Skippy - The Truck Driver

There were two Skippys, well one Skippy and the other Skip, but that was derived from Skippy.

I suppose that makes sense - maybe to those in the know, but here's an explanation: Skip, or Jim Wilson was one of our forest workers, and he was called Skip/Skippy because of his bouncy walk - like a kangaroo.

On the other hand, Skippy the truck driver was an Australian but still, and like Jim, was called after the television character, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. We on the forest played no part in giving the nickname to this guy.

Jim can take a back seat, for now, this is about Alan.

Skippy drove the truck that carried the first peeled post out of Herbert Forest. This happened in 1966 and Skippy was a driver for McCullum & Co who had purchased the posts and had set up Tantalizing plant.

The ruck was not large, probably a Bedford A4 if I remember correctly and Skippy loaded the posts by hand - and let me say that this was no light job.

After a time, I told Skippy about the Hiab grapple cranes that I had seen  in my travels and that perhaps he should try to get his company to install one for him.
In my experience truck drivers are well up with the play on gear, gossip and what's going on 'over the fence', so he probably knew what I was talking about anyway.

One day Skippy turned up with Hiab on his truck, but he was not confident in using the grapple - and probably not with me looking on! He sat the closed grapple on the ground and filled it by hand, them lifted the load of post onto the deck to release them. Even so this made his job easier and quicker.
No doubt Skippy practiced and soon he did not have to handle the posts at all - and he became very skilled.

As happens McCullum & Co were bought out by Fletchers and around the same time a transport company was created out of buying/amalgamating many of the North Otago transport agencies. This company became known as Waitaki Transport Holdings Ltd. And we referred to it as The Holdings.
I think back now, and if we needed six trucks to cart gravel, they had them!
Skippy was provided with a flash Volvo truck and Hiab and he carried on working for The Holdings and carting our posts.

The Hiab was very handy as well and we needed to cart a large water tank to the hilltop opposite the HQ site. The track up there was way too steep for Skippy's truck and he lost steerage, so we had to bring down the D6 dozer and pull him up (holding is nose down).
We set up several firefighting tanks in the forest and none were easy to land on site, so Skippy was nudged here and there with the dozer again.

I purchased a Lockwood house, and Skippy landed that on site for me as well - and he lifted a concrete slab I had prefabricated to the top of the tank-stand I built. The thing slipped and was nearly a disaster but Skippy's skill made it right.He also brought my concrete tank out from town a sat it nicely on top of the slab.
From my farm on the Herbert Hill, I sold some posts from production thinning and Skippy became stuck. I had a T6 crawler tractor and thought I could shift him with it. Well I couldn't, I just dug myself into a hole but Skippy used my tractor as an anchor and stretched the Hiab out onto a chain and used the small ram to pull himself out.

When we commenced logging, Skippy carted the logs and on slipped out of the grapple, smashing his leg!

Circumstances changed after this due to the demise of the NZFS and Skippy no longer drove the Hiab truck and on my way to the nursery - nearly every day - I waved to him as he drove the white bulk lime truck, Taylor's Lime.

Go Alan Waugh.

Buddleia davidii

Buddleia davidii or Butterfly Bush has been planted in many garden, sort of as a first, shelter plant. Indeed at the nursery we propagated it from cuttings as a low shelter plant for farms.

However, the species has escaped and is becoming a problem.

The Waianakarua River has been invaded by the species and it competes with, even beating, gorse!

I see it on the roadsides now and it springs up in my garden and on my drive. Quite quickly too. Daily I walk down my drive and there is always a 100mm plant there to pull out, that wasn't there the day before!

The foliage is grey/green and I note that the roadside spraying contractor does not have much success in controlling the plant. I have no idea what chemical he uses, but that chemical is powerful enough to kill Silver Birch, Broom, Dock and Nodding Thistle. But the Buddleia will die off and regrow.

I use Glyphosate at high rates and add Pulse or dishwashing liquid (who said that? But it is just as good) and I can kill 2m plants.

I am not sure how the seed spreads, it does not seem to fly (in the wind) and I would have expected the seed to be digested in the gut of birds, but obviously not as I suspect they are indeed the carrier.

And the species is being transported around the district in gravel that is quarried on the river bed.

The problem will grow.

Curious Behavior Of Starlings

Starlings, though an introduced bird in New Zealand, are very common and especially so in the rural landscape.

We have two types of grass grub and they tend to be the main diet of Starlings, although they certainly eat earthworms, insects and some fruits.

Farmers encourage Starlings on their properties by providing nest boxes but the nest in buildings and the mess they make is considerable - not to mention the smell!

One pair regularly nested under the cowling of my tractor - on top of the radiator - well the same pair? No because one was chopped in half one time with the fan blade! But when there were chicks, the parents would follow the tractor around and when chance permitted, they would feed their young - each year the chicks fledged.

As I watched on the lawn in front of our house, I saw Starlings doing this sort of thing. Now you may think this was just normal preening - but no. Individually each would go to the same spot pick something from the grass and 'put' it under it's wing! Like applying deodorant! They 'preened' in no other part of their body and always they picked something up.

So I went out to take a look and there was an ant nest. Just the little black ants in a not very strong nest that are not necessarily common.

I can imagine the birds eating the ants, and I can imagine the ants climbing on to their attacker and biting, but only under the wing? Maybe, maybe not.

Just a curious thing