Pizzas in the Mists? - ooops - Gorillas in the Swamps

I am able to report that this morning, we briefly had "lumpy rain", at about 5 degrees Celsius. Not quite "mist" but close enough to justify this headline. Visibility 200 metres. Cold and wet. Large diagonal stripes in the image are the wet hail or sleet, or what I call "lumpy rain".
My heading, of course is a pun on the wonderfully named "Pizzas in the Mist" restaurant here in Robertson, and the second bit is a reference to a famous Movie, in case you didn't work that out.

I am indebted to James Woodford's wonderful weekly blog update at "realdirt.com.au" for this advice about an important story about a relatively recently discovered population of Western Lowland Gorillas *** in the Republic of Congo. That country is NOT the much larger and less environmentally safe Democratic Republic of Congo - as is explained by Fran Kelly's guest, who makes a slight correction to her introduction, as you will hear if you follow the link below).

Back in the dark ages (late 1960s) when I was a theological student in Rome, and a room-mate of a young Prince from the Congo (I kid you not) this country was known as Congo Brazzaville, and the other bigger and more dangerous one was called Congo Kinshasa. That latter country became known as Zaire under its tyrannical ruler, President Mobutu, but has since returned to being known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If you read both those two Wikipedia links you will realise that my comment "more dangerous" is a relative term.

By the way, I have not heard of or from my former room-mate, Joseph Nyeme, in 40 years. He did write to me in 1969, from Rome. I fear he has long since been "silenced". I have never done a full Red Cross missing persons search, but he does not appear in any Internet searches which I have conducted.

Anyway, I have digressed.

******

Thanks to James Woodford's blog link taking me to the ABC's Radio National website, I was able to listen to Fran Kelly's interview about the discovery of a colony of some 125,000 Western Lowland Gorillas living in a wet, swampy rainforest. It seems they have survived the "bushmeat" trade, because of the difficulty of accessing their habitat. Long may they remain - safe and wet, in there.

*****

What's in a name?

*** The Western Lowland Gorillas rejoice in the scientific name: "Gorilla gorilla gorilla".
That us scientific jargon for "Watch out: I think there's a Gorilla behind that bush!"

This is more impressive, but no more explanatory than the unimaginative "Rattus rattus" (which you can guess) or my other favourite scientific name, "Crex crex" - the European bird called the "Corn Crake" - a type of marsh bird in the Rail family (can you guess what its call is like?). Those early biologists were not very imaginative in their names.

If you don't know what a Gorilla is, then saying it 3 times doesn't actually explain anything to the unwary naturalist, but, in this case, I can see that it might just add a sense of urgency. Especially if it is said like this:
Gorilla - Gorilla - GORILLA.

The unimaginative scientific names for animals is a theme which Nick Rheinberger has wittily explored in his current article in the local Southern Highlands magazine: "Your Times" published Wednesday 6 August 2008. Have a read - its right at the back of the "Your Times" magazine.

Skyscape from Ocean View (over Macquarie Pass)

Here is a single photo which I took several weeks ago - on a bright morning. Unfortunately, it is not a great photo, for I was trying to photograph a line of clouds - out to sea. They are not clearly visible enough, but the panorama is worth showing - I guess. It pans out to Knights Hill on the right hand (southern) side. Click on the image to see it in larger size.
This was taken on 17 July 2008.

By a strange coincidence, the photo below was taken from the same place, on the afternoon of the same day, one year before. It shows Lake Illawarra and Port Kembla in the distance. The pink sky is what I refer to as a "reverse sunset" - when the sun sets behind you, it pinkens the sky, and then the earth's shadow creates the blue line. I love this sky effect - it is one of the most subtle lighting effects one can see in nature.

High Life in the Chook Yard

Bernie and Dorothy have some chooks which are a constant source of interest (and occasional eggs). Some of the older Chooks will stand for no nonsense. That's fair enough. However, recently, an interloper has fluttered into the stable relationships in the Chook Pen.
This is Jumping Jack Flash. He is so named, because, as a Bantam Rooster, he has to jump around a lot to achieve his amorous ambitions.

Dennis the Chook (NOT named after me, I hasten to add) has been a constant source of amusement. Not know for her egg-laying abilities, she seems to wander around looking "Gorgeous". Apparently, that's enough for her to justify her space in the Chook Yard.

Ruby Red-dress, however, is a stroppy girl.

Here she is seen giving jumping Jack Flash a lesson on who's actually in charge in the Chook Yard. True to form, though, he was back strutting his stuff, just a few moments later.

And then there's Aunty Molly.

This is a name I have introduced myself, in honour of my ancient and formidable Aunt who ran the Mothers' Club at the local church in Surrey Hills, (Melbourne) when I was a child. You can tell by her pose that Aunty Mollie will brook no nonsense. She is turning up late to an event where, clearly she ought have been invited (but wasn't). You can see her rolling up her sleeves, as she hurries in to join in the fracas. Look out, everybody. She packs a mean punch.

Buddy remains aloof from all that aggressive politics, by keeping himself nice, inside.

Our New Doctor for Robertson

Ten days ago I reported that I had heard a rumour about a possible new Doctor for Robertson. Tonight I can confirm that it is true.

Tonight I met our new Doctor for Robertson, Dr Steve McGilvray, and his wife Helen, who is an RN, and is the Practice Manager. They are both very personable, and friendly, which is very nice. They are also both pet lovers, (well Helen might even be a bit of an enthusiast, but that's OK too). I feel they will fit in well in Robbo.

Dr Steve McGilvray (centre) and Helen (on right)

We were at the Fountaindale Grand Manor (the former Ranelagh House) for the Annual General Meeting of the Robertson Chamber of Commerce.

It was a good roll up, which is encouraging, for the Chamber has been only just surviving for some time. We even gained a volunteer as Treasurer of the Chamber, which will be a great relief to Dorothy, who has been doing everything for some months now.

Clr Paul Tuddenham came along, which was nice. This was the first time I have had the chance to speak privately with Paul, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised, and impressed by him. We have crossed swords, metaphorically at several public meetings, but there is always an element of role playing in public meetings. Tonight we spoke at some length about Council issues and, in particular, attempts by the State Government to assume control of the water and sewerage functions of Council. Apparently the Government is wanting to assume control of the revenue flow, and Council is trying to fight them off - partly to protect the revenue base, but also to support local employment. Makes sense to me.

Clr Paul Tuddenham,
Deputy Mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council

Terry Oakes-Ash and his wife were at the meeting, representing the Southern Highlands Business Chamber. Terry made a brief speech supporting the Robertson Chamber of Commerce, and dare I say it, making it clear which groups within Council which he would like to see re-elected, and more importantly, other groups who he would rather not see elected, in the September elections. He also spoke in favour of the Leisure Centre proposal. Dorothy Baker, the President of the Robbo Chamber thanked Terry for his comments, but reminded everybody that the Robertson Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan body, and is not aligned with any political party or electoral grouping.

Its all right, Dorothy. We expect Terry to speak his mind. Anybody who knows Terry Oakes-Ash understands that he is in favour of investment in the Southern Highlands - for the sake of the future of the highlands, and for job creation for the sake of the younger generation. I for one, would prefer a Council which was more sympathetic to the interests of the environment, and parks and open land, rather than more shopping centres and apartment buildings and endless housing estates. But at least Terry is always clear about what he stands for. So, I am sure nobody was upset by Terry's statements. And he has a droll sense of humour as well, which is good.

For the record, local Robertson resident Councillor, Clr Larry Whipper did not attend tonight's meeting, even though it was held in Robertson, hosted by the Robertson Chamber of Commerce. Enough said.

Robert Goldsack spoke about the forthcoming Springtime in Robertson program of events.Cate Hutchinson, who is now working for the Southern Highlands Business Chamber, but who is also a Robertson resident, spoke about the Horse Expo event which she is organising in conjunction with the Springtime in Robertson Festival. I had been a bit sceptical about the reports of the Horse event which I had heard previously, but now that I know Cate is running it, I am confident that it will all come together.
Cate was previously a Small Business Advisory Officer for the Southern Highlands region, employed by the Federal Government, but the program under which she was employed has folded, following the last election. So it is good to see that Cate is now working with the Business Chamber.
It was a very pleasant evening, and typically Robertsonian in its informality. But that's OK with me.

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").

Bird Orchids again

Colin and Mischa came out to the sandstone plateau country of the Budderoo to see the Bird Orchids. According to their sharp eyes, it seems there are many Orchids which should be able to be found there at other seasons - Thelymitra (Sun Orchids), Speculantha (Tiny Greenhoods) and Corunastylis (Midge Orchids).
There were not many Bird Orchids in flower. However, it was great to see areas where the ground was carpeted in leaves.
While some flowers are fully open, many buds were in evidence.
This Bird Orchid is fully open, and the pollinia (pollen grains) had been dislodged by an insect attempting to mate with the flower, in the course of pollinating it. You can see the relatively large golden pollinia lying on the labellum.
We left the Budderoo and went across to Macquarie Pass to see the Pterostylis hildae, which is new to them. Straight away, they settled in to photographing these plants, from all angles. The two lightened "rings" in the image indicate the location of Greenhoods they were each photographing. By contrast, I have to lie down on the ground and get within 4 inches of the flower to capture decent images. Different technologies for different people.
This shot indicates one of the drawbacks of my approach - a leech firmly planted on a wet leaf, is sniffing the air, working out where its prey (me) is.
I put my finger down in front of the leech, and it latched on straight away. I had expected that it would "loop" its way up along my finger. But it did not. I did a bit of a panic, and sought help from Colin to get it off me (because I had my camera in my other hand), before it had time to cut its way into my finger, and inject its anti-coagulant juices. Fortunately, we were fast enough to have avoided it cutting into me.Colin, who claims to have a magnetic force field to attract leeches, then checked his ankles, and had to remove at least one leech. Mischa did the same a little while later.

Myrmechila species - comparisons

Here are some comparative photos of a number of Myrmechila (Chiloglottis) Orchids which were observed on Macquarie Pass today.
It appears that there are two species here - basically one with calli (glands) down to the very tip of the labellum, (Myrmechila formicifera) and one with calli (mostly) restricted to the rear (upper) half of the labellum (Myrmechila trapeziformis)

It is hard to make "hard and fast rules" for these plants, as one (the far right flower) has some tiny "bubbles" on the very tip of the labellum. However, when one looks at these 4 separate flowers, it is apparent that the two on the left have a different shape to the labellum from those on the right, which both clearly have a prominent central point to the labellum, which then curves in slightly, before pointing further out again, on either side.
These slight differences are more obvious if you click on the image to view it a full size. I should warn you that it was drizzling today, and these flowers have rain drops on their labellums, as well as the glands, but once warned, you will work that out easily.

Here are images of three "labellums" of Chiloglottis species. They show the obvious similarities, but the glands (pseudo-insects) are shaped differently having a general heart shape at the apex, whereas the Myrmechila have divergent heads, resembling "bug eyed" creatures. The differences between these plants and the closely related Chiloglottis Orchids is basically that these plants flower in winter and spring, and the others flower in summer and autumn. However, the lateral sepals (called "clubs") in these two species are widely divergent, in a more or less horizontal plane. By contrast, the clubs of the Chiloglottis Orchids photographed in the local area are held low down, under the labellum (and sometimes reflexed). See the various photos of the full flowers of Chiloglottis in this posting from March 2008.