02/04/2024
Humming vibrancy all around – quite literally! 🐝🐝🐝
Just the other day I came home from town and felt pretty zonked, but as soon as I got out of the car anddrank in the serenity of my place, stopped, closed my eyes and just listened for a moment…I could feelenergy vibrating through me and noticed the distinct but all surrounding and rather distant sounding
hum of bees. I wondered... wherever I heard the sound more distinctly I could not find flowers of any kind, until I followed the magnificent trunk of a Flooded Gum and looked up - way up - and I wondered
even more. Checking out the ground around the the trunk, I found tiny little white cup shaped thingies (this might not be very good botanical lingo… but I hope you get my drift) – the caps of the flower capsules. Then I went to get my binoculars and low and behold, most of the Flooded Gums
(Eucalyptus grandis) are covered in blossoms - heralding autumn. Observing for a little while, I noticed numerous Lewin's Honeyeaters frolocking through the abundance. And as I look to the ground again, I found a twig with blossoms, which is now sitting next to me in a cup of water, keeping me company while writing this. 💮
Eucalyptus grandis – as its name already indicates it is one of the biggest flowering trees around here, reaching phenomenal heights of 70m… most commonly around 50 which is still pretty big. Especially when I see my home nestled at their base. They are also the reason, I had to put my new set of solar panels further away from the house, because I do not get enough sunlight anymore in winter. Joys of
off-grid living! But a small price to pay, for such amazing place guardians.
Next one along is the One-and-Only Petermannia Vine. I really don’t know how I found this vine initially. It must have called, because it does grow a few meters into the dense bush next to my clearing.I do visit it at times. I haven’t seen it anywhere else and am curious, if anyone of you around know of others? When I did some research on it, I found out, it is not only the only species in its genus, but the
only genus in its family and! it only occurs in NSW and Queensland. And it has the most pretty flowers, but more about them next year :) Right now it has beautiful red berries – NOT edible! for the
curious ones.
More on weaving fibres – the Narrow-leaved Cordyline (Cordyline stricta) – it has been showing off its new growth since the wet started in earnest. Very lush! I could have included it last month, but left the weaving fibre accolades to the Bangalow instead. The Bangalow Palm and the Cordyline make great partners. Not only can they be harvested at the same time, but they offset each other so beautifully
when weaving with them. The Cordyline dries a near black under the right conditions, otherwise a darkgreen, and the Bangalow varies from a pale creamy colour to a variety of pale to medium dark browns.
All this amazing natural colours without any dyes needed! And the fragrant sweet smell when you re-soak the fibres… YUM! I actually am weaving a basket with this combo at the moment, will share soon:)
Then we have a common friend for anyone living around here, the Jackwood (Cryptocarya
glaucescens). It is a member of the Laurel family and has quite pleasently scented leaves. Fruit pigeons absolutely love its fruit. I don’t know why, though, they are highly aromatic in a Vick Vaporup way and there is hardly any flesh between the skin and the core. I found out the real way (just a nibble -thinking it was edible…) and not only is it rather dry but left me with a rather numb mouth and admittedly a bit nauseous, haha. I know… I am much more conscious now of what and how I sample. So NOT edible! Good learning though! So if you hear a Wompoo pigeon mumbling along or calling its
distinctive WomPOOO in the near future , it might lead you to a Jackwood. I really like this tree, it readily and happily pops up after clearing away Lantana – really useful for bush regen.
And last but not least a little update on the Banana Bush. As I hinted in the February edition it has a mysterious critter that seems to love nibbling its leaves, while he or she is safely curled up inside of it.
It is a caterpillar and as far as I can tell from a moth, and rather pretty so, methinks. But entomology in Oz is not my strong suit. So I haven’t found out who exactly it is yet. But I have contacted the Queensland museum to find out, still waiting, they must be still on Easter break.
This is it for March - I know it is already April… Time is apparently not linear, and this works for me, hope it works for you too.
Until the next edition
With Love
Eve🌳
