Eagles, Cotton and Sorghum

Driving to Millmerran last week, which is about 50 kms from here, I drove between paddocks of cotton and sorghum. Still not used to that sort of thing growing near me. The farmers are lucky this year with the cotton crop as it uses masses of water. In fact during the drought times it was becoming quite a debate issue. The first time I visited Australia, which is 8 years ago now; John took me up gliding. It was a wonderful experience. He hopes to be able to fly again once his back has really settled after the operation. When I was up flying, I looked down on all the fields of gingery coloured crops (it was April) and was told that it was sorghum and hadn't a clue what it was. Only clever people like ,my brother know it is!
We had a pair of wedge-tail eagles flying very low over the house recently. They make a magnificent sight.

Wellies and Road Repairs.

We are recovering from all the rain except there is still a great deal of road damage about the area. We drove to Brisbane and back about 2 weeks ago. It was a dreadful journey as there were so many road repairs being done and it took much longer than usual. It was only 2 weeks after John's operation, and I think it was too exhausting for him as 5 days later he had pneumonia and was in the ICU after an ambulance ride into hospital. Thankfully he is home again and brighter every day, also hugely benefiting from the back fusion op. which he had in early February.Reading this through I see I last wrote the day after we had been to Brisbane - so this is what happened when we were tired.

I have just finished reading 'The Children's Book'by A.S.Byatt. I thought it so fascinating - set in the Arts and Craft era at the end of the 1800s,and about the Fabians and free thinkers. Underneath the fairy tale world lurks a menacing darkness. As an outward sign this is the World War1, but everyone has something that lurks in their lives. A good read!

The picture shows me wearing the wellies I recently purchased. I ordered them during the floods (never needed them before then!) they didn't come in time to christen them then, but we had some more heavy rain, so they had a good spalsh in the puddle on the corner.

Up and Down to Brisbane.

We've been back and forth to Brisbane a couple,of times since I last wrote a post. John has had a "Back Fusion" operation which gifted him 34 staples in is back - these have now been removed, but he has the delight of now owning 4 screws in his spine. So this should hold him together for a few years I hope! He is already feeling less of the old lain, and hopes to never experience it again. Yesterday we had a return trip to the specialist who then sent him on for a physio. appointment. It was an exhausting day with about 5 hours driving in all. So we both feel pretty drained today.Good thing we have no commitments and can relax.
Our garden is full of butterflies again. I love it when they appear and dance over and around the shrubs and flowers. I call it a 'confetti of butterflies!'I wish the photos where better as it doesn't show them very clearly, but have a look - or come and visit! It's a year since we had overseas family come - so about time we saw some of you this side of the world. It's not all dome and gloom, though the elements are certainly showing that they rule the world. Poor Christchurch with it's earthquakes, only 6 months since the last, and this causing so much damage and human pain.

Wind and Rain

It is amazing that the cyclone and the fall out has missed us completely. Until I saw a weather map I couldn't understand why Victoria was having massive rainstorms because of the Yasi cyclone but not us! In Alice Springs they are being effected too. It covered a great area, but fanned out after passing north of us. The stupid thing is that we could do with some rain now. The temps. have been over 30 degrees and it's a bit too hot for me to easily bear. I am glad we don't live near Sydney. They had it hitting 45C yesterday. Phew!
Some of our plants and shrubs have died from flooded roots, which is a pity.

I was thinking today how things have changed with going to live in another country. One hundred years ago you would expect to not see your family again unless you were very lucky, once you moved abroad. Even 40 years ago the cost of flying was way out of ordinary people's pockets; and to speak on the phone you had to book a time way ahead. Now we have Blogs, emails, Facebook, Skype and other ways to make contact at any time and place. I wonder if they will ever invent a way of "Beam Yourself Up Now" to travel in person an back; and would one risk it??

There is a kind of peace around the place now. No rain or thunder for a while and the temperature climbing nearer to 30C: cool for the Aussie summertime. One of the sad things regarding the floods is that many bees have been lost which will of course effect veggie and flower growing.
I am delighted to announce the arrival of the first rose on a rose bush I was given almost 2 years ago! I moved it 6 months ago as it wasn't doing anything where it was. It's a Mr Lincoln rose and has a wonderful flower on it.Also the little frangipani tree I bought for $5 in a Charity shop is showing buds. I love it when these trees flower and it will be really exciting if this one survives in our garden.

Tuesday, 18 January 2011

One Week Later.

On Saturday morning I went into Toowoomba and was surprised to see how cleaned up and sorted it seemed on the surface. There were only a couple of traffic delays due to bollards in the roads where road surfaces were damaged and a great deal of gingery colour around the curbs and lamp-posts left from the flood residue. It was good to see how quickly the place was trying to get back to normal. Though I saw a number of collapsed walls and flattened grass banks.
A Quaker Friend of ours is a counsellor and today she was with a others who were supporting the people of the little town of Grantham which has had some great tragedies occur. They were letting the people return to see their homes and the damage at first hand; hoping to keep the media at bay! Personally I can't see how they could return to live there with out the haunting of what has happened and also I feel they would be always looking across the fields in fear every time there is a heavy downpour.
There is now a great searching to find any problems which helped to worsen these affects. It seems that the original water-ways in Toowoomba (in Aboriginal language Toowoomba meant 'the marshland')have been partially cemented over into paths and road ways, bottle-necking from run-off creeks into concrete pipes. These of course where much too small to take the amount of rainfall which came down a week last Monday. Modern town planning is now being accused of wanting to create industry and housing without looking at historical events.
I think this is happening all over the world as mining, farming, buildings and cities fill in the spaces. Commerce and globalisation.

Re-turning to a More Normal Existence.

Well it has certainly been a week of strange happenings and some very tragic. Thankfully, other than being cut off on the roads and a very marshy garden, we have not been personally affected. On Monday a friend and I were to have gone into Toowoomba. I am very glad we didn't' as they had the dreadful tidal wave wash through the main streets and cause tragedy and destruction. It was truly amazing to see all the videos people had made of places that we knew and frequented. A number of T.V. channels had 24 hour coverage of the events. Thankfully some places had warning, as in Brisbane, so it helped to a certain extent.
The main problem is, that we have had so much rain in the last few months that the ground couldn't absorb any more and the dams, meant to hold the water, were full to capacity. But what can one do when there has been 10 years of drought, with dams almost empty and people in the towns on water restrictions, then, sudden out of the blue (or grey) the rain hammers down? You can't really have loads of empty dams waiting for the once in a decade flood. Or may be you can. That is up to the politicians
The road to our house is broken up and the tarmac washed away in ,any places leaving the bedrock. We couldn't get out for a few days and I had to change my work shifts.
Yesterday, going into a supermarket, I found no milk, no bread or potatoes, very little toilet paper, fruit and flour. This is partly due to the transport system being help up in places where the main roads have been damaged and bridges down. Also the Lockyer Valley, which is along the road to Toowoomba from Brisbane, the Warrego Highway, is one of Australia's fruit and veggie markets, and it has been flooded - so no harvesting. Terrible for the farmers. The Australians are from a hardy stock of survivors, so they will survive and the will power and caring that is coming through is amazing to see and read about.

Later on Tuesday.

It's raining again!
Here is a view from the veranda which shows our bubbling stream and in the near distance a bit of flooding on the Darling Downs.Also some to the extreme right. Nothing as bad as in some areas thankfully.
Also if you enlarge the photo of the little oak tree in our garden, there are 4 cute little Barred Finches sitting 'flounced-up' and nestling together on the left hand branch. No doubt discussing the weather!

Flooding.

We had 2 inches of rain again yesterday. We are safe, but can't get in to town. Thankfully my friend and I cancelled our trip to Toowoomba yesterday. The most horrifying flash flooding occurred there yesterday and dreadful mesh and even some people missing. I couldn't sleep as the rain fell all night and thunder growling around, or rather slamming about. I feel quite concerned and worried about it all. Thankfully as I say we are ok.

Yet MORE Rain!

And so it goes on. We are fortunate not to be on low ground. As there is so much low farm land around here, it is flooded. We can see a couple of areas north of us on the flats. We have been cut off three times now from the town. I have decided to carry a toothbrush and change of clothes when I go out from now on! I left the library early today as it was pouring down.
I know the photo looks like a pretty stream, but we don't DO pretty streams in this part of Queensland and at the moment it's more like Exmoor! Streams, bubbling brooks and water meadows - very pretty -BUT!
Yesterday I set off to meet a friend in Toowoomba only to find that the usual route I take was cut off and the road closed. The water had washed the road away and it was a mess. I decided to go another way, but met a river churning down the hillside and slicing across the road - and a sign saying "Road Hazard Ahead".... so I didn't go that way! In the end I went into Pittsworth crossing 2 fords, then realised the sky was navy blue, and I wasn't going to risk anymore stocked up with food and came home.
Something I saw yesterday which I have never seen before was 2 kangaroos by the road. One an adult and the other mush smaller. They were very close so stopped to watch them leap off, but first the little one scrambled into the mother's pouch, head first then pulling it's feet in. It was amazing how much there was of it disappearing inside! Though I have heard about this, and seen many roos and wallabies, I have never actually seen this happening. It was delightful.

Happy New Year

Well,here we go into 2011 and all ready we are awash again. Yesterday we had 60 ml of rain in less than an hour. This time it was laced with hail and a good dose of thunder and lightning! Thankfully the electricity didn't go off. 25 ml equals 1 inch, so you can see that was well over 2 inches. We had 2 rivers across the garden this time too. The usual by the fence across from the veranda, now one from the entrance gate, across the grass and on down through the rocks. In the valley, about 250 yards away is a stream which roars along after the rains. We could hear it in the evening. Last week we went down to see the area after the storms and it had been flattened by the rush of water.