Most of his time had been spent fertilizing plants in
Naturalis.
CHAPTER 22
Atteir met up with the Arrernte man and they surveyed the
flooded desert. Already a green tinge could be seen
covering the blackened earth. Frogs were populating the
edges of the massive new lake. Flies had started to return,
feeding from the algae at the edges of the mud.
“As you know, Atteir, that’s not a real test. Everything is
perfect up here, so I don’t know how the fertilizer will work
on earth.” Keely told her.
“I still want to try it out,” Atteir replied, “It would be great if
this stuff works and helps the area regenerate quickly.”
“Soon the birds will return little one,” said the Arrernte
man, “The grasses are starting to develop now and the
shrubs and trees are healing. It won’t be long before the
beauty of the desert re-establishes itself.”
The seeds were mixed with the new fertilizer and
distributed in a landscaped pattern Atteir had designed
herself. The Cukies got to work gently scraping the bark
from burnt trees, allowing new growth to sprout. It was a
painstakingly slow job as bark had to be scraped in just
the right place; otherwise disease could get into the fresh
trunk scrape and kill the already weak trees.
Atteir could see that the Springer would be a big help
down here to speed up the process. As they wandered the
edges of the new lake the Arrernte man pointed out a
large frog.
Hard seeds, having cracked slightly in the fire, were
carefully popped open and the seeds extracted. These too
were mixed with the new fertilizer and placed in the most
fertile positions to be given a better chance at survival.
Trebor’s soil-turners were working at break neck speed
tilling the soil to incorporate air and nutrients into what was
now totally disease free dirt. The fire had been effective;
killing fungus spores and bacteria in the soil.
“That is the giant water holding frog. He has been
hibernating deep in the earth waiting for this day. If you
look closely, you will see tiny shrimp swimming over
there,” he pointed to a place slightly to Atteir’s left, where
indeed tiny shrimp could be seen. “Old man frog has
plenty to eat now and will lay eggs very soon. In four
weeks there will be tadpoles.”
The Arrernte man explained that during drought years
many of the local inhabitants burrowed into the earth and
stayed there until the rains brought them out again. He
pointed to a whistling spider; a poisonous creature that ate
insects, frogs and small mammals. A sand grass hopper
flitted across Attire’s vision, another individual that had
been waiting a long time to emerge into the wet.
All the time more reptiles, spiders, frogs, birds and
mammals were re-appearing from their various hiding
places. The desert was teaming with life and beauty.
Some of the insects and birds tried pinching newly sown
seed, so the Cukies had erected tiny scare crows to
frighten them off. The scarecrows were actually made
from dead twigs and blow away grasses, but they were
somewhat effective in protecting the newly sown plant
seeds.
“I don’t really see how you can do much here Atteir. This is
the natural way of the desert. As I explained to Eus, we
have been burning these lands for centuries. Floods bring
good things to the area not bad. If you must help, you
could get Trebor to till the soil and allow the nutrients to
work more effectively. You could maybe let the Springers
disperse the seeds more quickly.”
Atteir decided, once the job was completed, that she and a
few others would stay to nurture this wonderland in the
desert, as long as the water lasted, or they were called to
another job. From all she had learned from the Arrernte
man, Atteir knew that there were going to be many
changes in this landscape over the next five to eight,
possibly even ten years. She wanted to be a part of it for
as long as she could.
Atteir looked sad. Her first assignment was going to be a
waste of time.
“Cheer up little one,” soothed the Arrernte man, “We would
like it if you invented some new flowers. You could
landscape if you liked. My children love this area when it is
in full bloom. Come, make your plans and instigate them.
We will not be ungrateful.”
Atteir was happy at last. She was in a position where she
was doing good and creating beauty from ugliness.
CHAPTER 23
Cyan sat alone in his office contemplating the previous six
months. The season change from winter to spring had
gone smoothly, as had the spring to summer change.
Atteir spent a while longer with the Arrernte man as he
detailed the plants that grew naturally in this area. She
headed back to Naturalis with a lighter heart and a head
full of ideas for restoration.
It had been a long haul but the weather department was
finally organised. Nina and Nino had sorted out their
problems and their respective effects and conditions were
back on track. Although still in Hܚ\وHXZ