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When is a rat, not a rat?
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under animals
When is a rat not a rat?
Small furry creatures with sharp teeth and claws and evil beady little eyes get a lot of bad press in our culture thanks to the feral rats that have followed the spread of humans across the planet. However, we also have many native rodents and other small furry creatures that are important part of our local ecosystems that are unfortunately tarnished with the bad publicity generated by their jet setting rodent cousins.The local Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes can be found in our local forests and heathlands and is quite cute and timid compared to the imports, although they can still give you a nip when cornered. They feed on native fruits and seeds but are also important spreaders of seed through our local forests. Also found in our area are the amazing Antechinus. ...
Winter Seeders - The Patient Ones
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Winter Seeders – The Patient OnesBy Spencer Shaw
In summer many seed hit the ground and are putting down roots within a matter of days. Those warm balmy tropical days and nights are perfect for vegetative growth and seeds tend to establish themselves very quickly. Conditions for growth are at their best in spring and summer with the rainforest seed that fall then wasting no time in their race for survival………….. Sorry drifted off for a second there thinking about warm balmy tropical days and nights as I huddle over my keyboard on a cool autumn night!!!.Species like Guioa semiglauca, Harpullia pendula, Pennantia cunninghamii are classic summer seeders, germinating extroverts so to speak. They are the sorts of seed that can’t wait to get out of their s...
Water and seeds
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Fruits, Nuts, Seeds and other things
By Spencer Shaw
Rain, rain and more rain please!Well that’s what we where all saying just a month or so back and gee its good to have the old ‘gravity challenged’ H2O doing its stuff again.While on the subject of water have you ever pondered its ability to spread seed? Many stream and riverside plants use not only wildlife or wind but also flowing water to disperse their seed. Waterways have many advantages as agents of seed dispersal, the most obvious of course being that they are permanently moist! However we can also add relatively high levels of available nutrients to assist seedling growth, regular disturbance of floods creating ideal germination conditions i.e. River sheoak Casuarina cunnighamiana, leaching of chemicals that in...
The Much Maligned Brush Turkey
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
The Much Maligned Brush Turkey
By Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
Before you ask… No, we do not breed Brush Turkeys, we do not remove them from your property and we certainly do not provide them steaming hot and crispy with your choice of salad or steamed vegetables! Our link to the brush turkey name, goes back to my early days as a seed collector when I felt like a brush turkey scratching around in the leaf litter of the rainforest looking for seed! You may say that I could do better than taking the name of one of the most unpopular animals on the range as a business name… but I’ve always been a backer of the underdog (under-turkey in this case perhaps!).
Brush Turkeys are one of those local species that have adapted rather well, to the changes that we have...
A View to Kill For!
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
“A View to Kill For”by Spencer Shaw, of Brush Turkey EnterprisesA few millions years ago on the African plains our early hominid ancestors knew the importance of keeping a look out for the big toothy predators that saw them as a potential breakfast, lunch or tea. Later still, our more recent ancestors knew the importance of a clear view of the surrounding country side when it came to shoring up the fortifications of their village against the marauding bunch of blokes from down the valley. Wether we realise it or not, our appreciation of a good “view” is a deeply ingrained part of our psyche and very much a part of who we are. However there is a dark side to this love of the “view” and it is becoming more and more evident as a cause of environmental degra...
The Wilderness Garden
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Turkey Tangential
By Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises,
The Wilderness Garden
After 12 years in down town Maleny the Shaw’s are about to pull up roots, go rural and move a few kilometres west to Reesville. Surprisingly in moving from town to the country, what we will miss most (for a year or so - until our plantings develop) is the abundant wildlife we share our lives with.
In those 12 years we have packed our small 800m² block with as many native plants as physically possible and reduced the lawn to a few metres square. We have reached a stage where we share our little piece of paradise with an awesome variety of local wildlife.
In the shed tucked up on the rafters on a cool day is our friendly Carpet Python Morelia spilota v...
Wonderful Weeds
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Wonderful Weedsby Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey Enterprises
Our phobia of weeds is something quite extraordinary. If visitors from another planet were to land on our door step tomorrow and study the average garden I’m sure the questions would run something like this: a) Why do you waste so much time cultivating plants that are so inbred that they can survive only with your assistance? b) Why are plants native to anywhere else on the planet other than where you actually live so attractive to you? And finally c) Why do we spend so much time at war with plants that are very successful at proliferating in spite of our attempts to wipe them out.I’ve mentioned in previous articles the possible benefits of the tree weeds such as Camphor to our local wildlife, but today I’d ...
Don't Mess with the Mulch!
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Clean Up Australia – Not in My forest Mate!or “Don’t mess with the mulch”
By Spencer ShawI’m writing this article to you as I hide away in a far-flung corner of one of the Blackall Ranges precious rainforest remnants. My expose on the evils of too much lawn (see previous blogs) has brought the full force of the turf barons down upon me. As I write you this, the CLPA (Central Lawn Protection Agency) and FBT (Federal Bureau of Turf) are combing the forest searching for the ‘rebel without a mower’. Any way, keeping my head down and laying low in this little forest patch is giving me good chance to re-aquaint myself with the life of the forest floor. I can tell you - the sooner the tree house is finished the better! There’s a B...
The Cost of Convenience
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
“The Cost of Convenience”Turkey Tangential by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises, November 2006.
Recently I have been fortunate to reacquaint myself with Bribie Island, through a holiday and work BTE is undertaking in that area. Bribie was my home for my teenage years. Being the ratbag greenie that I was, I found it very easy to leave behind a place that I could see going backward environmentally and rejoiced in arriving in a place like Maleny, where it could be argued that the damage was already done and that we could only make things better! Almost twenty years away from a place can give one a bit of perspective from which to observe change, but if I can observe environmental degradation over a mere 20 years what hope do the local ecosystems have over much greate...
Playing with Poison
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Turkey TangentialPlaying with Poison
Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey EnterprisesI’m sure that from the beginning of time man, in his more deluded moments, has dreamt of controlling the beast that is nature. Our fear of the silent green monster, beyond our tamed backyards, that waits to swallow you up in its verdant leafy arms, if we were to lose control, is a psychosis that many suffer from. First there was the blade and flame to tame the wild forest and these tools gave man power to shape the landscape. Then in the 20th century herbicides were developed and became widely available. Herbicides are a group of manufactured, synthetic chemicals that either control or kill vegetation. Weeds are plants that humans deem unsuitable for growing in a particular area and are prime tar...
Lazy
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
“Lazy”Turkey TangentialBy Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
Being a naturally lazy person I don’t like complicated solutions to what should be theoretically the relatively simple process of restoring our native ecosystems. My idea of perfect regeneration is sitting back on the verandah sipping a cup of tea, reading a book and occasionally lifting my gaze from the page to watch native fauna undertake all the work that is necessary to restore the native vegetation on our new block. That’s the dream…..However it’s worth remembering, that when we undertake ecosystem restoration we don’t, shouldn’t and simply can’t act alone – quite humbling for your average egocentric Homo sapien.In late January this year the Brush Turkey cla...
The Latest Fad - climate change
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
The Latest Fad – Climate ChangeTales from a confused revegetator
After attending both the Qld Landcare Weeks “Biodiversity Forum” in Brisbane and the Big Scrub Day near Lismore, one could easily be left with the feeling from some of the speakers that everything we have undertaken so far in the field of ecological restoration is pointless. After all the seas will rise/or fall, temperatures will rise at least that’s what we think, but variables may cause an ice age? And that it will get drier if present trends continue but that it may also get wetter in the long term!Without a doubt climate change is inevitable due to human induced change to the atmosphere, however if this fact causes us to be uncertain about our work in ecological restoration or to even question the...
Rainforest Gardeners
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Rainforest GardenersThe Brush Turkey - Alectura lathami, belongs to an ancient family of birds known as the Megapodes (meaning: “Large feet”).
Instead of building a nest like most other birds, the male Brush Turkey builds a giant compost heap by raking a large mound of leaf litter with it’s large feet. These compost mounds create the heat that is necessary to incubate the eggs of these amazing birds. Brush Turkey chicks hatch deep within the mound and may take several days to dig their way to the surface. Once the chicks hatch they are self sufficient and must find their own food and seek shelter from predators like Carpet Pythons, Cats and Birds of Prey.
The Brush Turkey is the largest bird of our local rainforests and plays an important role in the spreading of rainfo...
Eating Skippy
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Eating Skippy…
by Spencer Shaw
The memory of when I stepped off the boat in Fremantle in 1977 as a naïve eight year old Pommy immigrant, and placed my feet for the first time on Australian soil (well concrete anyway) is a strong one for me. The brightness of the sunshine, the dryness of the air are all ingrained in my memory as my first impressions of Australia. Fremantle was a quick stop, before the final leg of our trip on the ship (we were some of the last pom’s to be lucky enough to arrive by boat) to Melbourne.
Melbourne was a brief stop of an hour or two (very cold even in November - who’s not surprised?) before we hopped on a train for Adelaide, which was to be our new home. Guess what? We’d been lied to (or were at least seriously gullible) because ...
Going, going, gone
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Going, Going, Gone?By Spencer ShawCan it be possible to have too many plants and animals cluttering up our local environment? South East Queensland is full to the brim with plants and animals (with over three and a half thousand plant species alone). Surely it wouldn’t be too bad to lose just a few of them!Just think plant I.D books would be shorter for starters, the ‘bush’ would look more uniform and less cluttered and we’d need less Botanists because there would be fewer plants to argue about. Also seed collectors would find life a lot easier - without having to chase this or that, rare, endangered or vulnerable plant. After all isn’t evolution about survival of the fittest and if some of these plants can’t cut it in the game of life then why should we...
Invasion of the McPines!
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Turkey Tangential, by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
INVASION of the McPINES!
My weedy story for today is about a group of trees that are the McDonalds of the weed world. They are big, all look the same, represent large commercial interests, are American in origin and of course have little or no nutritional value! They are a group of weeds that dominate our roadsides, invade heathlands and woodlands, change soil fertility and produce clouds of pollen with potential health risks. They are a group of weeds that I’m ashamed to admit I’d stopped even noticing, because they are so prolific. The trees are, of course, the exotic Pines, primarily Slash Pine (Pinus elliotii) and Pine (Pinus carrabea). The McPines!Their introduction around the middle of the last century by th...
Poison in Paradise or Fruits of Death!
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Seeds
Poison in Paradise or Fruits of Death!Turkey Tangential By Spencer Shaw
What a dramatic headline and attention grabbing headline! There’s nothing quite like a bit of fear, to bring out the voyeur within. Given the recent removal of a White Cedar from a park in Maleny, I think however that may be timely to again look at some of our poisonous plants.Over the millennia, plants have evolved various means to stop us greedy herbivores and omnivores getting too carried away and eating them all into oblivion. Some are prickly – such as the tendrils of Lawyer cane Calamus muelleri, some are hairy – such as the fruit of Foam bark Jagera pseudorhus, some are tough – such as the leaves of Wilkea macrophylla and some are … poisonous! Well actually most if not all plants ...
Proteaceae in Paradise
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Seeds
Turkey Tangentialby Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises“Proteaceae in Paradise”Proteus was an ancient Greek sea god who was inclined to get himself into trouble on a regular basis. His special skill however was in his ability to change his shape into many and varied forms to escape from these troubles - probably self inflicted as many of these gods where prone to mischief and mayhem! The family of plants known as Proteaceae are a particularly large and varied bunch but one thing that is common to many of them is the variable nature of their foliage, which can take many varied forms (hence the Greek god connection). Why the connection between Greece and a family of plants that are predominantly found in the southern hemisphere I here you ask? Was it the classical cultural bac...
Carbon Mining
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Posted by lily
795 days ago
under Environment
Carbon MiningTurkey TangentialBy Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
Carbon is the hot topic at present and it’s only likely to get hotter if we keep converting so much of it from a solid into a gas. Of course due to so many of our political leaders being so good at making hot gasses, they’re having problems reducing the Greenhouse effect”!Regardless of wether you believe that global warming is a reality or wether you believe it to be an elaborate hoax (and I’m enough of a conspiracy theorist to question both dogmas) there is one simple truth – the ability of the earth to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into life, into biodiversity, into the soils that support our crops and livestock is being degraded in a downward spiral that is depleti...