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G'day ,
Here it is a couple months later, time for a bit of an update!
It was super dry, water has been an issue, nothing was growing and our focus was just keeping everything alive till the rains came. Unfortunately that just didn't happen.....
We lost a few things mostly from the roos, wallabies, bettongs and bandicoots eating them, but the majority we were able to save.
It has been a pretty rough time though, and I reckon the damage done to the bush here will take a few years of good weather to fully recover.
All the really old trees dropped their leaves and quite a few even died, and the ones that didn't die have been hammered by bugs and insects that were never an issue in all our previous years here.
Most shocking was that every single wild seedling less that shoulder high died, or was eaten roots and all by the hungry critters.
The neighbours on both sides of us heavily logged for the first time this year meaning all the critters came to my place, but because there wasn't any food here they ate everything...
Acacias, small gum trees, cockspur, lantana, the whole lot.
Even our dragonfruit plants were decimated.
There were dead abandoned joeys here and there all through the block, along with a few dead bats and parrots, and the adult roos looked drunk and sluggish from eating toxic plants they would normally avoid. They stopped bothering to to hop away as they just didn't have the energy.
We even woke to find a big one dead at the back door right next to the car.
Never seen that before, hope to never see it again.
We were more prepared drinking water wise than in previous years, but the harsh conditions meant that a whole host of species that normally grow with ease just stopped and went dormant.
This has meant a LOT of angry emails from folks on waiting lists, and if that was you I'm sorry for the stuffing around...
I can tell you things have just started to reshoot and if we get follow up rains most stuff should be back in stock in a couple months, fingers firmly crossed.
Me and the Mrs are in a planting frenzy at the moment!
Things are really looking up now and I'm feeling pretty optimistic.
The surviving trees have reshot, and there are already new seedlings popping up here and there in the scrub. The critters have spread out, and they are healthy and alert which is really nice to see.
I've got enough water in the dam to keep our fish alive, and I have also pumped up to a new tank that I am using to gravity feed the plants. That is taking a lot of pressure off us in regards to drinking/washing water which is a massive improvement to our mood.
We did lose a heap of chooks to eagles, goannas, and snakes, but we have bought a fancy new incubator and are hatching eggs which is fun.
We are flat broke as per normal, but if you have fertile eggs and wanna swap for seeds or store credit feel free to hit me up!
Things are good for us at the moment, and I hope things are good for you guys in your little corner of the world too.
If they aren't just hang on tight cos they really can't be crappy forever!
:)
I guess I better wrap things up with that sales pitch I promised...
Here it is folks, plants that I reckon are awesome but no-one seems to want to buy at the moment. |
