Week 1 November 2000: A number of bright yellow Donkey Orchids (Diuris sp.) are flowering in our regenerating grassland. There was low rainfall in autumn and winter that reduced the number of orchids and other herbaceous plants in Yallaroo’s grasslands.
Strange noises coming from one of our gardens. “Oom, oom, oom” repeated every quarter hour or so. Saw the musician: a ground dwelling Brown Quail. Another avian visitor to Yallaroo. Our bird list now totals 78 species. Another wildlife sighting: looking for a magazine in our shed. Was rather startled by the appearance of a huge huntsman spider. This saucer-sized spider has grey body and legs with white stripes. A frightening sight but quite harmless.
On the island, on our big dam a number of Callistemon pallidus are in full flower. These medium shrubs have bright yellow brushes. The yellow brushes light up the garden. We have observed this species flowering in the wild. It occurs in New England granite country and grows at the base of rocky outcrops.
We are helping a university student with Hakea research. We spent a day searching for Hakea fraseri, a very rare species, in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park east of Armidale. This Hakea grows on cliff faces and we managed to find a number of flowering specimens. The large flower heads are cream-white with red bases. This is a native plant with horticultural potential.
We have a Western Australian Isopogon (Cone bush) flowering in one of our gardens. This species has large purple flower heads. We have not identified this species but will supply the name when we have a result.
A visit from the Glen Innes group of the Australian Plant Society. We are always pleased to show people the Yallaroo gardens and spread the message about native plants.
Replanting some areas in a garden bed where some plants died in winter. Consistent rain that has filled both our tank to overflowing and water is running into the big dam.