Gum nuts and buds

My plan today was to return to the Brownhill Creek Conservation Park and see what I could find, either insect or plant - or maybe some surprise. First of all I noted 3 guys putting up a banner between gum trees saying No Brownhill Creek Dam! So we stopped the car and I took a number of shots of the men at work.

The local council wants to destroy the valley by putting a dam across it to prevent a one in five hundred years flood, lower down-stream! At this moment the creek is a trickle less than one metre wide! Next month it will be totally dry, so this is a joke!

This controversy regarding a possible Brownhill Creek Dam has been going on for about 18 months. However such a dam on the Brownhill Creek will not prevent flooding from short, high intensity rainfall over the greater urban catchment area.

It would only be a partial fix as much more needs to be planned and done to prevent suburban flooding further into the city from this point on the edge of Mitcham. Naturally Paladian and I have signed the petition against any such dam.

Instead I am blipping some gum nuts, as they were far more interesting than a sign between two trees! In a way these gum nuts follows on from my acorns yesterday. The tree is about to come into flower so I managed to find gum nuts and buds side by side for this blip, see much nicer in LARGE.

This wonderful old gum (Corymbia ficifolia) is also known as the Albany red flowering gum (previously known as Eucalyptus ficifolia), and is one of the most commonly planted ornamental trees in the broader eucalyptus family. Originally a native from Western Australia this tree has been very widely planted in South Australia for many years.

These specimens along Brown Hill Creek are quite old, and provide food for the many nectar feeding birds and insects of the park. In a couple of weeks this particular tree will be a blaze of colour. Maybe worth a return visit?
You can read more about the proposed dam here!