This is what our land looks like at the moment. The trees that were black sticks less than a year ago have now grown unsightly 'fur'; but this patch of Xanthorrhoea has now grown up to challenge their heights.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Jg0QrKkQgSbIUXJ8Amlr95F1YqYJKbUJDx9sEjAL0VNZNy2OtHOjZ_EA8sBJSnw0_2wFm8JnPeKGNq53SK7YOAnjMxuHufJqqKlI1RvWz12dHbP9HImxw4TktzTeBMG7xlVPcA/s320/Xanthorrhoea+stalks-wl-cpyrt+Anna+Tambour.jpg)
"[We] used to use them [flower stalks] as spears — just playing with them. The old people told us to leave them alone, even when they were green, because we'd make it rain." Jack Hampton
— from Geebungs and Snake Whistles: Koori People and Plants of Wreck Bay, by the Wreck Bay Community and Cath Renwick, first published in 2000 by Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
I highly recommend this fascinating book, not just for locals like me, but for people the world over. Crazily, it is no longer in print in Australia, but is printed in the UK, and available to Australians as an import. Get it.
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