January 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Viv, the happiest of New Years to you, too!

Many thanks for letting us , all these many thousands of miles away, share your trip and  all those delightful flowers.
( I'll say this quietly, because I have an ongoing battle with Ian about the planting of large spiky NZ Aciphyllas in the garden : those Aciphylla glacialis are rather wonderful. )

[Jupiter]

Five houses were lost last night in the bushfires here. One man suspected dead was found alive and well after he took refuge in a dam. The fires are still burning and although we are not in any immediate danger it is a worrying situation. The bureau of meteorology has forecast possible thunder storms with little or no rain; a lethal combination.

[Robert]

Jamus,

Is 43c a typical temperature for you this time of year or is it closer an extreme?

Dry lightning can cause big problems as it is often accompanied by gusty winds. Let's hope they get those fires out and no new fires are started.

[Jupiter]

Robert 43 is an anomaly for early January but has happened on occasion. Not sure about the record breaking status of this bit of weather but we'll find out once the numbers are in. It's a nasty day here and we are all on edge. Bags are packed ready to leave if things escalate.

[Hillview croconut]

Jesus, I do hope you guys get through ok. I thought you had quite a wet spring and that moisture levels would be up?

How far are you away from Trevor?


All my thoughts and prayers.


M

[Jupiter]

A harrowing day, Trevor is only 15km from me here. I went past his place today on my way to my Mum's place. The column of smoke was unbelievable, looming over the area to the North East of Mount Lofty. There were large numbers of aircraft in the air, water bombers; both fixed wing and helicopters, survey planes etc. The wind has swung around and is now coming from the South. Temperatures have dropped 10 degrees or more and we even had some rain. There were fires started by lightning but all were quickly dealt with by the CFS. We owe so much to the professional conduct of our fire fighting force and the shocking thing is that the majority are volunteers (albeit well trained volunteers). We really ought to have more paid fire fighters.

[Anthony Darby]

Glad to hear temperatures are moderating. I can't imagine outside temperatures of 43^oC!

[Jupiter]

The good news is my little rock garden escaped pretty well unscathed! Raoulia is coming to flower, Penstemons are fine, Campanulas positioned strategically under rock overhangs to give midday shade are looking good. Even Aster alipinus is okay. Of course the Origanums and Thymus lap it up, a couple of the saxifraga look slightly burnt... we'll see how they recover. A lot of other garden plants look dreadful but for the most part they are things which go dormant, retreating into their below ground parts and waiting out the drought.

Marcus, moisture levels are unbelievably low! Spring was good but from November onward it just dried up and got warmer and warmer. We have officially had the warmest spring since records began.

[Robert]

Jamus,

The fire situation seems quite critical. If your situation is anything like California, the fire danger only increases until the late fall, early winter rain arrives. May the fires be brought under control soon. At least the temperatures have moderated. Our good thoughts are towards you and all others in your part of the world.

[Maggi Young]

Trying to contemplate how awful it must be for the folks threatened by wildfires.  It seems amazing to me that none of the members at risk in the past have been hurt - I can only hope this luck continues.
I remember Pat's  description of her fears for her family - what Jamus must be thinking with the risk to his family is beyond awful, I'm sure .

May everyone be safe.

[Otto Fauser]

Jamus , I am much relieved to read that you and family are well and that the fires were not in your immediate vicinity . I followed the situation closely on ABC TV. I live also in a fire prone area (the Dandenong Ranges ) and have left my home on several occasions when catastrophic condition were announced on the Radio . Here the temperature yesterday only reached 38 C but some Primulas , Saxifragas  and more did not enjoy it (neither did I ) . Don't worry re losses in your Rockgarden ,  I'm only too happy to replace them ,

                              with all my good wishes that you stay safe ,     Otto.

[Jupiter]

Thank you Otto, then you know how we have been feeling. I'm happy to say that the weather is much cooler and the fires are for the moment contained and some actually almost under control. Fire fighting is much different these days to when I was a kid and we had the ash Wednesday fires (I was in primary school but I will never forget). Water bombing aircraft, helicopters, surveillance and communication technology. Evacuations are so efficient and swift and everyone is so well informed in real time about where the fire is and what's happening. Robert was dead right when he said that fire conditions are set to worsen. We are in a very bad situation now until proper autumn rains come. The state is tinder dry.

[vivienne Condon]

Thanks Maggi, the Aciphylla glacial is is not all that prickly and the lilac to maroon stems are just gorgeous, pitty the seed was not ripe enough to collect it was still very green. Unfortunately the plants of Aciphylla are on the rare side as the cattle love them. Thank goodness we have a new local government that have just removed the cattle from the high country, as much as I love to see the cattle up there, they are also so destructive especially in the sphagnum moss area's its a very fragile environment.
There have been a few paddocks fenced off called Molly's paddocks, apparently these paddocks have been well researched over the years and the difference in the vegetation inside the fences is very noticeable. There were a lot of plants tagged where we were walking I think a lot of Botanising has been done, as so many plants were just Celmisia sp. and Helichrysum sp. and plenty of others with no names at all, not sure what these two plants are called but one does look like a Helichrysum, a dwarf little shrub approx 30 to 40cm.
Apparently there have been papers written on these and other plants but there is no money to print them or to put them on the web.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Jamus,

I hope for a miracle! It does seem so surreal especially as we are currently receiving a really benign spell. Yesterday's 30 degree day broke with a glorious bucketing for most of the evening, and today light, sunny conditions that would have brought a gleam to your eye.

I do hope and pray all of you find a way. It's nerve-wracking waiting for that big one. Three years ago it was like that here when the Dunalley fire broke. I was working outside in frying conditions with one eye on the back of the mountain looking for that tell tail funnel.

God, I haven't heard from Trevor!

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Snapped a few pics while up mowing the lawns. Nothing great but for the record.

Origanum "Belissimo" - Bred by me and now out in Garden Land World. I think Lambley's have it.

Origanum Green Seedling - Love the green hops. Earlier and brighter than O. rotundifolium, well my lot.

Origanum "Kent Beauty" - The first one? from Washfield after John Watson carried rotundie back from Turkey. Traded with Elizabeth Strangman for a root of Tassie's H. "Betty Ranicar". Carried to England in Dan Magnus' backpack on his way to Africa to make drums. Neither of us made any money out of it, before its time, but it was kind of satisfying to beat the "Big Boys", and I did get Belissimo as a offspring.

M