl4Q1GD5WNtvfqO_lp7vVPPL70MOs7qt6jjJdbW9R1p5snKDBQjUHywiHYxlO0/s400/woodleigh1-441.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144084062709674866" target="blank" border="0" /></a>These are a few of the tree in Woodleigh Crescent, Vermont South, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. The idea this is a Crescent and that it is in Vermont South not South Vermont (I live in Vermont and the street is south of here) are the result of the no knowledge, no sense and no imagination of developers and local governments. I hate the pretentions of both. However, someone had the good sense many years ago to plant some good trees here and these spotted gum (<span style="font-style: italic;">Corymbia maculata</span>) have now grown to more than 20 metres. This time of the year is deciduous time, the trees are shedding bark everywhere, and I have seen a few branches lying around at the foot of trees too. The bark is interesting for its colour.<span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaad2RkocJEW92T4_v5FGbbhyphenhyphenUD4NX-jiqtrAfcphXqaOL2wniNG6W6JAsNGyVayGZkbW5C2rymtIsRGGiOq2oTatRvmhA7UBao9BwLSDQztSF3qjekyVY7Q3SUywns6VTgCYfvm1sbE/s1600-h/woodleigh1-437.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaad2RkocJEW92T4_v5FGbbhyphenhyphenUD4NX-jiqtrAfcphXqaOL2wniNG6W6JAsNGyVayGZkbW5C2rymtIsRGGiOq2oTatRvmhA7UBao9BwLSDQztSF3qjekyVY7Q3SUywns6VTgCYfvm1sbE/s400/woodleigh1-437.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144084041234838338" target="blank" border="0" /></a>A bit of rain and the colour comes out. Mainly grey, orange and pink at the moment.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqX7maWUEGLatOnQyjnvChz9MDCcy0QH9y_TlDpwrbxBLAdoHlPj3PCeJ9aDUZ0eL2Es67kQgBTvNAGlo1iOTSCIY49trTAhwUnPMwNa3LCRSL9W2RWCnAnvzfIQM0EX_YjSC_JaGy8Gw/s1600-h/woodleigh1-439.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqX7maWUEGLatOnQyjnvChz9MDCcy0QH9y_TlDpwrbxBLAdoHlPj3PCeJ9aDUZ0eL2Es67kQgBTvNAGlo1iOTSCIY49trTAhwUnPMwNa3LCRSL9W2RWCnAnvzfIQM0EX_YjSC_JaGy8Gw/s400/woodleigh1-439.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144084049824772946" target="blank" border="0" /></a>With some purply pink patches too. The tree below is particularly pink. This method of shedding is called decorticating.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifucEwXlbN7zAmQHe6CgMFtOeNDRghU1DLgrCKfcwuZLxO3HuvLzFS1QcGy54l7J4oAbPs-frAW3q1d00lSwg3npIEt8Gpq4_SotYiV3VQ6TPnAIQi82J3JcFqnR_btQWBT8M7ImaAnrI/s1600-h/woodleigh1-440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifucEwXlbN7zAmQHe6CgMFtOeNDRghU1DLgrCKfcwuZLxO3HuvLzFS1QcGy54l7J4oAbPs-frAW3q1d00lSwg3npIEt8Gpq4_SotYiV3VQ6TPnAIQi82J3JcFqnR_btQWBT8M7ImaAnrI/s400/woodleigh1-440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144084054119740258" border="0" target="blank"/></a>The effect is noticeable from the road, which I why I took these pictures. I was driving up the street in the rain, and was so taken by the colour I stopped to take some of these pictures.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yM5oBcwHpcynJyipTdmTwYHy-cDiZ6C65ozAvs3xT9xK4J5ja2Tjp6whRqaz7wO5H7Z9DKrjaEdMa5FSH906WG57FU1GIPSDp052YehlL6CeS3GkcjiIsAwPSMO6gVeftlEAhgmLRPc/s1600-h/woodleigh1-436.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yM5oBcwHpcynJyipTdmTwYHy-cDiZ6C65ozAvs3xT9xK4J5ja2Tjp6whRqaz7wO5H7Z9DKrjaEdMa5FSH906WG57FU1GIPSDp052YehlL6CeS3GkcjiIsAwPSMO6gVeftlEAhgmLRPc/s400/woodleigh1-436.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144082340427789106" target="blank" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDj1-9qeOkL1VwCYpv2Y2AVqHz9UxGj-gBlot5MFwLJJz6Efm8XC7oQ8T12jc1QyzehO7NVmIys4_TI1fkUzlHEzWPRWedAPMSAhOokylUvh0oP1Cipa026TOs38cDmkT1AJ5yG459-Y/s1600-h/woodleigh1-435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDj1-9qeOkL1VwCYpv2Y2AVqHz9UxGj-gBlot5MFwLJJz6Efm8XC7oQ8T12jc1QyzehO7NVmIys4_TI1fkUzlHEzWPRWedAPMSAhOokylUvh0oP1Cipa026TOs38cDmkT1AJ5yG459-Y/s400/woodleigh1-435.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144082336132821794" target="blank" border="0" /></a>The tree below is pink and grey, and it is not wet, so the colour is very pale and less vivid.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklQoqP7Mq3IQFvDX7VRcqN7bdR7q9SrLBjNi1jQmDSIHsaesrkgCkcpYVvLY9GpouU1LuyKAo-IoTOGEczv0PzLyuYmyEuWUkB81b8CBfyXkHjKoBwwTV5RI27cD61swTu5YWTD6gPVQ/s1600-h/_woodleigh917.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjklQoqP7Mq3IQFvDX7VRcqN7bdR7q9SrLBjNi1jQmDSIHsaesrkgCkcpYVvLY9GpouU1LuyKAo-IoTOGEczv0PzLyuYmyEuWUkB81b8CBfyXkHjKoBwwTV5RI27cD61swTu5YWTD6gPVQ/s400/_woodleigh917.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144082327542887154" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Many people believe eucalypts are an evergreen non-deciduous tree. But they drop branches, leaves, and bark, and in large quantities. At least three people have been killed in recent months by falling branches (see earlier post). lemon scented gums (<span style="font-style: italic;">Corymbia citriodora</span>), according to Seddon, withdraw nutrients from lower branches, which die and drop off, the scar being covered in cambium to close the hole.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgK-NfCIh6_xwfGJRqqRJgnaxCZitC8AsZlMca4KBWYEHoUSKPVWxkIz0ggx_vzABqNjWHH-aiF58JnmDy0keBKt3tOE8b6xEXtZcbgWnWuj6lwEQKzWFNZ676G_gnfBW8lV590rwBkaU/s1600-h/woodleighSCN0916.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgK-NfCIh6_xwfGJRqqRJgnaxCZitC8AsZlMca4KBWYEHoUSKPVWxkIz0ggx_vzABqNjWHH-aiF58JnmDy0keBKt3tOE8b6xEXtZcbgWnWuj6lwEQKzWFNZ676G_gnfBW8lV590rwBkaU/s400/woodleighSCN0916.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144082336132821778" target="blank" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzQfHHcykvGJbZ7I0DFsHjTQv37fjQKgfgxHvfLkcLFVui_v6r4kXDJ_Tf2wbhuHcR32h56GE1Bfk5qZHtJWi1_Leb5GUiQap7WjdbJHzmOpr-UUcTHwV1jn1WVrJchAEC0hpNlUj1iU/s1600-h/woodleigh902.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzQfHHcykvGJbZ7I0DFsHjTQv37fjQKgfgxHvfLkcLFVui_v6r4kXDJ_Tf2wbhuHcR32h56GE1Bfk5qZHtJWi1_Leb5GUiQap7WjdbJHzmOpr-UUcTHwV1jn1WVrJchAEC0hpNlUj1iU/s400/woodleigh902.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144084062709674882" target="blank" border="0" /></a>Patches of bark detaching from the tree reveal all sorts of effects, including a pale green new bark.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsjpkvdmaE1J_VXuHkGvp1NPJmSbnJX7jLYRRDQTImbFeACp-qiIy9wY_bpVXnujsT7-vHZuXJfifliz4-ACAlDguWBZtVmgDd7fFlHh8snCua-EZVYzIueGD0LxoiY0t-_1RJ52DzIo/s1600-h/woodleigh999.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTsjpkvdmaE1J_VXuHkGvp1NPJmSbnJX7jLYRRDQTImbFeACp-qiIy9wY_bpVXnujsT7-vHZuXJfifliz4-ACAlDguWBZtVmgDd7fFlHh8snCua-EZVYzIueGD0LxoiY0t-_1RJ52DzIo/s400/woodleigh999.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144082331837854466" target="blank" border="0" /></a>More green. The new bark comes through green or cream. The result is a pile of rubbish around the stump, which, according to George Seddon, is a mulch that prevents competition growing at the foot of the tree, and the trees out-compete anything else in the forest. The rubbish also produces fire-prone ground cover. But here in the leafy suburbs of eastern Melbourne the only fire likely is that under a nice piece of juicy rump and some snags.</span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-77200639507666681422007-12-15T17:09:00.000+11:002007-12-15T17:24:24.878+11:00roundabout 2 ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcIpcfTCKdMz1mKIMw0AAs7QqyA4bSfU8b-cB66vXoF_nOPsrJbmEKkCCA8oxbSLIJGLD2l2RjK5BqdbIXBxZ7zk6GnBMbcuRWt8QpWuAugG6kTqbeFTZ0z__qGy0fbUAOIq4hdyiRUQ/s1600-h/carlton-roundabout-005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcIpcfTCKdMz1mKIMw0AAs7QqyA4bSfU8b-cB66vXoF_nOPsrJbmEKkCCA8oxbSLIJGLD2l2RjK5BqdbIXBxZ7zk6GnBMbcuRWt8QpWuAugG6kTqbeFTZ0z__qGy0fbUAOIq4hdyiRUQ/s400/carlton-roundabout-005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144078281683694306" border="0" target="blank"/></a>The roundabout at Carlton (lat. -37 47.68 long. 144 57.78) mentioned in a very early post-18th January this year. These trees are almost a year older, had another year of very low rainfall. I was driving back from having coffee with my mate Dave in North Melbourne yesterday afternoon and got caught in the usual jam at late afternoon home time. The bark on the spotted gum has peeled off showing the yellow creamy colour of the new bark.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-53429591445332527222007-12-07T22:05:00.000+11:002007-12-07T22:16:59.473+11:0012 days, or more...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgpGOzyBihFznJJCgAR110V9-x0_VDXPoBplH2g-WqWXz_b2dQKvA78lONbzceqU9hO7mYaR2jcHYsW50LSLl3iQZUgyiklO3gHUJ0QJ3M3dInQxpPtdnqkPLRKfF7ORv8nXvREAsKIk/s1600-h/55collins895.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgpGOzyBihFznJJCgAR110V9-x0_VDXPoBplH2g-WqWXz_b2dQKvA78lONbzceqU9hO7mYaR2jcHYsW50LSLl3iQZUgyiklO3gHUJ0QJ3M3dInQxpPtdnqkPLRKfF7ORv8nXvREAsKIk/s400/55collins895.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141185661138678770" target="blank" border="0" /></a>This is in the interregnum between the two towers at 55 Collins Street in Melbourne. These trees have very rapid growth at this time of the year. Appearing fully formed and complete with a shiny inedible fruit and spangly lights. The appearance of one tree seems to prompt a plague, they appear everywhere, and cause some mysterious emulatory disease to take hold in the far corners of the world. I have a Swedish home model, an el cheapo from the COOP that fair country, complete with plastic fir that the dog doesn't like-a wonder, given he has destroyed 5 shoes and two couches this week.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3ZAhn3yfQDEsC1QGB61wPY3zyMUkRlK835wTi-Yy3kw8ylMvxG66Lw4Aqqk2rJP3Dw5oRPMmEu6fPuIEtPYAOO5EblVTe5qJxbP8bSluz9CKmukk4dETqiOR6-oAsey0f7HnAy9SBxs/s1600-h/55collins898.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3ZAhn3yfQDEsC1QGB61wPY3zyMUkRlK835wTi-Yy3kw8ylMvxG66Lw4Aqqk2rJP3Dw5oRPMmEu6fPuIEtPYAOO5EblVTe5qJxbP8bSluz9CKmukk4dETqiOR6-oAsey0f7HnAy9SBxs/s400/55collins898.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141185669728613378" border="0" target="blank"/></a>Here is another genus of the same plague. This one is a completely transparent silver, and unlikely to require sunlight for photosynthesis. Used to complement the smaller, ungown versions of the first tree pictured.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MParwSUxnodVSyV5uPDJuhAu7gD_vQOaAyIV5oDkFQmXGBNggEfQrSpFiPoWzUfZ2w4GGUlzMqfVGdnMt_rP9daSWFfizZCkVZqcbOdeNbnwC1PxYGjBgIdG40_Epghb5lmr32WEDAw/s1600-h/55collins897.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MParwSUxnodVSyV5uPDJuhAu7gD_vQOaAyIV5oDkFQmXGBNggEfQrSpFiPoWzUfZ2w4GGUlzMqfVGdnMt_rP9daSWFfizZCkVZqcbOdeNbnwC1PxYGjBgIdG40_Epghb5lmr32WEDAw/s400/55collins897.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141185682613515282" border="0" target="blank"/></a>A set up, perhaps the silvery trees radiate some chemistry that induces growth in the green trees, or perhaps the whole concept radiates some effusion that lightly touches my gag reflex.<br /><br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-49197286034482781852007-12-03T14:49:00.000+11:002007-12-07T22:21:03.715+11:00The blues, I got the blues...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXITdpqR2-59v1BVREPpwPFwsl6JCeaALGajIgVxr2mhV51E9x40mRUEgZDsiIQ_uPSGDmT3ZY1RHicDF3tDuLF1CpdJJXAtz9BieIA_EWIgW1-yx2-5ATsT9DNG21g9jxwYE3_P6udE/s1600-h/Stitched_001A.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXITdpqR2-59v1BVREPpwPFwsl6JCeaALGajIgVxr2mhV51E9x40mRUEgZDsiIQ_uPSGDmT3ZY1RHicDF3tDuLF1CpdJJXAtz9BieIA_EWIgW1-yx2-5ATsT9DNG21g9jxwYE3_P6udE/s400/Stitched_001A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141189109997417506" target="blank" border="0"/></a><br />This is a paddock is on the eastern side of the road between Burra and Robertstown. The purple flower is that bane of farmers in South Australia, Patterson’s Curse, or Salvation Jane. The beekeepers of the state have got law on their side when they ...anyway I have dealt with this elsewhere. This is a weed, a noxious weed that councils are not allowed to clear because beekeepers need the flowers for pollen. Forget about any environmental concerns, and this stuff is poisonous to the country and to some stock, the bees have it. The weed moves up the roadways, carried on vehicles, then inland to occupy large areas like this paddock.Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189091906753587481.post-28846812114215521122007-12-03T11:02:00.001+11:002007-12-07T22:29:02.579+11:00Rouseabout...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDy9h71TSFH9iP7WQkWaSfOey6toc3hNqWX5UV3cFcqA_5QomVFQn_VXVVJSu5tZi-JadeD_t4lE7pwGQdHdxrtC4dwH4_0SdR00unXMMVfXb2EQk4VqHAwsQAF2OusObuTkFyHzn4BE/s1600-h/kolorIMG00009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDy9h71TSFH9iP7WQkWaSfOey6toc3hNqWX5UV3cFcqA_5QomVFQn_VXVVJSu5tZi-JadeD_t4lE7pwGQdHdxrtC4dwH4_0SdR00unXMMVfXb2EQk4VqHAwsQAF2OusObuTkFyHzn4BE/s400/kolorIMG00009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141190127904666674" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This is a view from half way up the side of Mt Rouse, just behind the little Western Districts town of Penshurst. Mt Rouse is an extinct volcano, and forms one of the many neat hills that dot this landscape. At the base of the mount is a quarry, at the top a telecoms repeater station. The <a href="http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/vic/Penshurst/KolorHomestead/16757">house</a> just visible among the trees is Kolor, built in 1868 for the squatter, John Twomey. Twomey occupied the area in the 1840s-1850s, the run was small by comparison with most runs in the District, about 9000 acres, but the soils are rich, and Twomey benefitted. Like most squatters who remained after the 1850s Land Acts, he freeholded, then built a suitable house. The house is on the register of the National Estate.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOHx13EV1UrvHm1bzUVbUJKfnvE_C8YoInO00pXjKUPK058H4shl6XD4CbmfW3X02BUuN6LdkkmHJt7qv8-RD__VTh376EqZdKOPIYR-uzPR_dtcD-fl57Bc5_-3OxGE0pI_MFzUcIzc/s1600-h/kolor+rt34583-9742.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOHx13EV1UrvHm1bzUVbUJKfnvE_C8YoInO00pXjKUPK058H4shl6XD4CbmfW3X02BUuN6LdkkmHJt7qv8-RD__VTh376EqZdKOPIYR-uzPR_dtcD-fl57Bc5_-3OxGE0pI_MFzUcIzc/s400/kolor+rt34583-9742.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141190145084535906" border="0" target="blank"/></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAbzBJpM8Y8jiLenH3cIlzeTZ1JhzrDDQ-K5y3PTnOV5-zbAmw_Eq7H2vLGQZVwEpq_yRJ_En0QkODWcxvrkT3a8tI2j9HRIuDm9daf6fJCD3GRpTQYMMPNBq9PRPQEX065cFbjDHmO0/s1600-h/kolor+PA007390.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAbzBJpM8Y8jiLenH3cIlzeTZ1JhzrDDQ-K5y3PTnOV5-zbAmw_Eq7H2vLGQZVwEpq_yRJ_En0QkODWcxvrkT3a8tI2j9HRIuDm9daf6fJCD3GRpTQYMMPNBq9PRPQEX065cFbjDHmO0/s400/kolor+PA007390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141190140789568594" border="0" target="blank"/></a>This photograph was taken from below the house to the right of the colour picture above. It is interesting in that the decoration in the middle ground is a an explicit demonstration of 19thC social relations. Aborigines form the lower group, in possum skin rugs, Mr Twomey is higher up, close to the house, with his horse. These are images from the Latrobe library collected during an excursion into the history of the area done as my MA 12 years ago.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BSfU_mHKU7Tx6Y6hu4pgMK_9tU-_Cm3Yw5zbBt5xCEtflw1KRXsaRD2zi9FolAf12sbxyK1eo0AwEy9_1Jj0-FouFZb_wXPd0j3EAtv_i9mH7j5dtb-2_PsahXu_CVcW6Bh9rQqI2Bo/s1600-h/kolor+PA007389.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_BSfU_mHKU7Tx6Y6hu4pgMK_9tU-_Cm3Yw5zbBt5xCEtflw1KRXsaRD2zi9FolAf12sbxyK1eo0AwEy9_1Jj0-FouFZb_wXPd0j3EAtv_i9mH7j5dtb-2_PsahXu_CVcW6Bh9rQqI2Bo/s400/kolor+PA007389.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141190132199633986" border="0" target="blank"/></a><br />The top photograph gives some idea of what the countryside looks like now. We are fortunate in having pictures of what it looked like more than a century ago, in the few years after the house was built. This is the most interesting photograph. It is taken from a similar position to the top photograph and shows the extensive vegetation on the plains. The trees on the plain are mainly <span style="font-style: italic;">E. camaldulensis</span>, Red Gum, with some acacia, I think, on the slopes. The close planting around the house that now obscures the building has yet to be done. Looking over the plains now, it is obvious they have been cleared, although at the time of occupation they were often described as like a gentleman's park. The top photograph indicates some of what that park description entailed. very open woodland of the red gum has been preserved in parts, but faces the problem of little being done for regrowth as the old trees reach the ends of their lives. Stock keep the land cleared as effectively as the Aborigines firestick kept it open in the millenia before European occupation.<br /></span>Gardenershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09441652411644942295noreply@blogger.com0