When I was a kid...

A good friend of mine (Anthony) made the observation to me the other day that at some stage in the (very!!!) distant future my kids will be swimming in a lake somewhere and I'll be able to say to them "I proposed to your mother under a jetty." Where upon they will acuse me of being stupid or making the whole story up. To which I will reply to them, "No, I proposed under the edge of a jetty in a dry lake." After their laughter/ astonishment has subsided I'll be able to say a line that I have been waiting my whole life to say.

"Back when I was a kid it never rained. Not like it does now, you kids have never seen it really dry. We used to make jokes about it being this wet!"

The above lake is currently dry for only the second time in recorded history. (~120 years) The special location was underneath the jetty shown above.

Drought: A second comparison

Way back in January I posted photos comparing a normal wheat harvest to last years drought. Now I'm home for the holidays I can provide an update as to what things are looking like around here, and a comparision to 2006.

These photos where taken yesterday of a Canola crop in full-flower next to my house:
This photo was taken on October 3 2006, where the canola was just past flowering:
We have been very lucky in that we have recieved good rain so far this year, but it has been quite dry for the last 4-5 weeks, and so we still need some significant rain to finish off the year well. But spare a thought for those in the mallee & elsewhere who are far more worse-off than ourselves, their crops look nothing like what is posted above, and there are real fears that many people will simply walk away from their farms & livelihoods.

Good Signs

While I don't think anyone is game enough to call the drought over yet, there is a lot of hope for this coming season and the rest of this year. The signs are definitely better than they where this time last year. I noticed this especially when I was at home over the weekend, the country-side is green again, (this didn't happen till June-July last year) and the tractors are out in-force seeding this years crop.

If statistics are anything to go by, Kaniva has already had more rain in 2007 than it had for the entire year of 2006.

"The rains are here....."

"Then, between the 26 & the 28th of April 2007, the worst drought in recorded history broke across Southern Australia"

At least hopefully a line like that will appear in a history book someday, and Mr Howards warning of zero irrigation in the Murray-Darling basin will never eventuate......

It's just started raining in Ballarat. But Nhill (~40km from my home) has already had an inch. Adelaide has had an inch and a half, or 40mm! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Ballarat Rainfall

Centeral Victoria Rain Radar

Praise God for his continuing blessings to us all!!!