I start work at 7am on Monday which could be a shock to the system if I put my clock forward on Saturday night. For the last couple of years I've started daylight saving a day earlier than everyone else but never two days like this year. I just need to keep away from my computer and television schedule until Sunday morning.
A few greenhood orchids have made an appearance at last but they have a way to catch up with some spider orchids which are in full flower.
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| Emerging Pterostylis (Greenhood orchid) - 20 September 2015 |
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| Flowering spider orchid |
It's coming up to barberry hunt time; Darwin's barberry was brought to the island by the early settlers but I'm sure they didn't realise how quickly it would become a weed that threatened our native bush. The birds love the berries but then spread the plant throughout the bush where it is flourishing in a wide variety of environments - sunny, shady, wet, dry. In some places it grows so densely that all native growth is suppressed. The Department of Conservation advertises each Spring for temporary field workers to form a barberry team with a long-term aim to eradicate the weed on the island. I've been checking out my section and found a number of small seedlings; it's much easier to spot when it flowers but hopefully I haven't got any plants big enough for that.
The tui are getting more active - here are some feeding on a pussy willow tree down in Halfmoon Bay...
...and a few interesting things that I've come across as I've checked my traps.
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| Slime mould on tree stump |
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| A fly feeding on slime - I wonder if it hatched out of the cases below |
