Bushfire Aftermath / Weeds

It seems the fire ground, with a bit of rain, has turned into a weed jungle.

Tens of thousands of seeds must have lain dormant for years under the pasture and now, with a bit of moisture, warm weather, no competition from the grass and the richer ash laden post fire soil, have taken off. 

There are about eight different types, four of which I have never seen in this area before.

One of concern is the thorn apple. It is toxic to stock (and humans) and needs to be gotten rid off before winter reduces pasture growth and the cattle start getting interested in alternative feed.

Thorn Apple

So this means back pack spraying with glyphosate ie. Roundup or it’s equivalent.

Since Monsanto’s patent ran out in 2000 many new and much cheaper brands came onto the market.

We normally use a Chinese product.

This chemical is a little controversial and is in the midst of a few court cases around the world and its use is being cut back. There is also a resistance problem developing.

My old company bought Monsanto a few years ago and are now maybe regretting inheriting a bit of a poison chalice.

But I have used glyphosate for decades. It is a very effective product. Whether it has affected me health wise remains to be seen. I think I was in much more danger during my business career working in industries which at the time had little or no protocols for chemical exposure and worker safety.

Glyphosate molecule 

The chemical usually diluted to 10-15 mL/ L in water is absorbed through foliage and minimally through roots and is transported to growing points ie. a systematic herbicide.

It inhibits a plant enzyme involved in the synthesis of three aromatic amino acids: tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine, all essential for growth, causing the plant to die and eventually desiccate. While growth stops within hours of application, it takes several days for the plant to show signs of a successful ‘kill’. We have found the some species eg. blackberry and tussock can take weeks to yellow, while others eg. thistles take two days. It also depends on the stage of plant growth related to its environment. Low temperatures and dry soils can slow down the chemical’s action.

So it will be a few long days attacking this unexpected problem but the autumn weather is nice to work in ie. sunny but cool and with the Covid ‘stay at home’ rules in place there is not much else to do.

COVID -19 / Australia / 27th April Update

The COVID curve continues to flatten across our country with state and territory leaders confident of another day of small case numbers.

However all are quick to warn this won’t mean a sudden return to life as we knew it.

Relaxation of the physical distancing rules is in the pipeline with a couple of states, Queensland and Western Australia leading the way.

Schools returning to normal onsite learning is most likely soon.

The Parliaments (Federal and state) may start sitting again next month, but budgets have been pushed back into the second half of the year.

The border lockdowns still have many months to go. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if there are extensions to the travel bans in some regions.

Until there is a vaccine, Australia will see some version of what’s in place now for some time. 

If there is a flare-up, we’ve already been told the response will be to lock it down.

To some, the governments’ responses have been quite draconian but when you look at the chaos and mismanagement of the situation of many other western countries over the last four months most of us can see how well we have done to contain the spread. 

Certainly if that one mistake regarding the Ruby Princess had not occurred the figures would look even better. 

10.5% of national cases and 21 deaths, not to mention at least 36 international cases, so far, can be traced to the ship.

The inquiry into the ship’s uncontrolled disembarking of 2700 passengers currently underway will get to the bottom of this fiasco.

All Australians have been asked to download a Covid tracing app onto their phones.

COVIDSafe recognises other devices with the COVIDSafe app installed and Bluetooth enabled. When the app recognises another user, it notes the date, time, distance and duration of the contact and the other user’s reference code.

The app then helps find close contacts of COVID-19 cases by assisting state and territory health officials to quickly contact people who may have been exposed to the virus.

This has been controversial from a privacy point of view but it seems many are embracing the concept so far. It was only released last night but the uptake has been high.

More information here.

ANZAC Day 2020

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

COVID-19 / A Personal Whinge

Before the enormity of the Covid -19 pandemic became apparent, we had booked three trips away, two overseas, one interstate.

Obviously with border restrictions and stay at home laws in place, all these activities became less likely to happen.

Airlines, hotels, car rental and other businesses reacted in different ways as to the funds already paid to them.

Sydney airport parking refunded all pre bookings immediately after cancellation.

Car rentals were cancelled without penalty or cost.

Some hotels would only credit for future stays, others refunded. 

Air New Zealand would only credit for future itineraries for a limited rebooking window despite the fact it was illegal for us, at the date of intended departure, to leave Australia and to enter New Zealand.

Most unfair I thought.

They have since extended the booking window to 30th June 2021 with 12 months to complete travel from the time of booking.

Ok, that now makes it more likely we will use that credit eventually.

For our trip to the USA in October, we decided that it was, under the on going situation there, not safe to go. In any case it is most likely our border would still be closed.
United Airlines allowed us to cancel without penalty with a two year booking window credit for the paid fare and returned my FF points in full immediately plus refunded the copay amount.

Fare (sic) enough!

Our interstate flight is to Tasmania. Unfortunately our airline, Virgin Australia, has gone into voluntary administration due to the virus inflicted travel restrictions so no fare refund or credit there. Whether they will be around when we are due to travel (September) is anyone’s guess despite the fact there are a number of suitors looking to bail them out. 
Add to that Tasmania’s currently closed state border and the trip looks really ‘iffy’.
Who knows what will happen to that airfare. Maybe a credit card charge back might be a route to go down.

At least we can cancel our accommodation there without penalty a month out. This is very disappointing as we were looking forward to 10 days isolation in a nice house (see above pic) on the island state’s east coast.

So that’s my personal gripe on the COVID-19 affect on our travel plans.  

Tough bikkies / stiff cheese, I know, when taking into consideration the devastation it’s causing around the world.

Bushfire Followup

Representatives of the contractor appointed by the NSW government, Lange O’Rourke, came on Tuesday to assess our damaged buildings and discuss their removal.
There had been some controversy in our area as some people had been refused the free service for various strange reasons. We had noticed that suddenly in correspondence we had received lately that an eligibility clause had been added. Maybe the government’s generous offer was costing far more than anticipated and they introduced some retrospectivity into their terms and conditions. A bit sneaky and unfair I would have thought.
But this didn’t come up at all in our conversation and it was decided that our demolition and removal would take place in around five weeks.

We have yet to decide whether the concrete slab the shed now sits on will go or not. Our builder needs to assess whether it would be suitable for the new structure or whether it is too fire damaged.
He unfortunately has been laid up for weeks after a hip replacement operation and is way behind in business matters.
But the contractors said they only need to know on the day they are here to do the work so no urgency on that.
Anyway we are still mulling over whether we actually need a building the same size or could get away with something smaller. An important criteria is roof area. We would be collecting rain water off it into a tank to supplement our domestic water supply.
We will be glad when that site is completely cleared and we can get on with the fencing replacement program in the vicinity. A 10,000 volt electric fence is currently the only deterrent to stop cattle from wandering.

COVID-19 / Australia / 21st April Update

New Daily Cases by State

COVID-19 / Australia / 17th April Update

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated that restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus will remain in place for at least the four next weeks, before a gradual easing of restrictions may be considered. Social distancing requirements will not be relaxed for the foreseeable future.
The government’s economic response to assist people and business adversely affected by the shutdowns is here.
Bemusing to see our rampant capitalist regime turn to socialism as soon as things go pear shaped.

Almost 80 per cent of Australians participating in a national survey have backed government efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, up from 66 per cent last week and 56 per cent the week before.
So nationally it appears we are doing relatively ok. The same can’t be said for other countries. 
Personally I don’t think all this will be over on a world wide basis until a vaccine is developed.
It certainly looks like we won’t be opening up our borders to international travel any time soon.

COVID-19 / Australia / The Ruby Princess

On a recent post I put up this graph.

People have asked why the state of New South Wales has such a higher number of cases of the virus than other states and territories.
Apart from the capital, Sydney, being Australia’s major gateway for international travel with many cases coming from overseas, two words encapsulate the reason ie. Ruby Princess.
This cruise ship docked in Sydney on 19th March after a trip around New Zealand ports.
Despite there being a number of suspicious health issues (maybe 140 ill passengers) on board, authorities let 2700 disembark without testing. They caught private and public transport and even overseas flights to get home.

Latest figures, above, show the large number NSW passengers diagnosed with the virus.
The national figure now tops 650 passengers.
Obviously this is a debacle of the highest order and both state and federal agencies are pointing fingers at one another while at the same time heading for cover.
The case is now under a criminal investigation led by NSW homicide detectives.
The ship is currently docked at a secure facility at Port Kembla just to the south of Sydney and is expected to be there 10 days while the investigation continues.

The ship’s ‘black box’ and other evidence has been seized.
The crew of 1000 have remained onboard.
Certainly some ‘heads will roll’ after this investigation is complete.
One can only speculate what our virus situation would be nationwide without this happening.

COVID-19 / Australia/ April 9th Update

Australia’s stats show a decline in cases. For sure this is due to the strict self isolation and social distancing polices put in place by the Federal, State and Territory governments.
And they are not taking their foot off the brake.
The ‘stay at home’ rule will be enforced by our police over the Easter holiday period. Their car number plate recognition system will instantly tag someone who is not where they should be. Fines are considerable.

This is good for our region. So far we are virus free. Unfortunately supermarkets are still sparsely stocked. Any increase in population due to tourism is unwanted.
Self and social isolation will be in place until the end of April when reviews will take place.
Personally I think it will be June before life returns to some sort of normal.

COVID-19 / Australia / April 4th Update

Rules have been tightened considerably in New South Wales.

As of 12am last Tuesday, residents now legally have to stay in their homes unless they have a “reasonable excuse” for leaving.

“Reasonable excuses” are broadly categorised as:    

Obtaining food or other goods and services

Travelling for the purposes of work or education if the person cannot do it at home

Exercise

Medical or caring reasons.

The new laws allow for fines of up to $11,000 or six months’ imprisonment for those who leave the home without a reasonable excuse, plus an additional $5,500 fine each day the offence continues. Fines for businesses are higher still.

NSW has also adopted a two-person gathering limit.

Other states and territories are employing similar policies.

Australia

New South Wales