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April 3rd week

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Take over There is considerable work waiting around Condons Corner on the Turkey Rhubarb , but choppers will also be provided for. 2023 Choice this week Hunt down the real Morning Glory on our western edge (note that we normally pick on Coastal Morning Glory )  Bag the Fleabane on and around the SPAT fence Follow up on something you have done before, or Gain inspiration from what we did this time last year  2022 Weed of the week Hydrocotyl , also known as: water pennywort, floating pennywort. This pennywort is prohibited matter, but see Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennywort  Priorities In the Old Forest (between cycleway & creek) Turkey Rhubarb , Morning Glory & a new villain, Pennywort , are rampant. There's a fallen limb from a Banksia, some Creeping Christian (Trad) & some planting to be attended to. Blady Grass area is again under Morning Glory attack with flowering Turkey, Fleabane & Cottonbush + Pennywort also to be dealt with. There is also a m
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April 2nd week

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 Deluge results Saturday's early morning deluge not only flattened half of Manifest Destiny , it washed away our recent plantings. So we plant as many Bleeding Hearts (& others) as is feasible at Manifest Destiny & behind the Blady Grass.   (2023 was Day off for Easter Monday) 2022 Problems Most of us should work west of the cycleway on Andrew's & Lisa's sites if they are accessible. Manifest Destiny has Morning Glory rolling across the floor & up the trees so I'd like to get there too.  We'll leave a "They Went That Way" pair at the Blady Grass area should you be fashionably late.  
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April 1st week

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Easter Monday - 2024 2023 Walk in the Woods  There's a fair bit of Morning Glory on the agenda but if there are early showers we may find ourselves taking down some Cassia & an African Olive . McKellar Glade is also in need of some TLC.  2022 Problems Some storm damage around the eastern edge. Before: Work report: Before and after: Wildlife sighting Eastern Water Dragon, Physignathus lesueurii lesueurii This species is protected in Australia.
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May 5th week

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 Something Else We have a full tray to plant along or near the Stony Rd and/or in Manifest Destiny . Some tubestock may have to wait a week or so. We need to clear more planting space at Manifest Destiny by removing cardboard We need to chop more Cassia at both sites. Transplant some Sandpaper Figs from the ditch to Manifest Destiny central. 2023 Five point list Weather should be cool, sunny with a bit of wind. 3 of the 5 activities will need bags.  Hopefully some adventurous soul will take home some produce to attempt the following: According to Diego Bonetto's "EAT WEEDS" , Cobblers Pegs or Bidens pilosa can be distilled in gin or used in a salsa verde or pesto, in pasta sauce, stir fries or noodle salad. "The flavour is strong & complex, at first resin & grass but then at the back palate, has sage & oregano tones".  He, Diego, has a herbalist friend who drinks a daily anti-bacterial tea brewed from fresh & dried leaves of Bidens pilosa. A
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May 4th week

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 Another wet week One relatively dry site will be among the flowering Cassia along the Stony Road so choppers should be happy. There's still some Polygala to finish nearby and a lot of Morning glory at the back of the Blady Grass area.   Turkey rhubarb tracing on offer at Condons Corner. I also have a few more "nursery items" for our recently chopped zone. 2023 Missive from Macca Aiming to deal with weeds in grassy areas like Coolatai , Polygala & two or three localised issues. 2022 Cycleway upgrade Council said a new stage of the cycleway upgrade is coming soon-ish: from the Tramway Creek causeway to the south end of the Hewitts Creek Bridge. Asphalt will become concrete, width stays the same except for the last 15m before the bridge where it widens to 3.5m and includes bollards in the centre & on both sides.  A 10 week project Wollongong Council hopes, with the same detour for cyclists as when the bridge was being repaired. And here is a shot of the creek.
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March 3rd week

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 2023 Cool & Grey Rain + heat can only have meant rapid growth over the last 2 weeks. We'll need to survey the scene in our best areas first and start work where its most needed. Showers are forecast but the Bureau of Meteorology has them only arriving in the evening but should they chase us away from open areas we can retreat back to leafy zones.  Maybe bring a watering device in case our recent plantings suffered over the last few days.  2022 Priorities We need one group beside the Cycleway at the bridge end, where Turkey Rhubarb & Morning Glory are proliferating and another assaulting weeds of the world at Andrew's  Site & Manifest Destiny . If numbers allow, some Cassia are flowering lately, so choppers may have self-identifying victims to pursue. There will be enough to go round,
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March 2nd week

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 Some ideas from previous years  (plants are seasonal here is what we did this time last years and the year before) 2023 Forecast not good Could be a little bit of planting if enough rain has fallen & stopped but otherwise, we have a number of weedy hotspots to attack targeting all your old favourites and a couple of fun additions like Stonecrop (Moneyplant) & Tradescantia fluminensis . 2022 Worklist Any number of options, but a few areas are still quite wet so: pulling & rolling up morning glory ;  chopping to restore an ex-track;  clean up of high tide line back of the beach ,  plus a special mission or two,  will be the priorities. Some picnic rubbish and a new drinking site are also on the agenda.  After the wild weather Hewitts Creek no longer meanders across the beach. The clay cliffs that adjoin the sand are eroded and seaweed has been washed over the grass.
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March 1st week

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 Open area weeding Cool, grey & 21 degrees means we can attack Morning Glory on Steve's Beach , Turkey Rhubarb at Condons Corner , Woodlands Ck Coolatai grass & even Mother of Millions at the firepit in ideal conditions. Bags & secateurs will be necessary as a lot of what we reap needs to go off site.  More bending & stretching than chopping but poisoners will get their chance too. 2023 Clean Up Oz Campaign .  That usually takes up the first hour, depending on numbers & ambition, after which the predicted heat should send us to the shade of Manifest Destiny for a cool weed. Water bottles & wide brim hats are de rigeur. 2022 Instructions Today was called off after rain for days. Patchy heavy rain and more to come.
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