Great rain!

Setting out on Sunday morning I wondered if we were going to get soaked - but the rain cleared and we had a good couple of hours pulling out Freesias, Lachenalias, and Geraldton Carnation Weeds that are sprouting like mad.

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Black flag - what should we do?

I feel like we are a bit stuck with the black flag infestations - it feels like we have an opportunity to do something about them while they are still small and not infesting good bushland areas - but what? Nothing kills them. Maybe we should just cover the ground with carpet or something for a few years.
We also went to have a look at the proposed site for the re-location of the Radiology Clinic from QEII Medical Centre - to enable Colin Barnett to shoehorn two more hospitals into the QEII site and flog off their existing sites to get some revenue - typical short-term thinking from Barnett ...

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The bushland is responding well to rain - lots of flowers on the way - hovea, greenhood orchids, acacia , daviesia ... it is all happening!

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Back to the bulbs

Good rains (200mm) over past few weeks have brought the bushland back to life - and brought up the bulbs as well.

I read recently in a scholarly article by Bill Scott and Alan Hill that Perth's rainfall patterns have long cycles, and that the dry period we have recently experienced is a normal part of Perth's climate - not necessarily a reflection of Climate Change. I guess our bushlands are adapted to this kind of dry spell - I just hope they are resilient enough to survive them...

John and I focused on Freesia and Lachenalia along the fire access track along the western boundary of the bushland.

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Yet more dumping

Yes, it is hard to believe ... or maybe not. John and I came across some rubble dumped just near where the branches were ... no idea how long it has been there, or where it came from.

Now that the rain has come the bushland is looking green again, and much healthier. But, there are some worrying patches of dead trees and shrubs.

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Still more dumping!

Vicki and I were setting out stakes in 'The Barrens' for planting out next year ... this photo shows an area planted about 15 years ago along Lemnos St. The Grevillea seems to survive quite well, but not regenerating. The Acacia saligna and Jacksonia furcellata don't live long, but there are some new plants coming up.

We came across fresh tyre marks and more dumped palm fronds - followed the tyre tracks back to the Health Department area ...

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More dumps

Eagle-eyed John found this pile of dumped woodchips and shavings just inside the wall - possibly from the same contractor who dumped cuttings further into the bushland.

While we are waiting for winter weeds to emerge we toured the bushland looking for Flinders Ranges Wattles flowering. Also removed fallen trees and branches from the path following last friday's storm.

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Dumping ground for the school?

A few weeks ago Shenton College had contractors removing dead acacia and banksia plants from the bushland area on the corner of Lemnos and Selby st.

In the bushland on Sunday I came across some piles of cuttings of acacia and banksia ... hmmm ... has someone decided to cut costs and dump the cuttings in the bushland???

I also distributed smoked seeds we had collected form Dryandra sessilis and Xanthorrhoea in the regeneration site on the barrens.

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