Yuma, everyone. After months of no rain, the temperature and humidity is rising here in Canberra, Australia’s national capital. In West Belconnen, the rain often splits around us, a promise broken. For example, Canberra airport had over 30mm of rain today, while we had only 0.3mm. So when it rained in our patch recently, I draped my camera in bubble wrap and took to the street. I thought I would share a few photos of one of our Landcare sites.

The rain is magical, turning ugly duckling trees to swans.

The drain rapidly turns green.

We cut off the seedheads of the African Love Grass by hand. No electric tools allowed. And sneak in some carex and poa to hopefully out compete the ALG one day.

The casuarinas like wet feet.

Not sure about this magpie chick.

The new plantings are enjoying the rain. Newly arrived rabbits are enjoying the plants. We need a chicken wire fence around the bare patches to allow the winter-dormant redleg grass to re-emerge. But the wheels of bureaucratic approvals move slowly, if at all.

As for me, I’m feeling a bit flat. 600 trees nearby will be cut down for an “upgraded” road to a new sustainable housing development. I think people are oblivious to the irony. Or just oblivious. Or they don’t care or feel they can’t do anything about it. It certainly makes me kind of depressed. Same old, same old, eh?

Hug a tree, readers. Save a tree. You’ll feel much better.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

RDP – Perspire

40 thoughts on “Canberra Whatnot”

  1. These photos were taken through bubble wrap? They are beautiful, Tracy! I’ll have to try this.

    As for the clear-cut building areas…how do people live like that with no trees? We drive by new construction sites exactly like what you are talking about, and I can only shake my head and wonder what is the draw to a place like that–“Oh, no trees. This is perfect.” I don’t get it. Stay positive Tracy. I’m hugging trees with you. ❤️

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    1. I just put the bubble wrap over my head and camera, Lois. It wasn’t over the lens. Turns out that I can’t take photos while I am holding an umbrella at the same time.

      The developers of the new suburb is retaining as many of its old trees as they can. It is quite lovely. The trouble is that they are cutting down all the old trees to widen a road to the new suburb. That road borders older suburbs, so the sustainability in the new suburb is at the expense of existing suburbs along that road. That sort of hypocrisy infuriates me.

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  2. Wonderful to see a new post from you, Tracy! I’m glad your thirsty land has gotten some relief. In my part of the state, trees are being mowed down in great swaths for new housing developments. I grieve for those trees.

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  3. Beautiful photos, Tracy. I’m glad you got rain. Everything looks refreshed and awake. I”m sorry for your trees. I’m surrounded by actual “evil” trees (I know your trees aren’t evil trees) people planted because they hated this naturally tree-less landscape.

    I don’t know. It seems like we are always struggling against what someone somewhere at sometime thought was a good idea. Seems like that’s happening where you are and I’m sorry. More people with what they think is a good idea.

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    1. Indeed, and I was one of those people who didn’t know better so I can’t be too pious about these things. But hopefully we live and learn, right? The typical reaction from people who learn about grasslands is “Wow, I didn’t know that.”

      There are plenty of evil trees here too. They play a role in the landscape and sometimes it is positive. Our Superb Parrots, a vulnerable species, apparently like to eat elm seeds. Elms are incredibly weedy but it would be terrible for the parrots if they disappeared from the landscape completely. Not telling you anything you don’t know. 🙂

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  4. Gorgeous photographs Tracy and so glad you got some rain. We’re hugging and saving trees with you 💚🌲 xxx

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  5. We’ve had lots of (heavy) rain intermittently down here in Melbourne, Tracy. I was surprised that you didn’t have much lately.

    I’m equally sad to hear 600 trees are being cut down. Surely, in recent years of weird weather and extreme storms and wind, you’d think the powers-that-be would be more eager to restore the landscape, not decimate it.

    So sad. So sad.

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    1. A lot of environmental assessments only take into account Matter of Environmental Significance, which leaves a whole lot of other environmental impacts completely ignored! Unfortunately it is all too easy to cut down mature trees and plant replacements that will take centuries to achieve the same ecological benefits. I am actually pretty shocked about how carefree councils are with our big eucalypts, especially as it doesn’t match their rhetoric at all.

      My suburb is in a rain shadow. It was getting pretty dire. Plus we no longer seem to getting our winter rains. Same thing happened last year. The rain is really welcome. Melbourne must be so green.

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  8. It seems like too many man-made things to replace the beauty of nature in some places. People can complain about wild animals being close, but where else do they have to go, right. We are cutting all the trees down

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  10. All in the name of progress, so they say. Perhaps more thought needs to be put into where trees are planted and how the surrounding area will expand. I like the combination of trees and suburbia complimenting each other. We live in an established area with very old trees though go for a drive through some newer developments there aren’t as many native trees though many palms. Yes, summer has certainly arrived with a bang here, with many parts in the early 30s already. Hopefully, no weather bombs this summer.

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      1. Of course, it’s wrong to cut down ancient trees. I was referring to when they do plant trees that more thought is done to at least ensure their longevity. A bit of wind has blown the humidity away this morning. Keep cool 🙂

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  11. It’s depressing that we seem to see the same things happening over and over. I read recently that our state government is planning to let Forestry open up parcels of land that are currently “wood bank” for logging. Some of these areas apparently contain old growth forest, aboriginal heritage sites and nests of endangered wedge tailed eagles. They are being a bit cagey about the exact locations but I know some are here in the northwest.

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  12. Bubble wrap is a great idea for impromptu camera protection! I love that red bark glistening in the rain 🙂 But so sad that they are cutting down so many tress – could the road not have been planned to go around the majority so only a few had to be lost?

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  13. Recently, a woman took on the government because a planned twinning of the highway would be detrimental to her self server pottery shack. She has an honour system, kind of like the roadside farms with their produce for sale. I know it isn’t the same as fighting for the trees destroyed by the “sustainable development” project, but it sometimes gives hope to know that sometimes when we put up a fight, we get results. I loved your photos and all the work you put into the Landcare.

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  14. I’m glad you got some rain! And we have the same problem here: people do things that “sound” good for the environment, but actually aren’t. Yet we don’t dare try to point that out. They don’t want to hear it. The point is just to feel good about ourselves for being environmentally aware, wether or not we’re actually helping the environment, apparently.

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  15. Gloriously dramatic images! And yes same old same old. Here, let’s cut down a veteran city-centre tree for a building that could exist elsewhere, and replace it with 30 saplings in some park out of town. Same old same old ….

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