Dig In

Don’t forget to get along and help plant out Bluff Hill

A Double Edged Sword

I’ve noticed an increase in songbirds since the Hill was felled.  I don’t have a lot of trees but more so lately I’ve been entertained by melodious trilling from the neighbours Macrocarpa’s (well more accurately from the birds visiting them).

I have to assume it’s because we have less trees on the hill so they are coming into the residential area more.  Don’t get me wrong though, I love listening to them and watching them but it does raise the concern that they are more open to attack from domestic cats.  All the great work the Bluff Hill/Motupohue Environment Trust are doing trapping pests on the hill and the bloody birds are going to get killed because their trees were removed and they’ve migrated towards the township hence this picture always pisses me off.

What the hell is there to smile about?

This one become another turncoat situation when she realised the community weren’t as happy about it as she was.  Back in March 2011

Bluff Community Board chairwoman Jan Mitchell said the hill looked unsightly with more than two-thirds of the trees gone, but was pleased it was being replaced by native bush.

The pine trees posed threats to the safety of residents because of how frequently they fell, so it would be good to see them gone, she said.

Forty four hectares of unsafe trees?  WTF

And Robin Pagan is talking his fair share of shit with this comment

However, the area would be covered in native bush once the felling was complete and he expected the land scarring to be invisible within two years, he said.

Mitchell might have believed him but I do my own research!

Keep The 11th Of May Free

Bring a spade, jacket, gumboots and a strong back.  I’ll add time and meeting place on the Notice page later today.

Tree planting on Bluff Hill, the combined efforts of St Teresa’s School, Bluff Community School and Bluff Hill/Motupohue Environment Trust….and you

Rosi at St Teresa’s has emailed and approached every man and his dog including many ‘townies’ (and further afield).

As my mother says

It’s not where you’re going, who you’re going with, it’s who you might see while your there!

NB:  Councillor’s and council staff will not be lynched or run out of town but will be expected to get dirty.

More Important Things To Attend To In Bluff

Can’t say I agree with this but I knew it would happen.  The Bluff Community Charitable Trust and Bluff Community Board relationship is so close that I knew it would happen.  The chairperson is always trying to keep councils happy that I even made the prediction when I saw it on the agenda last year.  From the BCB Chairperson’s report:

I believe that if John Key wants to build a cycleway, HE should find the funding.  This great idea of his has put pressure on towns all over the country.  I think it’s a nice idea but Bluff has a pool that is still in need of funding and an upcoming Urban Renewal along with the losses being made on the Town Hall (as it sits idle) even though the ratepayers of Bluff  contribute about $8k per annum.

The Bluff Community Charitable Trust was set up ‘as a vehicle to obtain funding’  but it is only helping with certain pet projects.  I find it offensive to use the Bluff Community name without including or providing any benefit to the community.

We have a hill that has been vandalised by the council and even DOC say it will be 20+ years before it looks good (or even halfway decent) but ‘our’ Trust with three of ‘our’ Board members appointed to it are going to take take funding from other worthy, more immediate causes to help tourism.  How about helping the Bluffies?

We have a minimum of three groups putting time, effort and funding into ensuring Bluff Hill has a better future than what council planned (or didn’t plan).  St Teresa’s, Bluff School and Bluff Hill/Motupohue Environment Trust are all working away at what looks to be a daunting task and BCCT are off building tracks for ES.

Better ways to help our town without starting another project to entice people to a rundown town.  Of course that’s just my view.  It seems I’m still talking to myself and Bluffies, it seems, are just voyeurs (100+ a day watching but not getting involved).

Feel free to make comment:-)

Follow Up

Time to be following up on this…that declined request for attendees of a public meeting.

Let’s see if logic prevails?

Thanks World Wildlife Fund!

Rosi (Room 3 teacher at St Teresa’s) has applied for and attained another $1900.00 for the Bluff Hill/Motupohue restoration project. The money has been provided by the Environmental Education Action Fund. We would like to thank Wendy Barry, Education Programme Manager at World Wild Life Fund for her assistance with our application and also World Wild Life Fund for the money as it will be put to very good use on the Bluff Hill/Motupohue restoration project.

Hat tip: St Teresa’s again

 

More Immediate Things To Attend To

I’ve finally got yesterday’s and today’s letters to the editor up, haven’t even read the paper in two days.  Have City Talk recorded but haven’t got around to watching it nor have I started on my verbal submission to the FHWF hearing on the 20th.

Finally got all three kids off to school and now playing catch up on the housework and the bloody dishwasher no longer washes, just beeps, so I’m back to washing dishes by hand.

On my tidying up I came across my pill reminder container so have been taking my meds but am amazed because everything is STILL pissing me off.  I am now realising that it’s not me, some people are actually morons, and my irritation is valid.

Now the kids are back at St Teresa’s it confirms that f$!#wits exist.  Our wonderful Enviroschool has been vandalised by a neighbour (I don’t know which one).  The school gave permission for the neighbour to trim some trees (blocking their view?) and they would have to remove the branches of the property.  It seems that they have removed ALL the branches though and all we have are enormous stumps and no shade or shelter.  The Hoheria I have been growing for the school to plant on Bluff Hill will now be planted at the school to provide shelter for the future.  So I hope you’re toasty and warm with all that firewood because the kids will now be out in the howling wind!  If the school  wanted to remove them maybe they would have sold the firewood to pay for the trees they are having to purchase from ICC for the hill.  Thanks for nothing!

Meanwhile, don’t believe everything you read.  The so called editor of the Beacon has obviously decided to circulate chit chat without checking if it has any truth to it what-so-ever…St Teresa’s have NOT planted on the hill yet!  The uprooted plants in the January 24th Beacon must have been council ones…remember you’ve been at the meetings where they said ‘they will be planting alongside roads and tracks’.  While you’re circulating gossip, I heard a community board member has been to see a lawyer, will that be reported?

Whatever…the result of keeping on top of my meds is that the feeling of everything snowballing down upon me disappears (not totally) and I can problem solve better.  So hopefully I can get caught up on everything I’ve been wanting to follow up, finish or implement.  That may not impress some elected members though, oh well.

Bluff Researcher

Well according to my Keep and Share site there is somebody (or bodies) showing interest in Bluff items and forestry.  Being as I don’t require people to log in to the site to view council related items, it only says ‘anonymous’.  I hope ‘anonymous is finding everything they need but feel the forestry aspect needs a lot more research and LGOIMA requests than what I have time for.  The numbers don’t add up and it’s questionable whether an audit would provide any clarity from what I have heard.

The ongoing interest in my submissions on the reservoir and wind farm always surprises me.  I am proud of them but don’t know why others are so interested.  Maybe it’s just interesting seeing other people’s views.  I like too and usually read every Draft Annual Plan submission just because seeing things through another person’s eyes broadens my horizons.  So if anyone wants to share their submissions on any issue, email (c.teau@woosh.co.nz) me a copy and I’ll upload and link to it.

Cheers

Kylie

Finished!

Click to enlarge then point and click where ever you want to zoom in on

Bluff 1956

I’ve been working on piecing together a photo from Timeframes.  The detail is incredible on some photos.  I have used the zoom feature then copied each image and pieced them back together, at least 50 separate images for the one I’m working on.  Here is the top half that I have completed

November 1956

This image is 490 (pixels?) wide whereas the actual image I’m creating is 5000 wide.   There is a panorama which includes the whole of Bluff, detail isn’t quite as good but still interesting.  One picture I love is of the reservoir in 1955, stunning!  I was up there yesterday and it sucks.  Cracker mentions the mess at Sandy Point but at least they have lupins and hollyhocks (I thought they were foxglove).  We have gorse and blackberry.  It’s hard to get to the water’s edge now or even see it because of the dense weed growth.  I might work on that photo next.  The pump house below the reservoir is the most precarious structure and I may need to take a photo for those who don’t get up there.  The water is pouring out at a incredible rate, so much that a rock bridge has been made (by the loggers? ICC staff?) to allow dry feet.   It’s interesting to see the earlier photos, circa 1910, and what the hill actually had on it.   I know rope merchants came here to consider using the flax, maybe we should fill the damp areas with flax, using Robert’s seed ball idea of course!