Hail Storm this evening

Mid afternoon, the sky darkened over the Kangaroo Valley and then I lost all sight of the Valley and there was just a wall of water coming towards Robertson.

It looked more impressive than it turned out to be.

About 5 minutes worth of rain - then it cleared.

Threatening clouds coming up from Kangaroo Valley

A wall of water (rain) coming up the Valley
Visibility range about 2.5 Km
(down from 60 Km in the morning).

However, the real treat came later into the evening.
A really noisy episode of heavy rain and hail.
A bit of thunder, but not much.

Apologies for the blurred imagery.
Ever tried to focus on hail, in the dark?
Even at 1/500 sec exposure, it still blurred.

This is what the storm looked like, 

on the Bureau's Radar imagery.

Robertson is smack bang underneath

the top red marker. 

Click to enlarge the image, and check the locality.

Bureau of Meteorology Radar chart tonight.

I might have to go and check Carrington Falls again, tomorrow.

UPDATE:

I recorded 64 mm of rain to 9:00am the next morning.
Pretty impressive for a series of storms which kept lashing us, leaving, then another one would arrive.

Monarchs of Dunmore

After looking at the "Little Dumpies" yesterday, Kirsten and I went for a little drive to "other places of interest" in the Shellharbour district. We went firstly to Bass Point Reserve, a small patch of Littoral Rainforest, right on the coast. That site is highly disturbed, being favoured by tourists, fishermen, and being adjacent to a large Blue Metal quarry. The roads within the Reserve are quite rough.

After looking around for a few minutes I suggested going to Swamp Road at Dunmore, so I could show Kirsten one of my favourite Fig Trees. In effect this tree has two separate trunks which act together, to feed and support the tree. It is, I believe a Small-leaved Fig, Ficus obliqua.

The trunk of this tree is not "split" as such, but rather started as a seed which germinated off the ground, on another tree, and then it sent its roots down to the ground.

That first set of roots, once they reached the ground, they coalesced, forming into a solid trunk (at left of the tree). From the angle of this first "trunk" it seems most likely that the original supporting tree was collapsing under the weight of its own canopy, plus the weight of the Fig Tree.

Then as the Fig grew further, it sent down a second set of adventitious roots, which also coalesced, acting as "prop roots" in this case, eventually becoming the main trunk of the tree (on the right hand side).

While we were there admiring this magnificent, but quirky Fig Tree, we noticed a number of very bright Monarch (or Wanderer) Butterflies flying around.

Monarch or Wanderer Butterfly flying past

 We noticed several pairs of Wanderer Butterflies mating.
Mostly they sat very still.

Mating pair of Wanderer Butterflies on a Peppercorn Tree

Pardon the blurry image, but these mating Butterflies
both opened their wings briefly

momentarily revealing their upper wing colours.
I only got one slightly out of focus shot

before they resumed their closed wing position.

Fortunately Kirsten was there to take a decent photo
and this is it.
It shows only four legs

Most adult Butterflies in the
Nymphalidae family appear to have only have four legs.
In fact they have an extreme reduction in the front set of legs.

Kirsten's photo of the mating pair of Wanderer Butterflies.
As with most Butterfly species, the underwing colour
is much paler than the upperwing, which is usually only seen
when the Butterfly is flying.

"Little Dumpies" - Diplodium truncatum - Greenhoods burst into flower

Kirsten sent me a message today, that she had found a colony of "Little Dumpies" - Diplodium truncatum.



It was a quiet day in Robbo, so once the clock passed 3:00PM when the RMS (formerly the RTA) people opened up Macquarie Pass, I drove down the Pass, to check them out.

I have seen Little Dumpies previously, a few on Mt Gibraltar, several years ago, and a good group at Bungonia Gorge, last year. But they are not "common" around here, well, not in my experience.

This is the best, (densest) colony of these Greenhoods

which I have ever seen.

A dense colony of "Little Dumpies" Diplodium truncatum

These plants have a very abrupt point to the "galea" (the hood) which is shown well in this illustration from PlantNET.

Botanical illustration from PlantNET
"Little Dumpies" Diplodium truncatum

These plants were growing amongst dense plants of Kangaroo Grass, at Croom Reserve, Albion Park, NSW. The grass was very dense, and these plants seemed as if they ought have been quite overgrown, but clearly they were not troubled by the grass.

"Little Dumpies" Diplodium truncatum

These Diplodium plants form rosettes on non-flowering plants.

The flowering plants have their flowers emerge directly from the ground

without any rosette leaves.

Many non-flowering rosettes of "Little Dumpies" Diplodium truncatum

"Little Dumpies" Diplodium truncatum

Because these Greenhoods were growing amongst dense Kangaroo Grass, they were difficult to count, but I estimate that there were about 150 flowers growing in a patch 1.5 metres long by 1 metre wide. There were 3, main clusters of these Greenhoods, growing in clearings between the clumps of the Kangaroo Grass.

An interesting note is that these plants are flowering much earlier than I have previously seen them flower (admittedly in the Southern Highlands), on 3 May 2011 (at Bungonia) and 8 May 2009 (on Mt Gibraltar).

There is some colour variation between these flowers and those at Bungonia, which are much more reddish.

Robbo Show - Day 2

 The theme for today is "Every Child - A Winner".

The start of a Kiddies Race - a potato relay event
But like all good events at the Robbo Show,
Rules can be adapted to suit the participants
so everybody can have a good time.

 

.

The bigger kids start off

Al Mauger, one of the volunteer Stewards
acts as "Sheepdog" to ensure the little one doesn't get lost,
or trampled.

You see now what I mean.
The little one is running to the far end
as the main bunch come back.
Big Al is guiding him along.

The little Kid has just reached the far end
and he and Al turn back, for the return journey.

At the end, Al ensures the littlest winner
gets a ribbon to record the event.
I think that makes everyone a winner,
not only the Children.

 

******************

Day 2 of the Robbo Show has the  

Australian Championship Potato Race
 

This is NOT a Potato Sack Race, 

but an event where athletes carry a sack of Potatoes 

around the Robertson oval.

THE MITTAGONG McDONALD'S FAMILY RESTAURANT 

JUNIOR POTATO RACE
1st $150, 2nd $50, 3rd $25, 4th $15, 5th $10

Contestants line up for the Junior Potato Race

The Junior winner approaches the finish line

ILLAWARRA FLY LADIES POTATO RACE
Competitors to carry 12.5Kg of Potatoes for approximately 400metres.
1st $150, 2nd $50, 3rd $25, 4th $15, 5th $10

The start of the Ladies Potato Race

The leaders emerge from the pack.

Sorry about the quality of this image.
Its the only shot I got of the Winner coming home.

The Ladies Race finalists gather at the end
- all satisfied that they have run a good race.

ELDERS AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP POTATO RACE
Competitors to carry 50Kg of Potatoes for approximately 400metres.
1st $1000 & sash, 2nd $140, 3rd $70, 4th $50,
5th $20, 6th - 9th $10
SPECIAL PRIZE: $300 to First Berrima District Competitor to finish
(Must be a resident of Wingecarribee Shire)
 

One of the contestants is carrying his mate
dressed up in a Potato Sack
Is this the result of some bizarre challenge,
or a Bet?
Perhaps best not to ask.

They're off

Two clear leaders have emergedat "The Old Gum Tree" point.

Pat Pearse - the eventual winner - approaches the line
Pat has won this event previously.
He is a very good athlete.

Aah, the Look of Pain!

And another contestant bravely battling on.

Remember these guys?
I reckon they both did very well,
because the guy on the shoulders
must have had a rough trip too.

Do you remember the guy who
watched over the littlest contestant in the first race?
This is him.
Al Mauger finishing his own race.
He gets my vote for Winner of the Day.

To me, the Robbo Show is all about participation, and community.
That's what makes it such a great event.

So what if some little kid 

didn't actually cross the finish line first?

He finished, he got the ribbon.
He is a winner.

So what if the 50 Kilo Bag of Spuds 

was actually your mate, or your brother?

Rules are meant to be bent, 

so people might enjoy themselves.

We are on this earth for a short time.
If we can make it brighter and better place for everyone,
that's what everyone will remember about us.

Let every Child be a Winner.
and if we all show a bit of 

"The Child Within Us"

so be it.
That way we can all be Winners.

Robbo Show - Day 1

The annual Robertson Show started today.

With the huge rain over previous days, the Committee decided that the Ring Events would not be held, in the interests of safety. So, no horse events were held in the main arena and the School Kids missed out on the Spud Olympics.

The Show Pavilion events were of course able to be held, and the Cattle judging proceeded unhindered.
I helped out with the Cut Flower section, and I was pleased to see that many local people managed to give a good display of flowers - despite the huge rain and the winds which came at the end of the rainfall event.

Here are some of the Cut Flower winners, including some very fine Dahlias.

 

I have a soft spot for the kids entries 

where they make up little "characters" and models

using vegetables, with some imagination and some household utensils.

The serious Vegetable exhibitors regard 

the Robertson Show awards as highly prestigious.

This Collection of Vegetables also notched up the
award for the Most Successful Exhibitor
for the winner.

A fitting award for the Champion Vegetable Exhibit

Anna Williams won with her Cucumbers

Very fine Rhubarb examples.

The Baby Vegetable award was a bit of a surprise to me
But I am not the Judge
in the Vegetables Section.

These are just a few of the entries and awards at the Show Pavilion.

The handicraft, photographic entries, 

the cakes and jams and preserves, etc 

are all of very high standard.

I took some photos of the Dairy Cattle today

Milking Cows, young Heifers, etc.

But I not an expert in such matters.

Frankly I can hardly tell a good cow from another

But the Show Judges can, and that's their expertise..

More tomorrow.

Death of Sherlock Holmes - the sequel - after the fight

This morning, the Canberra Ornithologists Group's resident graphic artist Geoffrey Dabb circulated an image, which I found eerily familiar.

Death of Sherlock Holmes
(Sidney Paget illustration)

His image, well, actually an illustration by Sidney Paget, was entitled "The Death of Sherlock Holmes".
It purports to show Moriarty and Holmes locked in mortal combat on a ledge over Reichenbach Falls, in Switzerland.

But the illustration came in to me this morning, just after I had returned from Carrington Falls, having photographed the Falls after our recent deluge.

The intense rush of water, the cliff ledge, 

even the ferns around the Falls all looked familiar to me.

No Holmes, no Moriarty
Carrington Falls, not Reichenbach Falls.

The coincidence was too eerie for me to pass up the chance to Blog about it.