May2013_Mt Mee Ramblings
By Ian Wells
What an extraordinary season – six months without a drop of useful rain followed by months of unremitting downpours. The ground is so greasy on our gentle Kalahari Downs slopes that it is dangerous to go ‘down the paddock’ – with even the tractor sliding sideways on the tracks.. But we will be sticking to that mechanised form of transport – because it is easy to catch and doesn’t need to be vaccinated against Hendra virus!
That prompts the observation that anyone who doesn’t have their horses vaccinated by now must be a helpless gambler – even though the odds are intimidating. And I have little doubt that very soon few vets will be willing to attend unvaccinated horses – on any account! Please get to it!
What a great year for weeds too – plenty of thistles already, an abundance of cobblers pegs and a ubiquitous small leafed creeping plant that smothers out pasture grasses. And then there’s that nasty new thorny pest we call PB – for want of the scientific name. This delightful plant grows to several meters in height and shades out all competition with its huge thorny leaves set on sturdy thorny stems. It quickly produces thickets from the myriad babies springing from its pretty little white flowers.
P stands for ‘prickly’ but B doesn’t stand for ‘bush’!
The talk of the Mountain at the moment is the St Lucia Orchestra’s concert on Sunday May 26th. Read about it elswhere in this edition – and reserve soon, because it will be booked out!
The restoration by Council of our 80 year old Hall continues at a leisurely pace. The inside painting is complete and, at the time of writing, a promising start has been made outside. A surprising number of decayed weatherboards have been very skilfully replaced by the most heavily tattooed carpenter you ever sighted!
In a spot of bright news amongst almost uniformly grey horizons, Hall Committee has been advised that a grant application to fund a solar panel system has been successful. As I write, Committee is still attempting to reassure Council that the roof will not fall in with the new load, and it has been forced to employ an engineer to prepare a site report. In many ways this seems a little pointless, because, almost like a destruction test, the structure of our roof cannot be viewed unless either the ceiling or the roofing iron is removed! BUT…… so be it! Certification will shift any monkey from the backs of council officers to that of the (well insured) engineering firm.
By the way, the 2013 Hall AGM falls on the evening of Wednesday 15th May, and Committee hopes for a huge turn-out of residents to pat it on the back – or to tell it where it has gone wrong!
Please come if you have any interest at all in local affairs – remembering that the Hall organisation is also our de facto residents’ progress association and that it has clout! Remember too that Hall AGMs are mercifully brief – and are invariably followed by supper and a cheering glass of red or white!
A small section of Mountain people is abuzz with the difficult birthing of the Mt Mee District Historical Society. The labour has been prolonged and at times anaesthetic would have been very welcome!
However, the first public meeting will be held in the near future – it is hoped that Dayboro’s inimitable Carmel Bond can be snared as guest speaker and can explain just what a successful historical society should set about doing.
Meanwhile, the new group is setting out to recruit enough new members and friends to give it momentum. Negotiations with Council are under way too, with a view to finding a site for a small museum.
The group is looking for old picture frames for the growing picture collection. Any donation of suitable frames, with or without unwanted pictures, would be more than welcome – please phone Rowena on 5498 2262.
When you are reading this, ANZAC day will be just a memory. As I write, the planning for the Mt Mee dawn service is complete and we just hope for good weather.
Highlights will be our guest speaker, Colonel John Mayer of the US Marines, the contributions by the pupils of Mt Mee School, Vern Duncan with “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”, a keyboard to help us through the hymn and of course the Gunfire Breakfast. Topping it off will be our own warbird flyover, with three or even four ex RAF Chipmunk trainers – in immaculate livery, and a few genuine wartime artifacts including a WW2 Jeep.
More next time.
Finally, please remember that the next round of wild dog baiting in the Mt Mee district begins in the week of 13th May. Mind your own animals.
