It is Sunday! Must be time for a Rant!

I find myself living in a community which was horrendously affected and effected by the 2009 Black Saturday Bush-fires which ravaged huge swathes of this state.

More than 3 years have passed but the community is still reeling from the shock and aftermath of these events.  Even though a great deal of the infrastructure and housing has been built back: much of it bigger, grander and better than before;  it is the phychological, emotional, social, economic and environmental scars that continue to fester and ooze.

Mental illness, suicide, drug and alcohol problems, domestic violence, negativity, and bullying are all problems exacerbated by the isolation of the community, socio-economic issues, struggling small businesses, unemployment, low education levels, youth disengagement, lack of services, high cost of living,  etc.  Even the climate on the mountain contributes at this time of the year.  It is cold and heating costs high in an area where there is no mains gas and many rely on wood heating.

I have been thinking that this community is really a microcosm of the world at large.  It underwent a cataclysmic event in the space of a few days.  The world, on the other hand is undergoing its own series of cataclysmic events: GFC, european and american economies on their knees, climate change, expanding gaps between the rich and poor, peak-oil, shrinking resources...you get the drift.  Unfortunately many people cannot, or are unwilling to, put these together to see the whole...unlike my community where it happened so suddenly, people couldn't help but notice!

I am thinking, some of the things that may heal this community may, in the long run, also benefit the whole world.   Building a community that is self-sustaining in the areas of governance, economy, society and environment would benefit this community; as it would the whole world.

Unchecked growth, globalization and the elevation of money and wealth to the status of a god have brought us here.  Maybe localization can bring us back!...or at least allow us to continue in a sustainable way.

Check out these links:

Planet Kitchen

Post growth economies

Local Blu

Not a single veggie was had!

Nup!  Well almost!  

This winter the humans who live here 

ate some carrots and turnips and had one feed of silver beet

from this garden.

Bloody goats!

In their favour, they are doing a magnificent job at keeping the grass down on the creek bank and on the land between the back fence and the creek.  They are part of our fire plan and have saved us (and the next door neighbour) countless hours of mowing.

But today a fencing man is coming to give a quote.

I am also thinking of cutting down on the size of the vegetable patch and turning that netted area into an orchard.  It will have to be re-netted.  I am thinking dwarf and espaliered trees. With the existing back section, the greenhouse, a new bed on the north side of the greenhouse, and some container planting there will be plenty of room for veggies still.

I have to admit I am looking forward to the abundance of the summer garden!

Close to home

On our way home recently, 

the Cook (who was in charge of the conveyance) 

decided she needed to know what was down a certain road.

So we turned off and drove and drove.

No, we weren't lost,

just misplaced for a while.

We did find some lovely things along the way.

Sundew

Australian buttercup

No idea...but it was everywhere.

Almost 3 years on the trees are still showing signs of the Black Saturday bushfires.

Common Billy Button

Caladenia - orchid

Poo

Some of the puddles were a bit scary
(not this one, though)

A ti tree...leptospermum

The road track became narrower and narrower...

and rougher and rougher...

and boggier and boggier.

Finally even The Cook had enough
 and executed a three point turn
and returned the way we came.

But aren't we lucky to live just down the road!

Spring wildflower meadows

The best Spring rains in 30 years have resulted in a floral bounty in the Victorian bush.

Chocolate lilies - dichopogon strictus

Milkmaids - Burchardia umbelata

Sundew - Drosera

I have posted this before, but I was amazed at how much of it there was and how lush it was on this roadside verge.

Hibbertia - there are over 150 species of this little fellow.

Now this is where I will need some help.  This is what, as a child, I called shivery grass.  I know that 'trembling grass' with the larger seed head is an introduced species but am wondering about this very fine form.  Maybe there is a bush chick out there who could tell me if this is indigenous and what it's botanical name is.   :-)

Salt and Pepper

This is another one whose name I can't find on the web so would appreciate a botanical name.

Nature's apartment building - a threat

All of these flowers were thriving among the grasses on the edge of the road, under this dead and blackened eucalypt,  complete with its dead mistletoe.  

I was considering what may be living in its hollows, when a family of screeching indian myna birds skimmed in to investigate the hollows.  

Native parrots are happy to share trees and to live 'apartment' style with each other and possums.  The introduced indian mynas, however, will use a single hollow and then stop any other species from using the other nesting sites in the tree or nearby.  They are aggressive and territorial and will eject possums and birds, destroying nestlings and eggs. They also compete with local species for habitat and food.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has ranked the Myna amongs the world's 100 most invasive pest species.  The Lane Cove Council in New South Wales has an eradication program.

Horrible things!

Bye bye bridge

In the Black Saturday bush fires (7th February, 2009) the bridge across the King Parrot Creek to the town's general store was damaged.  Work is about to begin on replacing the bridge and a new temporary one is being erected to the North while the new bridge is built. I suppose this has nothing to do with the usual content of this blog but wanted to share these photos.

Bushfire Regrowth

I have moved into an area that was severely affected by the Black Saturday bushfires in February 2009.

Last Saturday I went up into the hills behind the town and this is what I found.

Common Pink Heath Epicris...Victoria's floral emblem

A couple of different forms of the carnivorous sundew drosera

A scattering of Billy Buttons craspedia

A very rare sparkplugia

Sarsaparilla vine hardenbergia violacea

and another pea like relative Egg and Bacon Bossiaea  

 Australian Buttercup Ranunculus lappaceus 

Paper daisies

Here a couple of general shots of he grasses, mosses, and other little plants with regrowth on trees visible behind.

In many places it will be the wattles, and eucalypt saplings that will regenerate the bush rather than the regrowth of existing trees.

On the sides of some hills the trees have just failed to regrow and we will have to wait for the babies to replace them.  In this part of the forest it was very quiet too, no bird song yet unlike the sections with regrowth up the trunks where bird calls were everywhere.

Bracken was one of the first things back and continues to flourish. Some believe that it blocks out the light and discourages regeneration of other flora after bushfires.  However, Mesibov says that on burned ground, bracken cover ameliorates the erosive and other affects of weather and encourages redevelopment of healthy soil and fauna.