Gentle sunset (when the wind had dropped)

Two nights ago, I caught this gentle sunset from the back deck.
Just lovely, especially after the tough weather we had had for most of the week before.

14 August 2012 at 5:31pm.

Why my Magnolia never flowers.

I grow a lovely dark-flowered form of Magnolia x soulangeana. It might not be this exact form, but it is close in colour and form to "Mag x soulangeana var. "Lennei".

Trouble is, I selected this plant, and grew it on for a while, in Canberra. But in Canberra I did not have Satin Bowerbirds in my yard.

Now I live amongst an active flock of these birds, and they love my Magnolia flowers. They eat them at the tight bud stage, long before the flowers ever get to open fully.

This afternoon, in howling winds, the cunning Bowerbirds sat amongst the dense foliage of the Camellias (to get protection from the winds), but they can reach out and pick at the buds of the Magnolias in the next bush. I even saw one of the "green birds" feeding a choice tidbit to another "green bird".

Bowerbird hiding in Camellia
Bronze colours on wing visible
above spotted abdomen.

 

Gorgeous deep pink Magnolia flower bud
(one of the few buds not yet eaten)
Photo taken through Study window,
looking through another deciduous tree.

On another subject, it is my self-appointed duty as chronicler of weather and other natural phenomena of Robertson, to record that the "August Winds" have arrived in August this year. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather alert, and fire fighters are attempting to control a bushfire on Bulli Tops, near Maddens Plains, south from Helensburgh (on the exposed top of the Woronora Plateau).

The strong winds are the main problem facing the Firies and the SES. Lets wish them the best in bringing this fire under control.

Robertson - an island in a sea of broken trees

Last night saw record winds blow down trees all around the place.
The Illawarra Highway, linking Robertson to Moss Vale and Bowral and the rest of the world (to the west), was closed.
The Illawarra Highway, to the east, going down Macquarie Pass, towards the coast, and Wollongong, still remains closed.
The Jamberoo Mountain Road, linking Robertson with Jamberoo and Kiama, still remains closed as I write.
We are in effect an island, cut off from the rest of the world.

The wind has been extraordinarily strong.
The local "Firies" (Rural Fire Service) weather station reports the highest gust - 90.1 km/h at 20:51 on 05.07.2011.

The Blue Mountains, (further west and higher) have dominated the News reports with their number of trees down, and power outages. But this storm has been pretty severe locally, too.

Several local businesses are closed, for reasons to do with power brown-outs affecting their security systems, apparently. The Robertson Inn (the "Robbo Pub" had a problem with their historic roof trying to lift off. A team of builders from Wollongong, who happened to be staying there last night got the job of providing a temporary "fix". But they wisely decided not to try anything heroic in the middle of the night. But they were up on the roof this morning.

The wind affected me last night, in a small way, by having brought down a large Pittosporum tree across the road, just outside my place. I was due to drive to the Pub for a regular Trivia night, but the road was completely blocked. This is what it looked like this morning.

Tree across my road (from the downhill side)

This is the view from the other side.

This is the road to the local Cemetery, 

and there are a few properties along that road too.

So it is not just me who was cut off.

The trunk of the tree was about 600mm in diameter

Fortunately the Council emergency services road clearing team turned up this morning with 6 blokes, chain saws, a large backhoe and a truck to clear the road. For once, let me say I am happy to pay my rates.

The Council guys were surprised that a Pittosporum would grow so large. But I know that there are far larger ones in the local Robertson Rain Forest.

The neighbouring village of Burrawang (home of the largest Eucalypt trees in the district) was without power from 4:00pm, The Burrawang Pub was closed, so the Robbo Pub had a few stragglers visit for tea and they stayed to join our Trivia Night event.

As far as I know, the only damage to trees on my own block is minimal. But I will wait till the wind dies down completely before doing a full patrol.

The Wattle trees which Zoe and I planted, below my house in May 2004 have had their heads snapped off (again). But I regard that as mere pruning. It saves the power company guys from having to cut the heads off these trees, to ensure the Power Lines are not likely to be touched anyway.

This is a good reminder that the famous "August Winds" do not just blow in August. In 2006 I wrote about them on 11 July.

Last night's winds equate to Force 10 on the Beaufort Scale: Technically, a "Storm" which is two steps up from a "Gale" (techo speak is different from our general usage of those words.

10

Storm

48-55 knots

Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage.

Our local reports fit their description perfectly.

A friendly "Snout Moth"

Several days ago I had an unusual visitor in my kitchen.
It was a strange looking moth, with a large "snout", and densely hairy body, and a strongly "upright" stance.

Note the long legs and upright stance of this moth.
Its antenna is visible clearly, held close against the body.

I sought assistance from some "Moth-ers" on the "mothing-aus" Yahoo group.
Ian responded, suggesting that my moth was a "Snout Moth" - named for obvious reasons.

Photo of the "snout" from underneath.
One eye is hidden by dense hairs.
The Antennae are held low, close to the body.
The "palpi" are held parallel and together they form the "snout".

The family is known as the Lasiocampidae (in scientific parlance)
According to Wikipedia: "Their common name 'snout moths' comes from their unique protruding mouth parts of some species that resemble a large nose."

The moth was resting on the side of a cut-down plastic drink bottle.

I searched Donald Hobern's Flickr Album of Lepidoptera. Found the appropriate "set" the sub-family - the Lasiocampinae (Australian)
The closest match for my moth (almost a "dead ringer" I would suggest) is Pararguda nasuta.

It is interesting that this moth has ventured out in the famous "August Winds" (which in Robertson blow between June and September). They were blowing on the day I found this moth inside my house. and they are still blowing outside as I write this story.

Some Camellias coming into flower

These are just a few of my Camellias which are coming into flower about now. One in fact has been flowering for several weeks, but the weather has not been suitable for good flowers.

To clarify, I should mention that I have many of the autumn and winter-flowering "Sasanqua" or "Hiemalis" varieties of Camellias, but while I love them, i do not regard them with the same affection as the "Williamsii Hybrids" and other more classic large-flowered Camellias. One of the problems with names of Camellias is that they are super-fertile (in general) and so chance seedlings arise, and nobody can be totally sure of their parentage (and hence which "group" to place them in.

This is one of my all-time favourites - "Bryan"
It is a Camellia williamsii x reticulata hybrid.
I grew this plant or another very similar to it in Canberra.

The weather has not been kind to Camellias this year. Yesterday, I decided to take my chances, in case I should miss out completely on recording some of these plants in flower. That was because of the horrendous "August Winds" which blew on schedule this year (unlike previous years).

I believe this to be E.G. Waterhouse,
but I am not quite sure yet.
I want to see several flowers open fully before I am positive.
This is a lovely petite flower with a delicate "picotee" edge
Yet another Camellia with the distinctive "fuchsine" colour
which is typical of the "Williamsii Hybrids" group of Camellias.
This is a lovely delicate flower.
That flower (above) is quite small,
but not as tiny as many of the other "species" Camellias
such as those descended from C. rosaflora.

By contrast, this is a veritable "monster" of a flower.
The flowers are at least 6 inches across, some may be more.
It is my only true C. reticulata.
The leaves are nearly twice the size
of "normal Camellias" (the classic "Japonicas").
I bought it as a "seedling" of Dr Clifford Parks.
But the true Camellia "Dr Clifford Parks" is said to be a sterile plant
So who knows?
I am prepared to grow it to see how it survives the winds of Robertson.

Many are obviously heavily in bud, and will probably flower for several weeks, but others are less certain, especially those which I moved this year because of the house renovations work which is going on. Those plants were pruned heavily to help them survive the move, and in some cases I only left a few buds on, for them to just "prove" themselves.

Wind, wind, wind - and more to come.

The wind outside my window has been howling, like a train going past, for days. I am sick of the noise, and the bad psychological effects which wind has on me. I get edgy, irritable, and a little bit scared. Fortunately I have had tree branches trimmed away from the house. Given our high rainfall and rich soil, even sapling Wattle trees reach my roof height in 3 years. I do not have large trees planted close to the house which are likely to cause problems, but it is the noise of the branches scratching against the windows and the gutters which I do not like.

Here is the Bureau of Meteorology's official weather warning for coastal NSW for this afternoon and this evening. You will recall that Robertson is sitting directly on top of the Illawarra Escarpment, at approx 750 metres above sea level, so we cop all these supposedly "coastal" winds. This photo is taken overlooking Macquarie Pass - from just 5 Km east of Robertson. It shows Lake Illawarra and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Although taken late one peaceful afternoon, the point is to show our proximity to the coast, and our exposure to "coastal" weather when warnings are relevant, as is the case tonight.
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
New South Wales

Coastal Waters Wind Warning
For NSW Waters South of Port Macquarie
Issued at 4:10 pm EST on Thursday 14 August 2008

Synoptic situation
Vigorous southwesterly airflow over southwestern Tasman Sea with embedded cold fronts is expected to persist until Sunday.

Gale Warning
For the South Coast, from Gabo Island to Montague Island

W/SW wind 25/33 knots, reaching 34/40 knots chiefly offshore. Sea around 3 metres, reaching 4 metres offshore. S'ly swell increasing to about 3 metres.

Strong Wind Warning
For the Mid North Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, South Coast, from Port Macquarie to Montague Island

W/SW wind reaching 25/33 knots Sea rising 2 to 3 metres. S'ly Swell to 3.5 metres.

The next warning will be issued by 11 pm EST Thursday.

Please be aware
Wind gusts can be a further 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height.

Here is the Weather Chart for Thursday evening 14.8.08 at 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time. It clearly shows closely aligned barometric readings in the form of closely set parallel lines. With a low to the east of us (with winds circulating in a clockwise pattern), and a high to the west (with winds circulating in a anti-clockwise pattern), those two systems combine to push a huge volume of air, in a north-westerly direction, from the Antarctic region, well to the south of Australia, right up the length of the NSW coast, bringing about cold winds right up into Queensland.

And this is the four day prognosis - in chart form.
The winds should start to ease on Sunday night. If these are the famous "August winds" then I am sick of them. We all know that, in Robertson, they blow from May to December, but that's another story.

The mighty August Winds are on schedule.

Robertson nearly blew away last night.

Regular readers will realise that the occasional references to the "August Winds" are something of an on-going Robertson joke. The "August Winds" can blow any time from May to December. Last night, they blew on schedule. That's pretty unusual - really!

Our winds were classed officially as "gale force" which is pretty exciting. It is a relatively rare event, to be officially described as such. It equates to Force 8 on the Beaufort Scale, with wind speeds between 63 - 75 Km/h or between 34 - 40 Knots.

Fortunately, we survived this, without any power outages.

Macquarie Pass was blocked by a fallen tree overnight, but that's not surprising, given the huge trees which line that famous mountain pass, down the Illawarra Escarpment. The Illawarra suffered considerable power outages, but they are not as used to wind as we are, and so perhaps their trees are less adapted to excessive wind.

Anyway, this afternoon, the weather broke enough to allow Dorothy and Jasmine to take a few minutes off to test out the wonderful new park bench which has been installed by the local community group, beside the Big Potato. Allan Hollis and Paul, our Village Postmaster, had fixed the new table and bench seats into position yesterday. They assured me they are fixed onto several reinforced slabs of concrete which are deeply buried. And anyway, the table itself required the use of Nat Waters's backhoe to move it - it is that heavy. Lets hope it survives the attention of vandals.Talking of which, persons who know me may be shocked to learn that I used the "F... Word" to day, in public, and at full volume. Something like "Hey You ... Get the F... out of there!" was heard to echo up and down Hoddle Street. I did it with deliberate intent, for I was ordering off a car load of what were once known as "callow youths". They had got out of their car, and run around to the back of the "Big Spud", and were proceeding to try to kick in the walls which Allan had put up, just a few weeks ago, to close off the original doorways - which had long since been vandalised.

When the doors at the back of the Big Spud were open, it allowed all sorts of vandalism to occur, and other illegal and illicit activities to occur inside. That was why the whole thing was a concern to the Chamber of Commerce, and many other local residents. That's precisely why the refurbishment of the Big Spud has been undertaken.

But even I (who am not easily shocked) was stunned to see these little idiots trying to kick in the new panels - in full daylight, and in full view of a group of other people. Fortunately Allan appears to have done a good job of reinforcing the concrete and mesh which he used to close off the original doorways.Allan Hollis closing over the original doorways in the Big Potato on 14 July 2008. Fortunately he has applied a number of very thick layers of render, over a solid and reinforced base structure. This wall panel withstood its first attack, today (with a little help from the "F... Word").

Huge, screaming "Westerlies" are blowing.

Here is what the weather chart looks like, as I write.
Most unusual. Lows south of the continent are linking up together, driving westerly winds directly across the country.

A far more normal pattern would be a low off the east coast, with a high somewhere in the Great Australian Bight, and winds flow from the high pressure cell to the low pressure cell.

But, while we often talk about the "August Winds" in Robertson, this is pretty exceptional. The wind was blowing early in the week, dropped a little on Wednesday, picked up again on Thursday, and today it has been howling. Last time I wrote exclusively about the "August Winds", was last year, on July 11 (ever so slightly un-seasonal, but self-consciously so).

Kim was going to come over here this morning, to give me a helping hand in the garden. But when we spoke in the morning, by phone, she commented that the wind would "blow the dog off the chain". A lovely piece of rural Australiana, that expression ***. Needless to say, we did not do the gardening (spraying). That's on hold for next week, now.

The winds are screaming outside the house. Fortunately, the trees have already been trimmed back, so little damage has occurred - the bulk of the wind damage having occurred already, several weeks ago. But it is hard to credit how unpleasant it is being out in the winds, even for a few minutes. Car doors slam shut, when you open them. Hats? Forget them. Put your head down and scurry for the door - and stay inside.

*** The following is an extract from a website for "Kang guru - Radio English" (a program apparently funded by AusAid, for people wishing to familiarise themselves with Aussie Spoken English.

"Please note: If you like idioms be sure to listen to KGRE. The radio program averages 10 ‘new’ idioms every month - a great way to learn them easily.

The first one - it is so windy it would blow the dog of a chain.

"Last night there was a terrible storm. The wind was so strong it would have blown the dog right off the chain".

Think about this! If a dog is chained up and the wind is so strong that it breaks the chain and the dog goes free then we know the wind must have been very strong. This is highly unlikely of course, but idioms do not always make too much sense."

The Nature of the "August winds"

The August Winds are blowing.

Local opinion in Robertson has it that the "August Winds" might blow from July right through October. In that case, the word "August" should be interpreted as the classical adjective, not a seasonal (or monthly) descriptor.

The Macquarie Dictionary says: "august - adjective - dignified and imposing, calling forth the utmost respect; grand; majestic."

There is nothing dignified about holding one's hat onto one's bald head, I can assure you.


However, I can accept the "utmost respect" part of the definition. Certainly, in windy conditions such as today, it is appropriate to watch out for fallen tree branches, as one drives the country roads of the district.

I have not noticed whole trees down, just yet - that usually happens when these winds coincide with rain, which softens the soil, and loosens the roots.

Astute observers will note that these are Eucalypt trees, not Robertson's rainforest trees. Rainforest trees are mostly denser in their foliage, and greener in their colour. The crown of Eucalypt trees tend to be open, allowing wind to pass through easily. The young tree in the top image shows that characteristic well. The second tree has been pruned, and these branches are re-growth.

Today's images come from Welby, the very early settlement near Mittagong. It happens to be where the Road Transport Authority has its Southern Highlands office, where I had to go today to register my car.