Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Jupiter on July 24, 2015, 12:54:59 AM
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I thought I'd shre a few images I took at a favourite place of mine near Adelaide. it's a bit of a well kept secret, not many South Australians know about it which is surprising but not a bad thing either. I know people here appreciate nice stone and the granite there is breathtakingly beautiful.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/263/19767036299_209b505338_c.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/469/19765670758_c99eb9008d_c.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3826/19767032769_74b20437ba_c.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/543/19767030659_27e13024fa_c.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/309/19767040609_7344aa80bd_c.jpg)
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An extraordinary place Jamus and love that granite, reminiscent of coastal Nova Scotia without the fog.
johnw
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Nice photo John, looks very much like a lot of our coast in South Australia which is dominated by granite outcrops. Reedy Creek is far from the sea but the same lovely weathered stone.
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Jamus,
From your photographs, I can see that indeed Reedy Creek is a special place. There are very few trees, is this how it is naturally? Here in the Central Valley of California (extremely long, hot and dry summers) there are many native trees (mostly oaks, cottonwoods, and willows) near any sort of year round water source. Before modern human development the Central Valley had open plains (full of herds: deer, elk, prong horn, brown bears, etc.), oak savannah, riparian habitats near rivers, and huge marshes such as the Butte Sink (full of migrating birds in the fall and winter).
What beautiful country. Makes me want to get out and explorer the area!
I hope that this site is not far from your home and you can visit often. What a place to meditate and enjoy!
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Hi Robert, it's about an hour and a half drive East of where I live so we don't get out there all that often. My daughter Isabel who you see in some of the pictures has developed a passion for rocks, minerals and crystals, so I took her there to hunt for gems. There are pretty little garnets in the creek if you sit and sift through the sand and gravel.
The lack of trees is very unnatural I'm afraid. It was clear felled for grazing over a hundred years ago and running sheep on the country prevents the return of the natural vegetation. There are some lovely big river red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the creek and the odd sheoak (Allocasuarina sp.)
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Jamus,
Thank you for the species names on the trees! I am familiar with Casuarina (as I remember, stricta), Sheoak. It was once widely planted here in California and there are some large trees still around. Allocasuarina is new to me.
What a wonderful place to take your daughter. Too bad that it so far from your home. Despite the changes it still seems like a fantastic place to visit.
Most of the great oak forest and native bunch grass prairie in our Central Valley are gone too. Even the remnants, that are now protected are highly degraded. The herds of elk and deer are gone (a few are still around). The brown bear, on our state flag, is extinct in California. Prong horn are extinct from the valley, however there are still some in far Northeastern California. Most of the Butte Sink has been drained and is now farmland (mostly rice), however there are 2 wildlife refuges in this area for the migrating birds.
Yes, sadly it is just how it is. :'( However it is very good that there are still places that our young people can go that are open and still have a part of nature. :)
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Jamus,
be careful! One of my daughters also took a fancy for minerals, stones and rocks and now she is studying them wholetime ;)
A lovely place :) Is the rock shaped by running water alone or has the place once been glaciated?
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That's a good question Hoy, I really don't know but there is evidence to be seen of glaciation in South Australia here, so it's possible both actions were at work...
Here are a few native plants I photographed on the day.
[attach=1]
Linum marginale is our native flax
[attach=2]
Glycine clandestina, the twining glycine
[attach=3]
The blanket fern, Pleurosorus rutifolius is quite rare and it's always nice to find a plant tucked into a rock crevice
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At the coast not far from us here you can see signs of glaciation on this exposed rock shelf on the clifftop.
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I just read about Selwyn Rock, Inman Valley, which is south of you? That cliff also shows glacial striation similar to your last picture. Clearly evidences of glaciation!
I like that fern :)
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Yes it's a beauty Hoy. I have a little one in my rock garden which I found in an old quarry. It wasn't in a native vegetation setting so I don't feel bad for relocating it to my place. ::)
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I have always meant to visit Reedy Creek as I have heard that it is stunning - especially when the waterfall is falling. I could just walk some of the creeks near here and see some lovely scenery.
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I just read about Selwyn Rock, Inman Valley, which is south of you? That cliff also shows glacial striation similar to your last picture. Clearly evidences of glaciation!
I like that fern :)
Trond,
How did you find out about these locations? Selwyn Rock, Inman Valley ???
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Trond,
How did you find out about these locations? Selwyn Rock, Inman Valley ???
Robert,
It was easy, I just looked for 'glacial striation' and Australia ;)
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Hi Pat, if you ever want a guide please contact me. I'd be very happy to meet you there and show you the sights.
Robert the internet has answers to many questions, the trouble is knowing which questions to ask it!
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Robert,
It was easy, I just looked for 'glacial striation' and Australia ;)
Hi Pat, if you ever want a guide please contact me. I'd be very happy to meet you there and show you the sights.
Robert the internet has answers to many questions, the trouble is knowing which questions to ask it!
I guess that I am still too old fashion.
For me, sometimes going beyond the rock garden forum on the internet is like having to deal with HAL, as in 2001 A Space Odyssey. ??? :) Maybe not so easy, and yes, what is THE right question.
I personally like to learn about and know from a forumist their first hand impressions of their own homelands. For me it makes learning more vital and real, however there is a place for everything. :)
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Robert - I think you've got it right :) You have to meet the Internet with quite a lot of knowledge already to get the best of it, and then it is really illuminating, but in the same way that books and words can be - they delve deep! Tasmania has some incredible examples of glaciation - particularly the Western Arthurs, a whole chain of narrow ridges and small lakes - so different to the ancient heart of Australia. (I have a superb book detailing the the Tasmanian Wilderness - 'The South West Book', published by the Australian Conservation Foundation in 1979, which describes its natural and human history, and asks questions about its future - apposite in view of the over exploitation of resources which hydroelectric schemes and forestry practices have demonstrated in the last few decades, leading eventually to 'common' sense reasserting itself).
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Tim,
Thank you for the recommendation of your book! I will check our public library to see if I can get a copy. This is the type of book that I find most fascinating! :) :) :)
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Open a google window and enter this sentence in the search field.
Is there evidence of glaciation in South Australia?
Ask and you sHALl receive!
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Jamus,
What an eye opener for me! :o
I clearly live in some old out-dated world. HAL did not bite me and there was some interesting information on glaciation and geology in Australia.
Sadly, I am not sure that I am comfortable with all aspects of the modern world. My mind drifts off to the wilderness and wild place where I feel alive and real. Even 40 years ago this is how it has been for me....always off in the mountains.
Well I guess that it does not hurt to learn something about modern times. Charlie Chaplin certainly had his ideas about "Modern Times".
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Robert,
It never hurts to have knowledge - it may hurt to acquire it though ;D
And knowledge don't weight much either.
But to be serious - I try to find a key word, maybe two or three, and google. Usually something useful pops up.
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Robert,
It never hurts to have knowledge - it may hurt to acquire it though ;D
And knowledge don't weight much either.
But to be serious - I try to find a key word, maybe two or three, and google. Usually something useful pops up.
Trond,
Thank you for the useful information on how to use google.
Sadly I have to admit that I have very little trust of American corporations, especially google, and am too often reluctant to use their products. My personal perception of google is similar to that of HAL: an out of control machine that is willing to engage in any sort of nefarious activity. In the case of google this is the use of nefarious activities in the pursuit of profits. Here in America we see American corporations justify almost anything. A far as I can tell, too many American corporations appear completely amoral. Here in America, everyday I have to deal with deceptive and high pressure advertising for things I do not want, monopoly price gouging (AT&T our only phone service), and the general obsession with ever increasing profits and growth at any cost. All of this seems hurtful to me, or at least I feel hurt. I suppose if this is what folks want it is none of my business and like Lao Tsu I can get on my donkey and ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately for people like me there are few alternatives or places to go. For the most part, at this time, I use our public library for information and avoid google as much as possible. This is my choice and others make other choices, which is completely okay. Being judgemental of others is something else I am much better off avoiding.
Now it might be a good idea to get back to subject of plants. :) I am very hopeful that Wednesday will be my next outing, however with caring giving this may not work out. We shall see.
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OK, Robert, I do understand what you mean.
In fact I do like books and have several yards of my shelves filled with them at home :)
Looking forward to the next days!
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Trond,
One last point.
I greatly appreciate your tips on how to best use google for searching the internet. There is a place for everything and even I will use google at times.
I did get cross-threaded when I signed up for gmail. If I had a better understanding of google from the beginning I could have made better, more informed choices. I signed up for gmail without fully understanding what it was all about. If I knew what I know now, maybe I might have done something different. However, as I now understand google, another choice might not have made any difference at all. At this point I kinda' give up as I realize, for me, this is something that is in the hands of GOD now. In this regard, I feel like the Buddha before (way, way before!) he became enlightened. I may study SPIRIT, but the truth is I know nothing about SPIRIT at all.
The short of it is that I appreciate your efforts to help me out with the internet searching. :)
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Robert,
I use searching engines a lot, also in my work, and have never had any bad events. However, I have learnt to be very carful what to open :) You can't trust everything you read either :(
At home I get internet connection (incl TV, radio, telephone) through my power supplier. I can freely choose other providers but it is easy this way.