shady characters

Two bulls in the paddock next to the house keeping cool in the Rosewood tree shade, close to water in the trough. The tree has a level 'bottom' because the bulls keep it trimmed and there is another flat bottomed Rosewood in the distance on the right of photo. But the cattle below, agisted on a farm where Pepper trees are planted along a track, enjoy the shade but don't eat the trees at all. I've seen Pepper tree avenues trimmed up as though a full time gardener is constantly clipping (but is actually cattle trimmed). Our cattle haven't acquired the taste or learned to eat pepper trees - yet.

Rosewoods are native trees, botanical name recently changed to Alectryon oleifolius, which I've been told are remnant rainforest trees - it's hard to imagine this was ever a rainforest but could be the reason they flower well but don't seem to produce seed, just grow from suckers particularly when a root is damaged.