From: James.Bannan@f369.n633.z3.fidonet.org (James Bannan)
Newsgroups: k12.sys.channel9
Subject: GEW Diary 13 Decenber 1993
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 19:05:16 PDT
Organization: FidoNet node 3:633/369 - City Limits BBS, Boronia Vic

Hi everyone,  Ithought I was going to take next year off work and
play Mr Mom with my little Emily, but alas, as life would have it
there are always difficulties to be conquered so in the words of the
Snow White's little friends the Seven Dwarfs, "  I owe, I owe so off
to work I go!!".  I have founf out that I will be teaching Grade 1
next year (Victorian School year in Australia starts Jan 25th 1993)
so expect some messages from my little mates.  For those who think my
spelling is a bit ordinary, you will soon see where I get it from.
 Merry Christmas - and past around another piece of plum pudding
 please.....
....
DATE:  13 December 1993
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GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT WATCH
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Global Environment Watch was conceived to link teachers and children around the world to share their experiences and observations of the environment immediately around them.
It doesn't require anyone to be an expert, just prepared to write what they see.
The more we share the more we come to know about the global village of planet earth.
You may find things very similar or very different, or you may just find out more about where you live.  Whatever it is, share it with the rest of us.
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Channel 9 is being used till the end of March.  Please place your messages relating to the GEW in Channel 9.
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PROJECT FOR DECEMBER
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What things do you find in your environment that are associated with Christmas.
For example - Santa and his reindeer, Pine trees for the Christmas tree; Special Christmas Receipes (my Mother-in-Law makes a great (and fattening) Christmas ice-cream); bugs associated with Christams names (we have one here called the Christmas Beetle).  What can you find that you use or observe from your environment only at Christmas time?
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LOCATION
Suburb of Ringwood; City of Melbourne; State of Victoria; Australia
Latitude: 37o 47 ' South.   Longitude 145o14' East
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STUDY AREA
My backyard and Ringwood Lake.
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THE WEATHER
Is it my imagination or is the world experiencing extremes in the weather at the moment?  We have had are second wettest spring (Sept, Oct and Nov) period since records have been kept.  This has been great for growing crops and grass for hay but now their is a mild panic about the fire hazard for the coming summer.  Bit of catch 22 at the moment, farmers and other people want to cut their grass before it dries off too much and becomes a fire hazard but it has been too wet to dry it enough to get the hay in

 or machinery onto paddocks to slash.
One day my place is suffering a down pour, next we are suffering from the heat.  It has been 33 degrees here two days ago, if it was Fahrenheit it would be almost freezing, but in Centigrade that we measure in here it is quite a swelter.  As a thumb rule we double the number and add 30 to convert to approximate Fahrenheit figures (or subtract 30 and halve to go the other way).  Today it is still in the high 20's oC but there have been some showers in the afternoon (should have grabbed some soap and had a w

ash!!!!).  At least my new vegie patch will get a water.
THE PLANTS
I have just started a vegetable garden.  It isn't very big but for a couple of people you don't need a lot.  I noticed when I was buying the seeds that there was a picture of Australia on the back of the packet and suggested planting periods.  The farther you move north the less critical the planting period became.  In the northern reaches of Australia in the tropical regions many of the vegetables can be planted all year round.  Down south in the more temperate areas where I live September to November see

m to be the most prominent time for planting.  I have planted some tomates, beans, corn, capsicum, silverbeet and a few other bits and pieces.  Next thing I will have to watch out for are the snails and slugs so as to stop them eating the young shoots.
My apples are averaging around 3 centimetres now.  I have noticed three main infestations on the apples although it doesn't appear too bad at the moment.  Codling moths have affected  anumber of the young apples with the grubs chewing through to the centre.  I cut one open and found a grub had devoured a seed in the centre.  Some blackish spots were on the odd apple, maybe a fungus or bacteria.  Once before I saw something like this and couldn't work out why the black spots only affected one side of the tr

ee until I saw the neighbour burning off some material one day.  The hot ashes had floated over the fence. There have also been some grouping  of tiny long white eggs on the surface, about 8 in a cluster and about 1.5 mm long.  I brough some inside to look at and the heat inside the house helped the eggs to hatch.  The little insects that emerged had some dark markings but I don't recognise the bugs.  I put some leaves in to see if the attck the apple or the leaves.  I may have to look at other apples on t

he tree to see what damage they do.
THE BIRDS
After living here for a decade, a bird has nested in the apple tree. I only noticed it because I was in the back yard and saw the dog chasing the bird into the tree.  Normally the birds would fly out again but this one didn't and the dog just sat under the tree looking up.  I went and had a look and there it was nesting.  I am not too sure what it is but it is most likely a blackbird but I will have to check this out.  The ravens, noisy miners and red wattlebirds are still chasing each other around the pla

ce.
THE ANIMALS
Saw a ring tail possum a feww doors down from my place on a power line.  I hope it stays a few doors down because they can be quite noisy if they get into your roof. When they apples on the tree ripen I am certain it will come and pay a visit.
THE MINI-BEASTS
I have some old carpet down in the back yard.  It doesn't take long for a little neighbourhood of bugs to move in.  Generally springtails, butcher boys (little armour bugs something like slaters but can roll themselves up into a protective ball of armour), worms and slugs seem to move in first.  Later I might find the odd centipede and millipede ( I wonder how they know which leg to move first?).  There have been two types of worms, a smaller variety about 50mm long and  3 mm thick and a larger less common

 worm about 150 mm long and  8 mm thick.
Besides the bugs I mentioned in the apple tree I noticed a spider had also taken up residence using the curl of a leaf to fashion a net and home.  It had already caught a fly.
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Tomorrow I think I will put up my Christmas Tree.  I recycle a plastic tree, saves on timber but not on the plastic chemicals. Can't really win with that one.
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Merry Christmas    Jimbo Down Under.


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