More Cattle Yard Renovations

The cattle yards are of hardwood post and rail construction.

Over the years climate and white ants take their toll.

We have been repairing sections constantly since arriving here three decades ago.

It was time for another two sections to be done.

Posts had rotted out at ground level and had broken off. Rails had subsequently been loosen.

The posts used for the yards are higher than normal fence posts as they have to take four rails.

Thankfully we could use the end posts from one of our abandoned vineyard blocks.

Getting them out wasn’t that easy.

I had done a really too good a job putting them in. But eventually, with a lot of digging, we got out the four we needed.

Getting the remnants of the broken yard posts out of the ground after dismantling the rails wasn’t easy either.

With all the rain we’d had over the last four months (nearly three times average), the surrounding clay sub soil was saturated, clingy and sucky.

It was a matter of digging a bigger hole than normal around each one and then levering them out with a crow bar.

The resultant holes soon filled with water.

Not what you want to put new posts into.

We left the holes to dry out over a week or so.

Then we put the new posts in, a little deeper than normal due to the relative thinness of the bottom section and the dampness of the surrounding soil.

Then we tamped them more solidly than usual. The soil we put back in the holes was wet and needed extra work.

My neighbour, a retired lifetime farmer and expert fencer, came over to help with the rails and we soon had them up and parallel.

Good job finished under somewhat difficult weather conditions.

I had previously renovated another section a few weeks before with the help of a visiting friend.

We certainly didn’t face the ‘water problems’ during this exercise and had it finished in less than a day.

War on the Arum Lily

My war on weeds over the years, in no order of importance, has been against poa tussock, bracken, blackberry, fireweed, thistle, giant parramatta grass, paddy’s lucerne, tobacco plant and Indian weed.

I have ignored the increasing prevalence of Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) as it is mostly confined to the creek banks and has so far no impact on the pasture.

But it’s time to move on it.

The big clumps of plants are blocking the flow of the creek when it’s in flood and causing overflows.

This plant is native to South Africa and was brought to Australia as a garden ornamental.

It spreads by plant parts and seed and is toxic to people, livestock, pets and native animals.

Previously I have sprayed with glyphosate on a random basis when targeting other weed species.

The lily takes a considerable time to die under those circumstances.

Another product I’ve used for bracken and blackberry, Metsulfuron-methyl 600 g/kg (BrushOff®) at a rate of 10 - 20 g per 100 L water plus non ionic surfactant, produces a much quicker result according to reports and that will be my chemical of choice.

Experts say the best time to spray is June to October, especially when the plants are flowering. This is our winter into spring time when the weather is cooler and conducive to outdoor work. 

Also the snakes are still ‘asleep’, until around late August that is.

Results: Two weeks after spraying 

Batemans Bay / Sculptures for Clyde

Batemans Bay sits at the mouth of the Clyde River which has its source to the north west in the Budawang National Park.

The river descends 601 metres over its 102 kilometres course.

‘The Bay’is the major town in the Eurobodalla Shire with a population of around 20,000.

A ten-day free annual event held on the estuary foreshore highlights original sculptures from Australia and overseas.
The event includes outdoor and indoor sculpture exhibitions plus local high school student sculpture works.
The sculpture winning the acquisitive award will be permanently positioned in the Batemans Bay Sculpture Walk along the Clyde River foreshore.
Below is a preview.
More are available on this YouTube link.

20 Years of Blogging.

Twenty years ago today I published my first blog post.

Why?

Can’t remember.

Maybe it was the thing to do in those days.

As I mentioned in my 1000th post I’ve wound back the number a little.

The grape growing and wine making are at an end and life, apart from a few trips away, is quiet on ‘the farm’.

But when anything out of the ordinary happens locally or even nationally, I might drop a few lines or so.

So thanks for checking back occasionally and we’ll hopefully see you soon.

War on Weedy Sporobolus Grasses (WSG)

1. Giant Parramatta Grass (Sporobolus fertilis).).

2.Parramatta Grass (Sporobolus africanus).

We have a problem with both of these weeds in our pasture.

Below is a summary of weed facts for those from the Weeds Australia website.

• Giant Parramatta Grass (Sporobolus fertilis) is long-lived grass usually growing 70–160 cm tall, but occasionally reaching up to 2 m in height. It forms large tussocks up to 40 cm across.
• It is native to the Indian sub-continent (India and Sri Lanka), eastern and south-eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea) and some islands in the western Pacific.
• It is a vigorous, persistent and invasive grass that is well adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions.
• GPG is a particularly serious problem in pastures in the wetter areas on the north coast of New South Wales, but has the potential to invade much of eastern Australia.
• It is of low palatability and significantly reduces the productivity and carrying capacity of pastures.
• GPG also invades native grasslands, open woodlands, conservation reserves and wetlands. It replaces native plants in these habitats and can eventually change the community structure of, and threaten the biodiversity of, native grasslands and rangelands
• The use of a pressurised wick wiper to selectively apply herbicide to Giant Parramatta Grass is probably the most useful tool in managing this species.

• Originally from Southern Africa, Parramatta Grass (Sporobolus africanus) is a tough perennial tussock grass that grows to a height of 50–70 cm and reproduces from seed.
• Occurs as a weed in moist areas such as degraded pasture, roadsides and waste areas.
• Occurs in all states and territories of Australia especially in coastal areas.
• Its presence can seriously reduce pasture production and is so tough it can loosen teeth of grazing animals.
• It may be controlled by cultivation and the use of herbicides.

I have been spot spraying with glyphosate for the Parramatta Grass for years but the infestation has grown to a point where I have to wave the white flag.

The giant variety is a new addition probably seeded from my neighbour who does nothing much to control it. 

Seed is spread by wind, birds and animals, in our case the cows and kangaroos.

So far the spot spraying is working but am sure like its cousin, the spread will eventually become uncontrollable.

There is no official biologcal control for these weeds.
However, on the north coast of New South Wales there appeared to be a native soil fungus, Nigrospora oryzae, that did. 

This fungus is a saprophyte ie. a decomposer. It breaks down dead organic matter into fungal biomass.

Trials by agriculture authorities failed to give this treatment the official go ahead but people on the land have utilised it with some success, initially by transplanting infected plants among the WSG infestations.

A company, Beechwood Biological Solutions, has managed to concentrate the fungus on a specially prepared substrate which they market as a soil ameliorant.

It is called SOIL Trooper.

SOIL Trooper logo

We decided to give this a trial as a biological control of WSGs based on the anecdotal and practical documented experience of others.

The substrate comes in an air sealed plastic envelope. It looks like a mass of wet dead grass.

It is washed in fresh chemical free water and then mechanically mixed (drill driven paint stirrer) to release the spores and hyphae of the fungus.

It is then strained through a 450u mesh filter to get rid of the solid matter and diluted for spraying at a rate of 200L/ha.

Application is best done during damp weather on the top of slopes, on tracks and around animal feeding areas.

The fungus then spreads slowly down hill or via animal and vehicle movement.

Granted it will be a slow process of treatment but less onerous than continuous chemical spraying.

Results will be published here in what I imagine is the far distant future.

Update: July 2026

There was no sign of any success with the fungus application.

ANZAC Day 2024

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.

Bridge Repair

The bridge that crosses our creek, and is part of the private road that gives access to the seven properties in our valley, occasionally needs repair.

The planks that form the decking tend to rot out over time and need replacing.

It’s not an easy job.

First the rotting planks need to be removed. They are attached by long spikes.

One of the residents normally uses the front end loader on a tractor to lift them one at a time and place them aside.

The good parts of these planks make excellent seasoned firewood.

A new plank is then lifted into place and the necessary holes drilled.

Then new galvanised bridge spikes are driven through the planks and into the bearers.

And so the process moves across the bridge.

Native Australian hardwood timber species such as Spotted Gum, Ironbark and Blackbutt and other class 1 and 2 timber species of native Australian hardwood timber conform to all the requirements of Australian standards for bridge construction.

All done.

Wine Cork Taint / Removal by Cling Wrap (Saran/Glad)

It’s really annoying to open long-cellared bottle only to find that it’s “corked”.
The term is short for cork-tainted, the chief culprit being a chemical chlorine compound called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), although there are others.
TCA imparts an unpleasant, musty smell and taste.
It can infect cork through a number of pathways.
Cleaning chemicals and disinfectants used in a winery or cork forest are possible causes.
But it’s not always the cork that carries the TCA.
It can be in the staves of a barrel or even the timber in the winery.
A single, tainted barrel can ruin an entire batch if its contents are carelessly blended.

But rumour has it that cling wrap eg. Saran/Glad can come to the rescue.
The idea is that you put cling wrap in the wine by either pouring the wine into a jug and letting it soak with it for a while or push some cling wrap into the bottle.
Nope….doesn’t work!
The Australian Wine Research Institute’s senior oenologist, Adrian Coulter, confirms that cling wrap doesn’t remove cork taint and published scientific work backs this up.
Polythene or polyethylene (PE), the world’s most manufactured plastic, does, in fact, remove cork taint from wine, but it has to be 100 per cent pure, food-grade PE.
Cling wrap contains various polymers other than PE.
Pure food-grade PE can only be obtained from manufacturers and is not generally available to the average Joe.
The best insurance against wine taint is simply buy screw-capped bottles. 

Mud Dauber Wasps and Air Conditioner Units

Mud dauber wasps are a group of solitary insects known for building mud nests. 

Found across Australia in various habitats including urban environments such as around buildings, gardens, woodlands, and wetlands, these wasps play a significant role in controlling populations of harmful pests such as spiders and caterpillars.

One of the most remarkable skills of mud dauber wasps is their nest-building ability.

Females carefully construct nests using mud, hence the name “mud dauber.” The nests are typically composed of several cylindrical chambers stacked together, with each chamber housing a single egg and a paralyzed prey item for the developing larva to feed on. 

The daubers employ a unique technique where they gather mud from moist areas, which they mix with their saliva to create a pliable substance for constructing the nest.

As solitary insects, mud dauber wasps do not form colonies. However, it is not unusual to see multiple nests built by different individuals in close proximity to one another. Male mud daubers often establish territories near these nests, exhibiting territorial behavior to attract females for mating.

We have these nests all over our house, mainly on the brickwork. There’s no real reason to get rid of them. The wasps are not aggressive  and they keep our insect population down.

The only problem we’ve had in the past is their building of nests in our air conditioning units’ drain hoses. Easily fixed by inserting fly screen wire.

A week or so ago, the outdoor unit of one of our split aircons started vibrating quite violently.

We call the service man who began taking it to pieces.

And what did he find?

The mud dauber wasps had made nests on the inside rear cavity of the plastic exhaust fan causing it to be unbalanced.

Who would have thought that?

He didn’t. 

He’s used to snakes, rats and mice causing aircon problems in this area.

Anyway, all fixed.

For great service call Jake at Kings Point Air Conditioning Pty Ltd.

A Weekend Away / Sydney & Central Coast

We decided to have a weekend away, mainly because the co driver wanted to go to a piano concert in Sydney with some friends at the Opera House.

After our last rail travel experience to/from Sydney, we decided to do it again.

We left early Saturday morning for Berry, stopping at Nowra’s Spotlight fabric store on the way. At Berry we were surprised to find out it was their annual 2 day agricultural show over the weekend. And the show ground is adjacent to the station where we were going to park! 

But we were early enough to get a spot on a suburban street a few blocks away. So after a coffee in town, we got the motor rail to Kiama and transferred to the train to Sydney’s Central Station.

There the co driver and I parted ways and I caught another train around 2 hours north to Woy Woy.

It’s scenic trip through rugged bushland and across the very wide Hawkesbury River.

Some of the stations on the way are very small. You have to be on a certain carriage of the train to get off. One was so small you had to go to the rear of the train and tell the guard you wanted to get off there. No one did…going or coming back.

My friend of 55 years was at the station waiting to pick me up and drive me to his relatively new town house.

I hadn’t been there before as he usually visits us.

That night we had a nice bbq steak and two bottles of very good wine over a few hours.

On Sunday after breakfast he took me to his favourite coffee shop and then we walked along the beach front. It was turning out to be a very hot humid day so we continued the ‘tour’ by car. 

It was nice to revisit the area. Hadn’t been there for years. The view over Broken Bay from the lookout was pretty spectacular despite the heat haze.

Then a butterflied leg of lamb on the bbq with more good wine for dinner before a 50 over game of cricket between Australia and the West Indies on TV.

Next morning we had breakfast and another cafe coffee before he dropped me off at the station for my trip back to Sydney.

The co driver had a great time by all reports.

She said the Ludovico concert at the opera house was amazing.

She also attended the Banksy Exhibition at Sydney Town Hall and went to the Elvis Jukebox musical at the beautiful old heritage listed State Theatre.

I met up with her at Central Station and we had lunch at a small cafe nearby which I’d found on Google and which was excellent proving all the reviews correct.

Then we caught to train to Kiama connecting immediately with the motor rail back to Berry to pick up the car for the hour and a bit drive home. Video of return trip here.

A very pleasant long weekend but, as always, good to get home. 

Australia Day 2024

Today commemorates the day a British fleet of 11 sailing ships landed in Sydney Cove in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) in 1788 under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip to establish a penal colony.

It is considered to be the day of the foundation of modern Australia.

But it’s a controversial date.

Many find it difficult to celebrate when the people already living here, for at least 65,000 years, witnessed the start of the dispossession of their land and were subsequently treated in the most appalling ways…..even to this day.

Debate continues on what would be a more suitable and uniting day for the country.

Currently there seems little agreement.

For me it would be the date of the declaration of an Australian republic but that looks to be well into the future.

The co driver and I do not participate in any related activities today.