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Leigh News Inverleigh Nature Conservation Reserve.

from Leigh News-Inverleigh-February 2023 Edition

from Leigh News-Inverleigh-February 2023 Edition, page 15

Playgroup festive fun for litt...

Friends of Inverleigh Nature Conservation Reserve

The tiny things are important! In the Inverleigh Nature Conservation Reserve all the flowers are tiny, the orchids, the fungi, the bugs are all easy to miss, but are an important part of the ecosystem that exists in this place.

We’d love to see your pictures and hear your stories of some of the tiny things you’ve seen in the Inverleigh Nature Conservation Reserve. The following photos of flowers were taken by Neil Anderton who led our Wildflower Walk last in Spring - Blue Squill, Parrot Pea, Rabbit Ears Orchid and Glycine Labtrobeana. All tiny and hard to spot.

open areas. Grows from a couple of mills across to about 15 mills.

Also a photo of some Yellow Navel or Lichenomphalia chromacea which grows in large patches and feeds on algae, it’s often seen alongside the gravel tracks and in

The Fiddler beetle or Eupoecila australasiae is given its name as the back looks a bit like a violin. It’s about 15- 20 mill in length and lives in Eastern and South Eastern Australia and is found in Eucalypt Woodland - which we’re lucky enough to have some of here. They have been spotted in the reserve mostly between January and March (prime time to go have a look to see if you can spot some in the next month or so).

If you have photos that you’d like to share, please email to becwil@gmail.com thanks!

Being Prepared

Welcome to the new year and a summer that is starting to warm up and dry the landscape out.

A lot of you would have welcomed the new year in to the sounds of the “Beyond the Valley” music festival, whether you were there or not. From all reports the festival went well and there were no incidents of any scale to worry the fire brigade. The Festival organisers gave the fire brigade a generous donation that was much appreciated.

There were a lot of people in the town and traffic on the roads, and I did hear reports the public toilets were overwhelmed, but overall, it went reasonably smoothly. They were quite lucky with the weather as while it was warm, it did not get too hot or windy for them. Apparently, there was a lot of sunburn. The traffic at the closing of the festival was steady and slow and was challenging for some of the patrons with the delays. So it was this last part of the event that caught the attention of some of the talk back radio in the days after the event. Without going into a lot of detail, the general complaints were, it was too hot, too long to get out, running out of fuel, cars overheating, and running out of water to drink.

Now these issues should not come as surprise as it was a large event held in the summertime. The real un- derlying issue is that a lot of people where not prepared for something slightly unexpected.

As firefighters we have seen over the years many instances of people being placed in an unexpected situations with no preparation. A lot of these things are so basic, such as not driving around with your fuel light on when you are not near a service station, make sure you have enough fuel for a reasonable journey, Have a look at your oil and water in your engine, carry a few bottles of water in the car. These simple things could make a big difference to an emergency or evacuation outcome. Make sure on days of fire threat or extreme heat that you have a good amount of fuel and the vehicle is in good condition and leave some water in there as well. Often if you have to move quickly or you are stopped at a roadblock because of a fire, you just don’t have time to get these things.

Lastly I was disappointed to hear a lot of people complain about not being told they needed water and fuel and the like and blaming others for their problems. At the end of the day sometimes you just need to be proactive and take care of yourself and think about the environment you are in and what could possibly happen while your there.

Don’t wait to be told, think about it and just do it.

Ewen Peel

Bannockburn Library & Golden Plains

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Ph: 0467 180 592 e: 4weiler10@gmail.com

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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Making New Year’s resolutions is not my thing. I find I am making resolutions throughout the year in response to different situations that arise. The other reason I don’t make New Year’s resolutions is because so often I fail in keeping them. There are reasons why our resolutions may fail and here is a response to those reasons especially where they relate to your significant relationships.

Halt the comparison game.

We know we shouldn’t do it, but it can be just so easy to fall into the trap of comparing aspects of our life to others. Maybe it’s feeling like your house or car isn’t as nice as your friends’. Perhaps you feel “behind” all your peers when it comes to major life milestones. Or maybe it seems other couples have it all figured out. Here’s the thing: everyone has their own unique struggles and successes, so try not to invest energy in resolutions about whether or not we measure up to others. Be specific.

If you do make resolutions on New Year’s, being specific is going to help you be successful. Instead of simply resolving to achieve something big, create some specific goals of how to do that. You might plan a date night once a week with your partner, or train for another job that is more interesting, or eat less chocolate. Specific resolutions help toward the big goal rather than failing. Be mindful of expectations.

Expectations have a powerful influence. If we are consistently unhappy then it is good to examining our own expectations of life and relationships. Being aware of what we expect from life, and questioning those expectations, helps us to put in place resolutions that are

MOWING AND MAINTENANCE ü Ride on mowing ü Push mowing ü Garden tidy up ü Green waste and rubbish removal ü Deck cleaning and repairs /maintenance ü Handyman services ü Lots more! realistic and inspiring to fulfil. Focus on yourself.

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When we take time to focus on our self we become more aware of insecurities, needs, and desires. Understanding of who we are, our skills, and our resources equips us better to make resolutions that we are actually able to complete. Without knowing ourselves, failure to achieve the resolutions cause us to become a greater sense of failure. Focus on our self also helps us implement resolutions that provide selfcare that recharges us.

Whether you make resolutions for the New Year or not, hopefully these tips will also foster a positive influence in your significant relationships throughout the year.

Based on https://www.prepare-enrich.com/ blog/4-essential-marriage-tips-to-guide-your-year

Prepare/Enrich is a low-cost programme we offer to explore relationship strengths and growth areas in times of transition: preparing for a wedding, an addition to the family, change in career, approaching retirement, or just to strengthen your relationship. Please contact us for an appointment.

The Revd Dr Timothy Smith