After the first Big Rain Sunday Flower Walk

There was more than 80mm in the gauge for this week, so we were interested to see how much erosion might have taken place. In fact, it wasn't bad.

But in the un-burned area, I always stop and look at the Buchu Agathosma crenulata. The tiny flowers are beautiful and difficult to photograph with my little camera. There are many seedlings coming up around it, so I'm very careful where I tread!

Buchu Agathosma crenulata flower

The Gladiolus carneus I have marked with logs have been chewed off short. There are rabbit tracks around, I hope they will flourish like they did last year!

Gladiolus carneus (we think!)

What little colour there is at the moment is supplied by Oxalis. Mostly yellow where we walked today.

Yellow Oxalis

The rain doesn't seem to have washed much sand down, but certainly there's a lot of ash in the run-offs on the road.

Ash being washed down, but little sand

We're still intrigued by the different leaves on the Wachendorfias. These growing flat on the ground make amazing patterns!

Why is this Wachendorfia growing like this? 

These are the familiar ones, Wachendorfia paniculata:

This is the Wachendorfia paniculata we know

There really is a lot of green in places! These are Lanaria lanata and bulbs; we're still hoping that some are Tritoniopsis.

Lots of green! Lanaria lanata and bulbs

Might this be Rhus/Searsia coming up, with ribbed leaves in threes?

What is this?

Interesting to see Ladybirds again; we know where they breed, we must go and look!

Ladybird

Agapanthus walshii, recovering well!

Agapanthus walshii, growing well! 

We think these are Five-toothed Baboon Cabbage Othonna quinquedentata. The notches on the leaves are easy to pick out. This one has started to grow upwards.

Five toothed Baboon Cabbage Othonna quinquedentata

We were particularly looking for these tiny plants:

What is this tiny plant?

From the side:

From the side

We've marked them, and we'll go back and see what they turn into! Any ideas?

Just then, Jane came riding by on her Appaloosa on the edge of the burned veld ......

Jane on her Appaloosa

On the way back in the orchard, we nearly walked into this! Ever wondered why our tractor drivers attach a vertical wire like a radio aerial to the front of their tractors?

Spider and web

Instead walked along the next row and found this little Ink Cap:

Ink Cap

And that, Dear Readers, is our 100th Flower Walk! :-) A

It takes more than a fire...... Sunday Flower Walk

It's now two and a half weeks since the fire, and the Agapanthus walshi are pushing up already!

Agapanthus walshii coming up!

This was where we found the 20+ flowers recently. There are more in this vicinity breaking through the burned sand:

More Agapanthus walshii!

From a distance the area looks grey but as you come closer, the green patches are more noticeable. Pat confirmed that the tough vee-shaped green leaves coming up are Lanaria lanata, but if there were any doubts, this dispels them; the remains of the flowers are intact:

Lanaria lanata, still with the remains of flowers

The length of the green above the ground is already between 6 and 8 inches on average:

More Lanaria lanata, it's about the most prolific plant showing now.

.... and the base of the shrub on the left is shooting! Here is a Palmiet, shrugging off the effects of the fire:

Palmiet

There are still a few Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa to be seen, some showing a leaf or two:

Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa with leaves

Here is the cone of a Leucadendron of some kind, no doubt Nature has made it spread its seeds after the fire .....

Leucadendron

...... in the same way as this Protea cynaroides, which has just two seeds left to scatter!

Protea cynaroides with two seeds to go!

This plant was astonishing, it is already about two feet tall:

Unknown plant already two feet tall

....... and it's about to flower!

Detail of buds

This grass or Restio is making a remarkable recovery and there was lots of it.

Grass or Restio? 

It seems that termites have survived, there was plenty of evidence of white sand being deposited out of holes like this:

Termite activity

Here is 'our' Erica which we think is E. plukenetii, burned but still recognisable. We'll be watching it closely!

Erica plukenetii(?) burned

This is the stem of the Heeria argentea we found recently. It is tucked well in under the rock, which may well have saved it.

Stem of Heeria argentea under a big rock

..... and surely this Leucadendron has been through more than one fire?

Stem of a Leucadendron, not yesterday's child!

I have taken this photo many times of the Mountain Dahlia Liparia splendens with the Eikenhof Dam and Country Club in the distance. I hope this magnificent specimen survives.

Burned Mountain Dahlia Liparia splendens, a familiar view.

The Pelargoniums are recovering quickly too:

Pelargonium, bouncing bask!

Here's another Agapanthus walshii; you see we know where to look for them!

Another Agapanthus walshii.

.... and this looks like a Wachendorfia paniculata:

Wachendorfia paniculata

We found this, not sure what it is, but it wouldn't stand still in the fresh Northwester, which we hope might bring some rain. We've just had two light showers since the fire.

Unknown plant/bulb?

... even with Pippa holding the stem!

Flower detail, out of focus:-(

Back in the unburned section, the Buchu Agathosma betulina is flowering nicely, and we noticed another 'baby' under it. I'm so glad it didn't burn!

Buchu Agathosma betulina with flowers

I didn't have a memory card in the camera so these were all taken with my phone :-) A

Paradise Lost Sunday Flower Walk!

Fynbos needs fire, but when it comes, it's such a disappointment! On Tuesday morning, it is reported, children who should have been at school (!) at a swimming place lit a fire and it got out of control, leading to huge losses of plantation trees and danger to properties in the area. 

The whole valley had to turn out with bakkie-sakkies on Wednesday afternoon to assist Working on Fire with three Hueys and a Pawnee water-bomber 'plane, Cape Pine and Cape Nature prevent the fire from spreading into Applegarth and the Experimental Farm. I was involved with a tractor and spray machine from 6 pm till 2 am on Tuesday night, watching a back-burn. During the night the wind came up in our direction and the fire jumped the road, so I was helping again from midday to 12 pm on Wednesday, by which time the fire was under control.

At one stage the helicopters were doing 2-minute circuits, from dump to dump, which can be seen in these two you-tubes: http://youtu.be/ChNVF7c7m5c and http://youtu.be/qLvjQGhZkog, dropping 2½ tonnes of water at a time.

The result is devastating:

Looking South towards our farm

We live dead centre, behind the closest orchard. The unburned band is only about 300 metres wide. The unburned part includes the Agathosma betulina we have been watching, with its 'babies' all around:

This Buchu Agathosma betulina and its 'babies' are in the unburned band

But it seems to have just included the pink Gladiolus carneus which we luckily collected seeds from.

Looking Eastwards, to the left of the top picture, one can see how the fire swept through the plantation towards Applegarth and the Experimental Farm. The Country Club is on the left hand edge of the picture:

Fire through the plantation

At one stage on Wednesday the Experimental Farm was seriously threatened:

This is how close the fire got to the Experimental Farm orchards

Further around to the North, there is a fire-truck and Cape Pine staff are still attending to flare-ups on the 'left flank' of the fire:

Northwards

Pippa worked out where to look for this, the Agapanthus walshii with the five flowers on it. We had only last week slipped a stocking over one of them to catch a few seeds.

One of our earliest Agapanthus walshii spots had five flowers

We found another, which bravely held on to its flower, but all the seeds are 'cooked':

Pippa found one with a flower still but the seeds were 'cooked'

This is the magnificent Mimetes cucullatus we have been watching on the top of the hill:

Mimetes cucullatus

But Nature is already reacting, look at this Protea cynaroides:

This Protea cynaroides has distributed all of its seeds

All its seeds have been dispersed! Here are a few still to be released from a flower close by:

There are still some seeds on this one to disperse

Pat has told us that we can wait as little as two weeks for the Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus ventricosa to come up, especially as we had a light shower on Wednesday night. So I went to look at where we have marked the two we have found; the firrst with a ring of stones:

Our ring of stones around a Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa

And lower down the ones on the cycle track:

We know there's a Fire Lily Cyrtanthus ventricosa here on the cycle track

I used the opportunity to shift the cycle track further away from them and pack more rocks around them:

I moved the cycle track away to the right a bit

We were aware of raptors taking advantage of the lack of cover, here a Yellow-billed Kite hovered over us:

Yellow-billed Kite taking advantage of the lack of cover!

On the subject of birds, during the fire on Wednesday afternoon I spotted this bird flying bewildered and agitated in the smoke looking for all the world like a Night-Jar:

Nightjar (?) in the smoke on Wednesday

So we'll be watching and monitoring the return of the Fynbos; Paradise Regained, as Milton reminded us!

At home, the March Lily Amaryllis belladonna flowered a full two weeks early:

Pippa painting the March Lilies Amaryllis belladonna in the garden

:-) A