Hi from the rain soaked Johnstone River,
The rain fell on Friday and overnight the Johnstone River turned from blue to brown. However, it was a welcome relief from the oppressive heat we have experienced over the last couple of weeks: in the nursery the temperature fell from 36 to 25 degrees. The wet season has well and truly started with the monsoon trough dotted in on the weather chart across the Torres Strait: it is expected to drop down over the gulf this coming week.
The fresh, sweet grass shoots brought the wallabies out of their day-time seclusion to browse in the open.
The mosquitoes are out in force and to walk anywhere you need to ‘ slip and slop’. Coquette Point is mosquito heaven. I find light coloured clothes are less likely to attract mosquitoes. Certainly red, black and blue are attractant colours. Light cotton clothes breathe rather than synthetic fabric which induces sweating and of course wearing a hat at all times is necessary to protect the eyes and the face from the glare of the sun.
The rain fell on Friday and overnight the Johnstone River turned from blue to brown. However, it was a welcome relief from the oppressive heat we have experienced over the last couple of weeks: in the nursery the temperature fell from 36 to 25 degrees. The wet season has well and truly started with the monsoon trough dotted in on the weather chart across the Torres Strait: it is expected to drop down over the gulf this coming week.
The fresh, sweet grass shoots brought the wallabies out of their day-time seclusion to browse in the open.
The mosquitoes are out in force and to walk anywhere you need to ‘ slip and slop’. Coquette Point is mosquito heaven. I find light coloured clothes are less likely to attract mosquitoes. Certainly red, black and blue are attractant colours. Light cotton clothes breathe rather than synthetic fabric which induces sweating and of course wearing a hat at all times is necessary to protect the eyes and the face from the glare of the sun.
I make a repellent by adding one teaspoon of pure citronella oil , ½ teaspoon rosemary oil, ½ teaspoon tea tree oil and ½ teaspoon lavender oil to 500 grams of sorbolene or other botanical cream. Shake well before use and test on the skin before using all over.
I had a visit from Shane Holborn of the Rural Reconstruction Project, an off-shoot of DEEDI. He was looking at the impact of cyclones on the nursery and horticultural production industries. We discussed a wide range of issues regarding cyclones. From work that is being done by James Cook is seems clear that trees actual dispel strong winds and lessen their impact on buildings. Certainly trees and shrubs act as debris collectors thus minimising damage. However, it is unwise to grow trees close to buildings. We discussed the tree-hating phobia that had emerged since the cyclones Larry and Yasi, he said that it was widespread and most people were blaming trees for damage to their properties.
My daughter Justine and husband Terrie and Granddaughter Julia have arrived from California on holidays. Poor things are adjusting to the humidity and the mosquitoes but most problematic are the frogs that keep coming out of the toilet: I relocated three yesterday. Meanwhile Julia and I go on exploring treks she is fascinated by the luxuriance and proliferous insect life of the tropics and the pulsating noise of the frogs as the rain sends them into a croaking frenzy. Julia followed cassowary footprints and marvelled at dragon-fruit flowers.
I went for an early morning walk to the Coquette Point spit this morning. As I entered the track to the spit the fresh track of a very large pig were clearly evident in the wet sand. The sun was just rising over the spit and I could not see any activity from the terns and then I saw them flying low over the river.
They moved in unison up the river for about 100 metres then turned and flushed out the bait fish. It was fascinating to watch them drop from the sky to catch a fish again and again.
I did not walk around the spit as I did not wish to disturb the nesting terns. I observed a number of birds returning to the rookery and others leaving. I also noticed footprints leading across the rookery. There is still no advisory sign erected, in spite of requests to Wet Tropics and CCRC, to tell people that there are birds nesting in this area.
One fisherman arrived while I was there he was pumping yabbies. I spoke to him as I left and made him aware of the rookery and we watched the Little Terns as they fished.
Mangrove kingfisher was singing good morning from the top of a mangrove and the grey form of the mangrove heron was fishing around the stilt roots of the rhizophore zone of mangroves.
A peaceful dove cooed from the inflorescence of excoecaria agalloche, this is the blind your eye mangrove. The milky sap of this mangrove will burn on contact with the skin.
The beautiful flowers of Sonneratia alba mangrove were beginning to close as the sun rose. These flowers are nocturnal and during the day the numerous stamens fall and at times the water around these mangroves is covered with their stamens. A red form of this Sonnneratia is also found at Coquette Point although not as numerous as the white.
As I walked back up the road to the nursery I sensed something behind me and it was the subadult cassowary ‘Q’ coming out of the mangrove forest on the seaward side of the point and heading for the Eastern Feed station.
As I walked back up the road to the nursery I sensed something behind me and it was the subadult cassowary ‘Q’ coming out of the mangrove forest on the seaward side of the point and heading for the Eastern Feed station.
I heard an unusual bird-call coming from the melaleuca forest ‘Q’ the cassowary had disturbed a brown form of the Mangrove Heron fishing in the swamp possibly for mud cod. It flew onto a branch and I manage to get one photo of it with the early sun rays lightning the gloom of the swamp. It was coloured red-brown with yellow legs and yellow eyes.
The sun continued to shine all day although some cloud covered cooled the day and a strong 25knot SE has brought welcome cool air from the south.
Cheers for now.
The sun continued to shine all day although some cloud covered cooled the day and a strong 25knot SE has brought welcome cool air from the south.
Cheers for now.
