update on the trees

The trees we planted on our visit back last October are surviving, mostly, but with no thanks to the local fauna! I think the fruit trees were the worst hit... they were the biggest so easier to reach over the wire. It was Dave's birthday on Saturday and for his birthday present his Mum & Dad are going to plant a few replacement fruit trees for the few that have died. We've not done too badly though (she says, hastily touching the wooden top of the table) considering they've been for over 5 weeks without rain and watering only every 2 weeks. Just have to hope that the gum trees don't succumb to frost when winter comes, can't be too far off it now there.

Extracts from Mum's email - 24th March 2005
"Up there 1 or 1.15pm. Dad set to showing me the container (very good) and starting to work on the trees, for winter. I went off to visit as pre-arranged a lady on the genie email lists who lives in Carisbrook just the other side of Maryborough. I got back about 5 (having gone to butcher in Carisbrook, he is famous, and the bank and bakery in Maryborough) to water the olive trees and found Dad was only half way along them fixing the enclosures and had done nothing else. Almost all of them have been pruned by eager rabbits possums kangaroos sheep - one or several or all of them. The wire was up six inches from ground in some cases, floppy in others, not joined at the seams in some, bent and bashed, posts bent / knocked over.. so Dad was repairing them and wiring them down and.. he stopped that and went to do some gum trees (ditto for their cages) to let me water. The olives were very thirsty.. and some have the water run off straight away as they were not planted in a little ditch it seems. I ended up putting about 4 taps on on each line and letting them go for ages, very slowly. They got a good drink each I think. We left at 6.30 and had tea at Talbot hotel. Dad thinks - I agree - that as there is no green anywhere apart from the trees where we water, and no rain not a drop even for about 6 weeks up there, that the creatures want something juicy and green and so work harder to reach your trees. Still, all the olive trees are OK and those that have been well pruned are all shooting new growth. The gums look fine as you drive along too but I did not get a closeup look"