When the Wet Finally Arrived

I won't get pre-emptive and say the drought has broken, but we FINALLY got a lovely heavy wet fall of rain last night. Proper stuff, not just piddly drizzle and showers. There's been rain and storms about for a couple of weeks now but we've been feeling like always the bridesmaid. 

Last night 60mm fell here at home in two wonderfully heavy exiting falls, starting around 930pm. In between  - when I should have been in bed - I went out wandering outside with a torch. Checked the rain gauge, checked on the animals. Found some very loud frogs with puffed out chests on the lawn in my torch light. Sat in the lounge chair with a wet cat on my lap and listened to the rain fall again, then into bed when another wave of heavy rain and lightning came over.

Even more excitingly, although can't tell how wide spread its been, the Prickle Farm's remote monitor has recorded 120mm over the past two nights.

Mum and Dad's place only registed 27mm (having been the 4th bridesmaid for the past few rain influences, and still wearing that apricot taffeta number, along with my brother in law's place). But the inlaws picked up at least 47mm - the gauge being somewhat sheltered by the house, they think they had a lot more. The dam - which had just 5 feet of water left in the excavation, has filled back up the level where it will last at least 12 months (has room for plenty more water).

So we are a bit excited. We might have a bit of a wet season after all.

Some images from the rain....


Imagine above - there was only just a little puddle on the far left of the screen. This is the House Dam at the in laws place. Whilst they have now a bore at the house, as soon as the water settles, they'll be using this to water livestock and the garden again.
A very flukey shot of lightning induced daylight in the middle of the night, as I peered out my window at the pouring rain. Husband wasn't quite so excited about my enthusiasm (snore, snore, snore) 
Its been a fair while since water laid on the vacant block next door.  The poddies and the horse went to school today, locked into the area that was the old tennis court - as its the highest bit of ground that isn't water logged at the moment (and is covered with fresh urocloa and button grass, which they were very excited about).

With the showers earlier in the week, and last nights big fall, we have now totalled around 110mm for the week. Not nearly as much as friends just to our east and friends just to our west but we are not arguing about that. More rain that we received in all of 2013 I think!

 

now, where was I?

A random assortment of images from the past few weeks

  We put up the Christmas Tree (the new giant Christmas tree!) . I tried to take a decent photo. Quite unsuccessful.

Tried to take another photo, with the SLR. I've barely used it since I dropped it back in August, and this is why. I have been pretending it hasn't been broken but I think the time has come to face the music (and the repair bill)...

After some editing work, it came up not so bad, but the focus on the camera is so not well.

IT RAINED!! 2 lovely inches (feels so long ago now!) Kids were very excited.

School breakup concert was held, Santa visited and a musical/dance performance was presented by the kids. Was so good. They've all done music lessons one day a week at school and from kids that could not play ANY instruments to date, they have really learnt so much. A four player rendition of Heart and Soul was just brilliant.

   The last week of school saw me in the cattle yards with the husband, pulling off weaners and bringing home a wedge of poddies in an assortment of Dad and Dave style enclosures in the back of the ute....

We adopted an H theme for the Class of 2014.This was the little settling-in pen we set up under the mango tree for them.

Second last day of school was celebrated with a fun swimming day in town, and photo bombing boy child.

Phew....and that's only til the end of the school year. I am not terribly good at summarising am I!

Black Gold

And just like that, the weeks have passed without a blog post again. What a slacker I am. There's been some movement at the station, and all parts between of late, and even a little bit of most marvellous precipitation! But we'll start where I left off - dry dry dry.

Was summonsed to bring molasses towing vehicle to the prickle farm; cows had hit the wall and The Husband decided he needed to start feeding M8U (molasses + 8% urea) ASAP. So I did as I was told  (I always do!) and with trailer attached to ute, off we went.

The molasses mixer is mounted onto a home made gooseneck trailer; at the back there is mounted an engine which drives paddles inside the mixer tank to keep the contents mixed up (so the urea and any other additive doesn't just settle at the bottom, we want the mix to be even). When stationary and the engine running, the trailer vibrates around, quite like a boat rocking on waves.

  Hi tech tube getting the molasses from the mixer into the trough (a bit of poly belting rolled up and wired!).

First mob of old dears pulled up to have a lick and slurp en route to water (we place the troughs away from the main waters so they don't just sit in the water square gutsing themselves). The skinnier cows are the wet ones, ie have a calf.

All was going well until we arrived at the next drop point. Filled the trough, discovered the water trough was empty (much swearing and scratching of head on husbands part). Drove off to continue our delivery - and found WHY no water was getting to the trough. Busted water pipe - being in sandy country and buried underground (and after recent showers) it was not visible. But the 8 tonne mixer found the wet spot.

Again, insert much cursing and grumbling. Unhook the trailer, and go back to the shed...

  

Where the collection of vehicles (yes COLLECTION) revealed some issues. The main farm ute, flat tyres and no spares, as they were all in at the tyre shop getting new tyres put on the rims, and the old girl (retired to fencing duties only) had a cracked head and leaking radiator that required top ups at every trough.

Chain was applied, and the old girl stepped up to the plate and successfully managed to get the trailer pulled out. (husband had visions of another shower of rain and the whole thing toppling over).

We continued on our merry way.

I had a wander through the cows at the main water, checking out who was who and what babies where there.

Found this teeny tiny black baby and his mama (her condition a bit light, but I am happy to report that in the few weeks since, with rain and molasses, she has picked up).

Love walking through the mob; with the exception of one cow who had just calved (and is a snot head at any time) no cows were terribly bothered by my aimless wander. I had one old quiet dear follow me around three steps behind me (why? I cannot tell you!) and calves come skipping up to check me out. They are funny creatures.

And that ended my day out, delivering molasses. The day started the molasses delivery regime for The Husband - remixing and refilling every 3-4 days. And ordering of replacement for the bulk tanks. (and open slather on the cheque book).

I am pleased to report, that since these photos were taken, a good 2" of rain fell pretty much all over the property, with other isolated showers in spots before and after. Sadly, this rain wasn't widespread over the region, although on a different night we got the same here at home. My garden is thankful, the kids were over excited and rolling around in the mud (first proper mud in the back yard since early 2012!). Its not drought breaking rain, but takes the pressure off, and gives the country its first good drink in a while. Amazing how quickly things respond!

I'll be back soon with more adventures, I promise. Its a bit like riding a bike, one doesn't ever forget but I feel a bit wobbly on the wheels. Perhaps that bit of rain has done more than just given the ground a drink....

of drought and flooding rains

Dorothea McKellar certainly captured our great land perfectly in her poem, we can all extremes in one day across the land, drought, bushfire, floods, as we have seen recently.

And while I would not call this a drought (yet) , we've certainly had no rain to speak of here in the past couple of months, a few showers here and there. None of the usual wet season stuff. Old timers have said that the wet is traditionally after January, but even so we've always managed to get under some storms before that point. Storms have been very very scattered around the district.

And so comes the forward planning. Places to the west, perhaps leaving things a little too long in anticipation of The Wet or better prices, have made the decision and have fully destocked. Others making moves to do so, as the better part of the state over the Great Divide has yet to receive any sustainable rain, so there is no where to go on agistment. We have til the middle of March to move our cows from the downs agistment paddock (unless it rains and then its all good) as the owner of that place makes plans to protect himself. At the in-laws property, water stocks in the dams (more like lakes)  are getting low and discussions are underway to put a bore down (possibly something that should have been down years ago) but like my husband says, by the time the two lakes are dry, there will be no grass anyhow.

At my parents place, lucky enough to get under the few storms, so the grass is looking not too bad for now. Water however is an issue and again big dams have gone dry. The windmill powered bore that has been so since day dot, has not been keeping up with demand and so has forced the need to install submersible pump and generator to keep water supplies in front of the cattle (There is an old pump jack at the bore, from memory, so perhaps it was driven by that back in the 70's when there was an awful drought?!)

At our place the three small (and never year round anyhow) dams are completely dry and we rely completely on one bore suppling the network of poly pipe. The cattle are looking pretty good, as they've only just gone back into the paddocks that had been burnt in 2011. We have our "bush country" spare, requiring 5km of fencing to make secure.  More poly pipe has been ordered as insurance, fearing should the bore break down we'd really be in trouble and the extra poly pipe could bring a "spare", currently unused bore, into the network within a few hours.

So, despite the need to tighten the belt with a possible drought on our hands, everyone has to face increased expenditure to improve infrastructure, to transport cattle. Selling cattle when prices aren't optimum to do so, but better to have at least cash in hand than a starving animal. Stress levels are high, as people struggle with decisions and choices to look after their land and livestock and financial security.

In brighter news, meet Tealeaf:

Newest kid on the block, his bottle-teated mother (go on, ask!) was "accidentally" put on the truck to the meatworks as they thought she'd lost her calf. Nope, she didn't, but his days would have been numbered in his mothers care. Here the little fellow has an insatiable appetite, putting away 9 LITRES of milk a day!! (certainly more than the back of the milk powder bag recommends!).

Tealeaf is the offspring of TeaBag (aka Hazeldean Earl Grey, but we don't stand on ceremony around here!) and is a quiet natured little soul, with a huge frame to grow into. No wonder he's so hungry! He's learning the ropes, and hanging with the big kids, and finding out mum isn't so keen on having him camping out at the back steps waiting for another feed.

And if you want to see how glorious good rain can make both cattle and country, do go over to Fiona's and have a look.