Mandurah - Part 1

[maewyn_2]

We've just experienced  Perth's driest and hottest summer on record. Last Sunday we decided to get out of the house for the day and go somewhere a bit cooler.  We caught a train into Perth, then another on to Mandurah (pronounced Man-joor-ah).

Mandurah sits at the entrance to the Peel Inlet/Harvey Estuary, about 80km south of where we live.  It was

Comments

[mechtild]

THis was recently a sleepy little town? You're right, it looks Big City now. But what a lovely day it looked. I'm so glad you could get out and enjoy yourselves. That Moreton Bay Fig tree is magnificent, absolutely venerable. Too bad the view of it is it's dwarfed and marred by that ugly high-rise. Your pelican close-up was great, Maewyn. Very cooperative bird! And I loved the canal, both the look of the buildings along it, even if new construction, and the dolphins in the water.

[maewyn_2]

It's grown so much! The housing is definitely no longer "basic" like this!

[mechtild]

I think this looks pretty cozy, actually. Not the best thing for a Minnesota winter, but fine for a hot place at the beach.

As for the Moreton Bay Fig's huge roots, I am thinking they are part of its beauty and charm. But they do look far too large for backyards. They need an estate, the wild, or a piece of parkland to grow in.

[maewyn_2]

It was rather hot in summer, I can tell you! Probably a good excuse to go to the beach!

You're right, those trees belong in a place with lots of space around them. There's one of them beside a house that I walk past every morning. Its branches droop over the footpath, making anyone walking along there detour onto the grass verge. It's not a big tree yet, and I believe they're going to be sorry in years to come!

[mechtild]

Maybe they could prune the droopy branches to clear the walkway? That's what I'd do. If it's a public sidewalk, it's only courtesy to trim back shrubs or prune low-hanging branches. Or that's what I think, as a walker. :)

[maewyn_2]

That's what I'd like them to do. I've been thinking I should contact the local authorities and let them tell them! The problem is, after I get home after my walk, all I want to do is get in the shower and ready for work. Then I forget about it until the next morning as I'm approaching the tree...

...Guess what? I've just reported it via email! Hopefully they'll sort it out!

[mechtild]

That's a good idea. Here, the maintenance of bushes and trees over roads and walkways officially belongs to the city, since they are planted on ground that actually belongs to them (about thirteen feet in from curbs, so that sidewalks are not owned by residents). However, since the city is so strapped for cash due to the economy and eroded tax base* (which is why they let go all the part-time casual workforce at the libraries, which includes me), they haven't been doing routine trimming for a few years. If a boulevard tree actually has to come down because of weakness due to age, illness, or storm damage, they still do that, but the pruning they used to do routinely ended. Homeowners are invested in keeping their part of the street looking nice do it themselves. Otherwise, the bushes crowding into sidewalks and limbs hanging at face level have remained untrimmed