​Greetings fellow Foxies,
Despite an exceptionally dry summer and autumn, we have had over 90mm of rain since mid June. If it all soaked in it would wet the soil to at least 2.5 metres. There has been relatively little runoff and I was gobsmacked, and very concerned to find dry soil within 5cm when digging side-drains on a range of soil types on walking trails to reduce erosion. These soils are massively water-repellent.

If the water largely didn’t run away, where did it go? Many of our native plants have excellent strategies for channelling water down their roots, and an experiment I did some years ago showed the importance of obstructing surface water flow to allow time for water to overcome the water repellence. The image below shows a section of water repellent soil where a racehorse goanna had been burrowing for insects in an old root channel. Note how moisture has wet the soil to depth around the root channel.

​I read this great article about the importance of woylies in the regeneration of sandalwood and native poisons. No doubt emus were also important.
​
Woylies and emus have gone from most of our reserves with the only burrowing animals being rabbits, reptiles and  echidnas. This is having a massive impact. Over time as plants die leaving bare ground and roots rot away there is less chance that new plants will replace them unless conditions change.

I commented on  irreversible changes in small reserves previously, and feel sad about the ongoing loss of nesting trees.
When entering Foxes Lair from opposite the caravan park, one can see poorer shrub and wildflower growth on the left side that hasn’t been burnt for over 50 years on the left, compared to vibrant growth on the right where an arsonist burnt about a third of the reserve.
That fire was a real revelation for me, as it triggered orchids I hadn’t previously seen and rejuvenated small bird life such as  quail that hide in dense undergrowth.
The arsonist had several goes in Foxes Lair After a small attempt I noticed a smouldering front moving through the soil under marri that burnt the water repellent organic surface layer to a depth of 3cm, and after the arsonist’s finale the fire continued to burn along underground tree roots for about 3 weeks (lesson here don’t walk through burnt country soon after a fire – your foot can plunge into underground burning root). The images below shows the difference burning made on the Valley Walk.

​What can be realistically done by volunteers and local government in small reserves?
 
Over time I have developed the following achievable strategies in Foxes Lair.

• Proper low intensity mosaic burns, with raking around big standing dead trees that are vital nesting spots. I developed a 10 plus year interval burning program for blocks in the reserve (no luck with implementation so far).
•  When pruning is required or trees fall across tracks etc. prunings are placed on bare areas to help trap water (amazing how quickly the leaves disappear).
• Dig small side drains at short intervals along trails and roads to return water to the bush more evenly.
• Spread soil from these side drains on to bare areas to introduce and retain seed and help water infiltration.
• Control weeds (so many).
• At the rate that large nesting trees are falling over, I reckon that nesting boxes will be needed one day.

I still remember being appalled at the lack of bird diversity when I travelled overland from India to Turkey a lifetime ago. Just sparrows,pigeons, crows and vultures!
​ I would hate Australia to go down that route.

Greetings fellow Foxies,
Visitors to Foxes Lair each summer could be forgiven for thinking that many understorey plants have died, but each winter they burst into life again.
 There are many plant strategies for coping with our seasonal droughts.
Each November, the marri trees drop some leaves to reduce their water use, and orchids survive as twin underground bulbs (‘orchis’ is the Greek word for testicle).
 True specialists are resurrection plants that completely dry out but, become green and active within days of rain. Examples are lichens (OK not plants) and Borya species “Pincushion plants’ on granite rocks (see Borya sphaerocephala on left).

​Many other plants partially shrivel up and change colour to ultraviolet resistant purple, red, and yellow, but remain alive in most seasons. However it takes days for them to recover after rain,  and plants will die in severe droughts.
The compact bush tucker plant Kickbush (Astroloma acervatum) is a common example

​Allocasuarinas (sheoaks and tammars) also markedly change colour as shown in the Dwarf Tammar (Allocasuarina humilis) images from near the Claypit. I noticed that there were colour differences within the plant where some branches were more water stressed than others.
Random comment – why do taxonomists use the Latin word humilis for smaller?
As a person of moderate stature, I regard this as heightist bias, and certainly feel no humility towards my larger brethren (poor souls).

​This interesting extract from a book edited by Professor Hans Lambers is a great read for those wishing to understand more about drought tolerance of our native plants.
 Have you ever wondered why Australia has no cacti and few succulents compared to other countries?
Succulent plants rely on salts in their cells to retain large amounts of water. Their evolution has not been favoured on most of our soils which have formed on very leached and weathered materials, except in saline basins where one finds salt tolerant succulents like Bluebush, Pigface, and Samphire.

​Greetings fellow Foxies,
Over the years, the Claypit has been a labour of love and source of frustration. The reason for the existence of the twin excavations is unknown, with possibilities being a brick clay quarry (unlikely as it is poor quality clay, borrow pit for adjoining Bottle Creek dam or as a soak. The initial name, Beavers Dam was also a mystery until several years after I renamed it Claypit for brevity. Guy Maley told me that he and other kids used to throw sticks in the water, which were were blown by wind into one end to resemble a beaver’s dam.
 Images below show changes from 2011 to 2019

 The Claypit was a favoured place for tadpole collecting, a cycle circuit, trail bike jumps and 4WD enthusiasts. After many years of vandalism, and trail bike and 4WD incursions on walk trails and through the bush, I realised that Foxes Lair would never be a good place for walkers while the Claypit remained a magnet for undesirable activity exponents
Tony and Deb Hughes-Owen donated bridge timbers that were placed by the Central South Naturalist Club to create a picnic area. In a battle of attrition over several years, 4WD drivers would breach the barriers and trash facilities and I would repair them and cart in tonnes of rocks, logs, soil for landscaping, barrier reinforcements, and stepping stones. Images below show a 2016 incident 

​The famous “Claypit Challenge” arose after I scabbed rocks, logs, and limestone blocks from a range of sources to create a stepping stone circuit for the young and young at heart.
Recently the shire’s insurance assessor cast an eye over and (justifiably) insisted that the logs and rocks were a safety hazard and had to go. 

Narrogin shire donated 8 one metre long reconstituted limestone blocks, and will hopefully cut them in half .
 However more blocks are needed. Suitable limestone blocks would be gratefully accepted by yours truly

Greetings fellow Foxies,
This approximately 2000 ha reserve is adjacent to Pauley Road 15 km north-east of Cuballing.
​The unusual shape of the reserve is due to it being a gravelly ridge between Commodine Creek and Hotham River, which remained after adjoining farmers had cleared better quality surrounding land
 In the early 1900’s there were many new settlers clearing land in east Cuballing, particularly given that an east-west railway line was expected to pass through the area.

​A one-teacher transportable school arrived in 1921 but struggled to attract students and closed in 1936.  More information can be found in the book (Numbat Country The story of the shire of Cuballing from earliest times until 1997’ page 129)

Derelict tennis courts of the Commodine Tennis Club are still present on the north-west corner of the reserve. This was a very active club that operated from 1908 to 1991. Numbat Country:  page 166.               

​From Pauley Road the reserve looks like wandoo/salmon gum/ sheoak woodland, but it is much more variable with most being gravels. Purple and red shaded areas are loamy gravels (Red Morrel soil) and Brown Mallet breakaways that are underlain by dolerite type bedrock. On the southern end is also a strip of less common Silver Mallet. These areas have very little understory, but a great bird habitat areas. Red Morrel wood is exceptionally hard, and was used for the axles and spokes of horse/ bullock carts and wagons.
The rest of the reserve underlain by granite bedrock includes sandy and stony gravels, wandoo woodland, and small patches of yellow and white sand.

​Bush adjoining Pauley Road is best for wildflower enthusiasts, with a great display of Fringed Mantis, Cowslip and donkey orchids in the sheoak woodland and lovely everlastings in wandoo open woodland. I thoroughly enjoy driving down the north-west boundary track, and walking through the rest of the reserve. It is quite easy to walk through and the vegetation changes frequently from gravel mallee and ti tree scrub to different woodland types with frequent grass trees. I find the south east corner particularly interesting, but the track there can be difficult due to fallen vegetation.

​Some grass trees have been damaged and killed by Ring Necked parrots and there are active rabbit burrows in sandy spots. This is another example of how difficult it is to manage small reserves to maintain biodiversity

​To summarise: Commodine Nature Reserve is a very pleasant spot for the average tourist to visit in spring for wildflowers and local history, and a good spot for bird enthusiasts.
It is also a good spot for more dedicated bushwalkers and wildflower enthusiasts.