I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

This is a remnant of a time long since passed. Many years before I started at the counsel, the mowing crew boys would work in fixed teams. Now they shuffle the teams around on a fortnightly basis, so everyone gets a chance to work with each other. The Bunker Crew (my crew) and the Bush Care Crew do not do this as we are small, specialised teams to work in specific areas. Back then, when the mowing crew teams were fixed, they would name them alphabetically and they each had their own sheds to store their gear. I guess it was too much of a novelty to pull down the sign on the shed when that system changed to the present one, so it lingers on and the staff still refer to the shed as The A Team Shed.

Popular

This is a bizarre thing that happened to me quite a bit at the beginning of April. Bees kept landing on my shoulder. These are the ones I managed to get photos of. I realise that the flouro colour attracts them and they think Im some kind of massive flower, however it only seemed to be me that they were aiming for. All the outdoor employees have the same uniform, we are all dressed in the same illegally bright yellow clothes. So when i was working in a group I still had bees landing on my shoulder and nobody else had it. It was quite strange, confused all hades out of me and definitely made me smile.

The Nuclear Banana

Rainy days are never particularly fun at work. If something has to be done, then it has to be done, regardless of the weather. Work does kit us out in weather proof gear, and this is essentially what we look like when the heavens open. Flouro, as much as they can paste upon us. Plastic pants, plastic vest (thankfully lined with polar fleece) and a plastic jacket which Im not wearing here. Hell, they even give us flouro beanies which I refuse to wear, thats crossing a line. At any rate, I took this photo of my reflection in the glass doors of the town hall as there are no mirrors at work and Im not particularly good at explaining to my mates what I look like when I have to go the Full Nuclear Banana.

Coffee Anyone?

This picture was taken back in April. We were prepping the gardens in Memorial Park, so it would all look pretty for ANZAC Day. While raking out one of the garden beds near the edge of the park, I noticed an electrical cord dangling out of one of the bushes. Fishing my hands in, I managed to pull out this little machine. It turns out that some little grommet decided that the best place for a coffee machine to live, is in the bushes at the park. How they were going to plug it in I dont know. Guess it gives a whole new meaning to the word 'Power Plant'.

How Regal

There is always a bit of confusion with this plant when you live in a world somewhere between gardening and flower arranging. In the gardening world it goes by the name 'Princess Lily', however in floristry it is known as Alstroemeria (the genus name). They come in a range of colours from reds, yellows, pinks, whites and pale purples. It grows from rhizomatious roots, which are large, swollen stems underneath the soil surface. Ive had problems trying to explain to people, that unless you have the whole root, it wont grow from cutting or just 'pulling out a bit of it'. They tend to run through cycles of looking really good then looking really mediocre (that usually occurs just after flowering). Most Princes Lilys that you see now are extremely hybridized. They cross breed the Brazilian species (which is summer growing) with the Chilean species (which is winter growing), so that the resulting plant flowers and grows almost all year round.

Peace Offering

I apologise for taking so long to write a blog. Ive been going through some rough patches of late. I have also been laid up on workers compensation for the past 2 weeks. Hoping to get back to work soon. Life it seems has been throwing some hurdles at me and I think Im over the worst of them. So with some luck, I'll be blogging again soon

In the mean time, this is an old photo of a rose that grows out the side of the Old School. In floristry, yellow means friendship and pink means innocent/sweet love. So this rose always makes me smile when its in bloom. In another month the roses get pruned, so enjoying the blossoms while they last.

Ask First

"Ever seen a blue bee?". Thats what my coworker said to me the other day and to be honest, the photos really dont do the little guy any justice. In the sunlight he shines a dark metallic blue colour. Even though he is a little beaten up (he must have been caught in the leaf litter while it was being raked out, so he has lost some legs and a wing), he is still quite beautiful. There were a heap of them buzzing around in the skate park in a large group, and I got a little worried. They didnt seem to be building a hive, however we do often get young children at the park on their tricycles, so I didnt want them poking around a potential bee hive. After some research and a quick email to the Agricultural Department, explaining my problem, I now know what this little guy is. He is a type of native bee Leioproctus sp. (Family: Collectidae). That is gibberish to most people, myself is almost included in this bracket. I was not given a common name, but am happy to just call this guy a Native Bee. They are a solitary bee, so they do not build hives. The group of them in the skate park, are essentially a bunch of bachelors, hanging out just waiting for a lovely lady bee to come along (an apparently they are quite beautiful too). So I didnt have play the role of toxic avenger as they will move on as they manage to hook up with a woman bee. The other reason I didnt have to spray, is they are very calm bees. Turns out only the introduced Honey Bee (the one we all know and can recognise), is aggressive and will sting when provoked. Native bees are very placid creatures. Some species dont even have stings at all, the ones that do will only sting under great duress. Hell, this little guy lost a wing and a couple of legs and still didnt attempt to sting anyone. Cool as a cucumber. For a person who is allergic to bee stings, these little guys are pretty epic in my books.