“Wait for the Wattle”

“Wait for the Wattle” is an expression describing the seasonal change when wattle flowers fall and spread across water like a yellow blanket. This tells Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples of Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands that food from the waterways is in abundance and ready to be hunted and gathered.

Quote from  Wandarra Nyundu: "We knew when it was time to go to the coast by the presence of certain birds and flowers; signs which we still use today. When the wattle is in flower we know to go and collect oysters and mussels, as this is the time they're hibernating and at their plumpest. And a special yellow flower tells us when the blue-tailed mullet is travelling to its spawning place and is at its fattest and most nutritious."

Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle) is Australia's floral emblem. It is a tree which flowers in late winter and spring, producing a mass of fragrant, fluffy, golden flowers.

 I'm not waiting for the wattle anymore.  It is well and truly wattle time again and the flowers are bursting forth with colour and gold is most assuredly the colour of the moment in the Australian Bush from east to west and north to the south.  I was always a little scared of them when I was a little girl because Aunty Kay cursed them so much as the root cause of her hayfever each spring.
Anyway I am pleased to report I have no such allergy to the beautiful Australian acacia.  I like to bring them in to brighten inside up as well.

Wattle and Daub is a method of building using woven sticks and clay.

Images @ Melonpopzdropz Flickr

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