ANZAC Day 2022

 

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.

A Random Vine in the Garden / 19th April Update

A cucurbit vine started growing in our flower garden and headed skywards using our hibiscus plants as support.
It’s obviously come from a random seed.
Whether it’s a pumpkin, zucchini or cucumber who knows although I should know from the leaf shape.
So far it’s only produced male flowers, no female fruiting ones.

Vines employ numerous climbing methods.

They can be divided into four basic types ; twiners, hookers, clingers and climbers.
I think ours is a climber ie. it sends out tendrils that coil rapidly about a potential support upon contact.
The plant’s growing tips are sensitized so that they are constantly "feeling around" for a host with a rotary motion. The tendrils produced by certain plants can be extremely sensitive.

Tendrils are slim, delicate outgrowths, produced in pairs from the leaves or stems. They move back and forth as they elongate with a motion caused by unequal growth rate on the two sides. Once contact is made, the tips form a tight coil about the support.

Plants’ growing characteristics are always very fascinating, to me, anyway.
Will update if any fruit appear.
Technical Notes Source: George Ellison, Nature Journal.

Update: 19th April

Fruit!

Looks like, from the markings, it could be a Kent pumpkin.

Update: 1st May

Sadly both fruits self aborted despite some human pollination intervention.

Potential Rodent Invasion

With the continual heavy rain events, it’s being reported that the rodent population is on the move.

Flooded out of their natural habitat, they are looking for shelter in homes.

Following the mouse plague last year, it’s the last thing we want.

With the sound of the rodent Olympics suddenly becoming apparent in our roof space, we acted quickly.

Wax blocks in the ceiling, wax blocks together with traps around the outside of the house.

There was instantly considerable success.

Within a few days all was quiet above.

Now it’s just a matter of monitoring the bait consumption which has already become minimal to non existent.

Kayaking

The co driver had become interested in kayaking.
She purchased a relatively cheap inflatable which was good for a year or so.
Then it started to develop leaks at the seams which, despite numerous efforts, were unrepairable.
It seems that this is a major problem for this category of kayak if not the particular brand.

Time to look at a hard shell sit in kayak.

After much deliberation and a few trial paddles, she settled on a locally made Australis Platypus flat water touring kayak which is ideal for our coastal lake system.
Luckily a local kayaker had one for sale with a rudder and he threw in an inflatable life jacket as a bonus.
To transport it safely we needed to add a kayak cradle to our roof racks and a bow tie down.

Rhino-Rack had what we needed and the cradle kit came with easy to use tie down straps.
The rubberised buckles to prevent vehicle damage were a great idea.

We also purchased a bonnet anchor strap to secure the bow with an additional strap.
The kayak weighs 22kg (48.5lbs) so is difficult for one person to lift onto the racks.
There are numerous YouTube videos offering advice on this problem.
We finally settled on one method which the co driver can do alone.

With a bit of practice and tweaking, the loading problem should not eventually be one.
Once the terrible wet weather that has plagued us for months is gone, it’ll be paddle time on lakes in Burrill, Conjola, Tabourie and maybe even Durras.