Due to such a wet winter and spring, the grass (and weed) growth is prolific. The ACT government has announced it is doing its best to mow common areas but there is one small area of grass that won't be cut until February. Yes, February.

The location, near the corner of Wallaroo Road and the Barton Highway, is a refuge for a number of endangered plants and also a rare grasshopper. And no, it's not a nature reserve, rather it's the Hall Cemetery.

A sign at the gate points out the cemetery's natural significance as an "island of land" which, protected for over a century from grazing animals and pesticides, has allowed rare plants to flourish.

"This is why visitors need to be especially careful during spring and summer as you walk through the cemetery," the sign states. "It is not possible to mow all the areas because rare plants are flowering and setting seeds. We realise this may inconvenience visitors but we ask you to walk only on the mown areas to avoid damage to the rare and precious plants."

Waist-high grass certainly comes with its challenges. On a visit earlier this week, your akubra-clad columnist was forced to scurry back to the yowie mobile to put on some gaiters after startling a brown snake lurking in the grass near the main gate. Heck, I didn't want to end up as the cemetery's latest permanent resident.

Actually, that would be near-on impossible because the burial plots at this historic cemetery are so highly sought-after and unless you belong to a local family with close connections to the cemetery or have had your name on a waiting list for a very long time, the chances of securing a plot are low.

Apart from the existence of rare flora and fauna, you can understand why so many people would want this rural hideaway as their final resting place. Fringed by a remnant patch of yellow box and red gum open forest and associated kangaroo grass, it's a rural nirvana. Even better, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, the noise of the busy Barton Highway which is only a few hundred metres away, is drowned out by the cacophony of chirping birds.

Often overlooked by visitors, at the entrance to the cemetery is an impressive reminder of the original custodians of the area - a majestic, yet almost dead gum tree which boasts a peculiar-shaped window-sized hole in the middle of its trunk. This is actually called a ring tree whereby young branches bent and tied together many years ago by Aboriginal people have grown together to form a circle. Trees like this one were used for navigational and ceremonial purposes.

Whatever the exact reason for this particular ring, which may have been lost in the sands of time, despite its age this tree stands like a grand warrior watching sentinel over the cemetery. What a beauty.

Once inside the cemetery, a glance at the headstones is a reminder of the European history of the Hall area, with members of many well-known local families such as the Southwells, Browns and Kilbys buried here.

One of the newer headstones is that of Bryce Courtenay. Soon after the death of the much-loved writer in 2012, his widow Christine told The Canberra Times how he chose his plot while still alive. "He just wandered through the grass and he saw this big gum tree and he said, 'there'."

"At his burial, an Aboriginal elder came and did a lovely ceremony" she explained, adding "it feels very peaceful when you go out there."

Indeed it does.

However if you'd like to visit the final resting spot of Bryce Courtenay, or anyone else lucky enough to be buried at this idyllic bush cemetery, naturalists urge you to wait until peak grass growing season is over so as not to accidentally trample the rare plants and flowers.

I'd add another reason to that - the risk of stepping on a snake.

Geez, talk about having one foot already in the grave.

Just a few kilometres down the Barton Highway from the Hall Cemetery is the 1882 Gothic-style Wattle Park Uniting Church at Wallaroo, another place where indigenous and European history of our region is celebrated side-by-side.

Here, if you look closely on the southern side of the vestry which was added in 1955, there is a wall complete with stones collected from 31 properties of many of the area's early pioneering families.

In his book celebrating the church's centenary, Wattle Park 1882-1982, The Story of the Wattle Park Uniting Church, formerly Methodist, and its place in the district of Hall, ACT, (self-published, Canberra), Ron Winch explains "included amongst these stones are commemorations of Thomas Southwell, his children, early trustees and others associated with the early establishment of Methodism in the region".

Higher up on the same wall and protruding near the apex of the facade is an unexpected sight - an Aboriginal axe head. This relic was found on a nearby property and added to the wall "in memory of the first settlers of the area".

If you do visit the church, take care exiting the driveway onto what can be a very busy Barton Highway. Oh, and currently growing among the exotic trees at the front of the church are some spectacular red-and-white toadstools, Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita. Warning: Photograph from afar and never pick or eat mushrooms growing in the wild.

The tiny room curiously boarded up at the back of the bus shelter on Cowper Street in Ainslie (Bus Station Tardis, October 31) continues to prompt a steady stream of correspondence.

Barry Snelson of Calwell, who drove ACTION buses for many decades, confirms "it was originally built as an amenities room for drivers when the bus stop was the terminus for the service".

Barry further reports that although it was no longer an amenities room when he started working for ACTION in 1968, "you could still access the space via a rear door".

"When the old Ainslie bus depot in nearby Stephen Street was closed and demolished, we ended up using the room to store thing like hand towels and toilet paper for other terminus facilities."

Barry is unsure when the door was removed, making it now impossible to access the room. "Maybe we still have an old driver in there ... missing in ACTION," he muses.

Meanwhile Ken Kerrison, who moved to Ainslie in 1938, distinctly remembers "passing the Cowper Street bus stop every day on the way to school" and "on weekends playing cricket on then vacant land that is now home to the Ainslie shops."

Ken also recalls that the amenities in the so-called secret room were also occasionally used by members of the public "until about the end of World War II, but were closed soon after due to vandalism".

It turns out that Ken Sharp isn't the only long-time Canberran who knew the purpose of the concrete block in Suttor Street, Ainslie (The curious case of the concrete block, October 31). Jeanette Lenz of Lyneham remembers the counter-weight belonging to the Kinanes, her neighbours for over 25 years when she lived Ainslie.

Jeanette also remembers Mrs Kinane as a real character, a Canberra 'original'. "She would often retell the story of how she and her husband were allocated the 'new' home in Ainslie, and her friends (from Kingston) would ask, "Why are you going to Ainslie? It's half-way to Goulburn," she laughs. Haven't times changed.

According the Jeanette, "After Mrs Kinane retired from working at the Ainslie Footy Club at the age of over 70, she would still don high heels and make-up and a nice dress to go down to the club to play the pokies."

Clue: Running of the sheep

Degree of difficulty: Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Lynn Nerdal of Bonner who was first to correctly identify the location of last week's photo as the buggy at Lanyon Homestead, which is housed in part of the old stables.

Lynn just beat Gina Tooke of Kambah, Jacqui Whittet of Casey and Lyn Mills also of Kambah to the prize. The Lanyon Historic Precinct is currently looking delightfully lush. What a difference from last year.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday, November 7, 2020, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.

During a recent storm, Jeremy Hughes snapped this photo of a tornado forming just to the east of Braidwood. Thankfully, it didn't cause any damage. According to a spokesperson for the Bureau of Meteorology, "In Australia, tornadoes can occur at any time of the year, although they more commonly occur in late spring to early summer." Keep sending in your weather photos, I love them.

"Much has been written about the proliferation around Canberra of the exotic cape weed (Arctotheca calendula) this spring but when did if first arrive in Australia?" asks John Jones of Kambah. Well, according to Australia's Virtual Herbarium [ www.avh.chah.org.au ] the first herbarium record of the plant, a native to South Africa, was collected at Fremantle in 1838. When it first arrived in Canberra is anyone's guess.

CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick