Van Stadens 2013.08.07

Really too tired to be blogging but if I don’t it will lose its immediacy so here goes.

After the weekend’s hike up Ladyslipper with 17 people it was back to business today. It had rained during the night which made it impossible to start with varnishing the picnic tables so instead we started with the entrance circle. First we collected some more aloes in the nursery and proceeded to plant them on our ‘aloe heap’. Pottaman had brought more soil so we had plenty to work with and Ellie started on the Pellie patch extension while I did more rock work.

After tea we had a short interlude when we accompanied Jenny to the main picnic site to decide on locations for new trees. We noticed that the trees which were planted some years ago are not doing well at all so it will be important to prepare the holes correctly with lots of compost. The only trees that thrive are the bluegums. We chatted to a few visitors who were a bit over the top with their praise for our efforts, still nice to hear though.

Neil arrived and we returned to the entrance circle. It was a big help to have him planting more things and we made great progress.

After lunch the tables had dried out enough to go and give ‘Gwen’s’ table a final coat and the repaired table a second while I looked how to repair the seat on the ‘skedonk’ table. While Ellie was waving the brush I put up various cycling signs and we continued with that after she was finished until it was time for a short breather walk through the arboretum.

We were pleased to see a sunbird busy with its nest. Not easy to spot against the darkening sky.

It was also interesting to see an aphid farm near the nookie. First impulse is to spray it but of course we should let nature take its course.

Our last observation in the arboretum was that the veltheimas do a lot better there than in the rest of the reserve, reason to plant a lot more once they have died back in our garden.

Back to the Fovs room to collect some poles so I can plane a flat piece on them for signs and also to pick up a few more plants to dig into the entrance circle on our way out.

All in all another good day at the office.