natur3lov3r

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Our own water feature:)

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Water coming out from underground into the drain at the back of the house.

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Before and After of where we had cut down the branch

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Flooding from the top dam

#flooding

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So much rain!!

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Leaves are open and flat instead of all closed up.

#native pea bush

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Ferns and lichens coming up everywhere.

#native ferns se qld

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Sumac

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#new shoots

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#new shoots

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Very tropical.

#lush green

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Full dams:)

#full dams

[natur3lov3r]

Baby bracken shoots in amongst the dead leaves.

#new bracken shoots

[natur3lov3r]

I love the wet!

It’s as if the dry never happened. Approx 600 ml of rain over the last 3 weeks and everything is lush, green and swampy. The water is flowing out from underground into the drains we had made behind the house and the mildew is beginning to grow on the furniture. Almost all of the trees and shrubs have new shoots and things we could see through the bush are again becoming invisible. There are, of course, tell tale signs like a few dead small trees, the dead bracken fern and masses of bark and leaves under the trees. When I talk about the amount of rain we had, it’s hard to believe that there was that much water. It really is a reminder that despite the things we do, nothing can prepare for that. I am also aware that all if the little dams around the place (here, everyone has a dam) were empty before the weekend deluge so the flooding occurred after all of those dams were filled. Imagine what would happen if we had that sort of rain now that everything is saturated. Doesn’t bear thinking about. We won’t mention the mosquitoes or the weeds :(

#heavy rain #full dams #after the dry

[natur3lov3r]

The new Hovea shoots look like seed pods but will open to leaves.

#tropical #recovering from the dry #new shoots #flooding

[natur3lov3r]

Make it messy mate

Went to a talk last year about making our places wildlife friendly and the phrase bandied about was "Make it messy mate". My husband is an orderly person and loves beautifully manicured lawns and tree shaped trees; me, I love the bush and don't mind a bit of chaos so the idea of messy seemed pretty good. We had started burning off our large piles of pine trees that we had cut down but after some interesting communication decided to leave whole sections of the block undisturbed. Well, the rewards have been great; finches, wrens and so many different birds have taken up residence but it is the tiny ones that need the cover of long grass and piles of rubbish that are the most rewarding. How can you burn a pile of rubbish when you know there is a family of Redbacked Fairy Wrens living in it - so, "Keep it messy Mate!"

#a #keep it messy mate #red backed fairy wrens

[natur3lov3r]

Mow it or grow it!

Most people our age (60+) are moving off their acreage because of the amount if maintenance required. I want to be able to grow old here so we have a plan. The block will be divided into 2 types of areas; those that are mowed and those that are bush. By bush I mean native vegetation that requires no watering, pruning or clearing of dead branches. So far, so good. The weeds are a bit of a problem though and will continue to be until the canopy is intact and there is some leaf litter on the ground. I have tried to identify those weeds that are likely to cause the most trouble and am always open to new suggestions.

#indigenous plants #weeds #canopy #se qld