Yesterday was my 9 month anniversary of moving here and today I celebrate 46 years since I left England to become a Kiwi. Both of them are significant chapters in my life and a chance to take a different path. I would have missed out on so much if I had kept in my comfort zone!
Work is going well; a nice mixture of weeding and VC work. Last week I had a taste of
Selaginella kraussiana (African club moss) eradication. When I did my NZ Native Plants course my first assignment was to identify plants/trees in a patch of native bush and it came as a shock to discover that the moss that carpeted the area wasn't a native. Unfortunately, Selaginella has invaded the residential area here and DOC is working hard to try and eradicate it before it spreads into the Rakiura National Park.
 |
Selaginella kraussiana close-up above
and how quickly it spreads below |
Eradicating this moss means getting down on hands and knees and treating every wee dot of this invasive weed. It spreads via spores and stem fragments so could easily be transferred from residential sections to the bush. The weeds team have to spray the soles of their boots before leaving the section but I wonder if I've inadvertently spread it before I started on the weeds team. We spray it with an organic weedkiller but apparently vinegar works too. Read here for more information
http://www.weedbusters.co.nz/weed_info/detail.asp?WeedID=44
I've been attacking the weeds on my patch as well; I reckon if I take out all the flowering weeds then at least I will have less seedlings coming up - or that's the plan anyway! I've removed some extra large gorse and broom 'trees' and have another half dozen to go before there's no sign of weed flowers. Well, for a few days anyway!
Whilst I'm on the subject of pests, here's a different ratty that was caught on my Deep Bay ratline at the weekend.
 |
| Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) - also called brown, sewer or water rat |
The identifying feature is that the length of tail is shorter than its body. This is the rat species that invaded Ulva Island last year - preliminary reports after the two poison drops in August and September are very promising with no rats caught or tracked. Fingers crossed that this will continue so that the island can be declared predator-free again.
I'm still raving on about Spring down here - lovely to see masses of
Tātarāmoa blossom, more commonly known as bush lawyer (
Rubus cissoides) and Puawhananga, the native clematis (
Clematis paniculata). I took my camera at the weekend and grabbed these pics...
 |
| Red kākā beak (Clianthus puniceus) |
 |
| Tātarāmoa just starting to flower |
 |
| Puawhananga |
 |
| Puawhananga buds |
 |
| Kereru (Native pigeon) |
To finish off, here's a couple of photos of the village; SIRCET (Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Environment Trust) re-opened their environment centre on Saturday afternoon - they have some fabulous information panels to show visitors what is being done here. The centre is next to the noticeboard, a very important way to disseminate information for locals!
 |
| Reopening the Rakiura Environment Centre |
 |
| Oban noticeboard |
