In search of Paranomus

Goodman told us recently that there is a population of Paranomus on the western Van Stadens mountain range just across the railway bridge, So off we went on a bright and hot Sunday morning to check out the lay of the land. Crossing the railway bridge is always fun and the river bed below with its pools looked more inviting than toiling through the fynbos.

We followed the track below the power lines for a while until we came to a fence and then headed up the slope where there were more Proteaceae.

We then turned back eastwards on a higher line admiring both the excellent views and the quite pristine fynbos. Definitely a place to explore a bit further, perhaps in spring with the Friends.

From a distance we could see that the development at Crossways is making steady progress.

Descending along the gorge we noticed that the alien invasion is creeping in from the edge of the gorge. We shall try at the next forum meeting to get something to be done about that.

Slightly hot and sweaty we got back to the car and the Reserve was beckoning for lunch and the bird hide proved to be the ideal place for that with a slight breeze cooling us down.

In the light of the upcoming planning meeting I nagged about putting some things on paper that we think should or could be done so we walked around and came to the list below. As far as I am concerned this should be done for the entire Reserve as a program for the year for The Friends of Van Stadens group as a whole so we can get other people to adopt certain responsibilities.

Cut down shrub blocking view from the bird hide	?
Varnish steps leading into bird hide	Ellie
Sign for bird hide	Rudi
Mow arboretum paths twice a year	?
Prepare proper planting hole(s) fro Jenny tree	?
Thin out Ericas in tree patch	?
Sort out dead and dangerous Widdringtonias	Rudi
What to do to make Gem attractive	?
Weed and plant mounds	?
Tidy Cycad garden	Ellie
Keep up the Bryophyllum eradication	?
Drip irrigation point bird bath	Rudi

Lastly checked up on the nursery. It was hard to tell with the recent showers if it had been watered too much, the greenhouse was still too wet so I changed it to one cycle per day. We shall see on Wednesday if it made a difference.