More floods

Some sort of caterpillars trying to move across our drive

  The gras mowed before the rains started again

 30.10.2022.

 

The short spell of sunshine was fabulous but it did not last long. This week the rain has poured down again and the floods have spread. I set off early on Friday morning to meet Al and his boys and it was obvious that the water had been over the bridges again in the night. The roads had gravel washed over them and more and more giant potholes were forming as the clay under the roads was washed away. The race courses in Yarra Glen and Healesville were under water but it only lapped at the edges of the road so it was possible to drive.

 

On reaching Healesville I found that river street was flowing quite a current, but Al had driven up in his land rover which had a snorkel. He had also loaded the back of the ute with sand to help with stabilisation.  The kids were dressed in water proof gear so we went with plan A and we went in to the Healesville Sanctuary.  This is a major tourist facility but for the first hour and a half the kids and I were the only people there!  We headed straight for the vet centre where the kids could play indoors.

 

We braved the weather to see the flight show of birds but the seats were all wet and the birds struggled with wet wings. Somehow, we managed to cope with the five hours Al needed for his first meetings. When he got the kids back in his car, they fell asleep so he got the rest of his work done too. At one stage he had to drive through half a metre of water, but at least he had the right vehicle. Pia still feels too sick to care for the kids so we just have to manage.

 

On the farm all the grass we mowed last week has regrown worse than before. The water is flowing right through the big shed and we are lucky that the goats are high and dry on deep litter.  Josh and Edd put a tarp over the chimney that started to leak water down onto the stoves. This means I cannot light a fire to get water and have had to use electricity.

 

Vegetables are growing fast and despite the wet and cold straw berries have started to ripen.  We have a sea of lettuce and the garlic is forming flower heads. So far, the zucchinis have survived the slugs and even the two tomatoes I transplanted have flowers.  Not bad for these horrible cold days. The ruins smell beautiful with Jasmine, pal onia, wisteria and roses all in bloom. Further North the conditions are worse with farms and whole town isolated by never ending flood events.

more floods and a mystery

 24.10.2022.

 

There was no time for the blog last week because finally the skies cleared and the temperature rose slowly to 25 degrees. What bliss!  It did mean that we could get outside and put in a frantic effort to get things under control as fast as possible. The ride on mower is a god send. I spent three days slashing through cape weed and other undesirables until our place began to look civilised again. Everyone else was busy doing exactly the same so there was no socialising time.

 

Soon the weather broke again with more rain and floods. One evening we were completely cut off when the bridges between us and everywhere else went under water. Luckily by morning that road was passible again, but many other roads remained closed. Fortunately, Friday was dry and I spent five hours walking round the Healesville sanctuary with Al’s two youngest sons, whilst he worked.  I haven’t been there for years and found the changes were amazing. There were several play grounds and cafes, and lots of interesting art works and interactive stuff for the kids as well as all the native fauna to spot. Even so it was a long day for the youngest and we did not have a stroller so he did hours of walking. 

 

This week the forecast is for more rain. The rivers north of us are in spate and town dwellers have been struggling to get sand bags and levies in appropriate places.  The floods have not yet peaked so a slow disaster has been unfolding all the way down from Qld.  The big drama here was when Josh came home one night, he found the road blocked by a tractor that was on fire. The police and fire brigade tried to put things right but the equipment was totally destroyed. We have been told that it belonged to a contractor who cleared tree branches along the roads. Someone took it late at night drove round a friend’s property and smashed into things and then drove it up to Steels Creek and torched it!  Who, or why has not yet come to light.

 

Today I am sorting out cauliflowers. They are all ready on the same day so I am preparing them before freezing.  The first task was to evacuate all the slugs that are breeding prolifically in this weather. Strangely enough cauliflowers freeze a lot better than one would expect.

 

Floods

                                                            Flood damage

Nashi pear in bloom

 15.10.2022.

 

Our good working spring weather did not last long.  We have just experienced massive rain fall over Victoria, NSW and Tassie that has resulted in biblical style floods!   The water came over the bridge on our road and also at the other bridge between us and anywhere.  Our nearest town of Yarra Glen is by the Yarra River, and yesterday most of the roads in or out where impassable. The water up with us has gone down but it is still rising in many other towns. 

 

There have been numerous houses filled with flood water and the SES has been busy rescuing people who are trapped. I walked round our land today to survey the damage.  The main creek through our place has obviously come right over its banks and several huge manna gums have fallen down when their roots were under mined.  All the vegetation by the creek has been covered with silt but my two kangaroo apple plants are on higher ground and have both survived.  Luckily our fences seem OK too.

 

I had to brave the flood water yesterday and meet Al who had work up this way.   His wife is too sick to care for their boys so Al has been taking them with him when ever possible.   Last week I joined them on a building site so Al was free to work.     It absolutely poured with rain and we were soon all soaked to the skin, literally!   This week I took the boys to the library and at least we all kept dry. 

 

Our house was mostly OK, but water came down the chimney above the stoves and shorted out some lights.  We had buckets and pans out to catch water and towels to soak up the splashes.    I am very glad I have my vegetables in raised beds. If I had any at ground level would have been drowned.   My tomato seedlings have come up along with some pumpkin and cucumbers, but they are not large enough to plant out yet.    Everything is going up in price so this year our home-grown food supply is extra important.  

pasty day pictures

 

pastie day

 3.1.2022

 

At last spring is more spring like and we have enjoyed the first sunny warm weekend we have longed for.  To celebrate the equinox, that conveniently occurs about the same time as the football finals, we had our usual pasty day.  The football match was not very interesting but we did not mind as most of the family was busy making pasties.  This year Indi took over their assembly, which she achieved with her usual neatness and skill. 

 

I do not make the pasties, but I grow the swedes, prepare the pastry and buy the onions and carrots.  All this takes long term effort so I feel OK about just sticking to the farm work on the day of the party.  This year Thursday was declared a bank holiday for the queen, so Alvyn arrived with some friends on Thursday afternoon and they all camped on the farm for the weekend.  During their stay a goat gave birth to twins and so did the second sheep. The young twin girls who were part of the camping group were thrilled to witness a birth but they also became very good helpers doing the farm work.

 

The rest of the family came on Saturday so we expanded to a group of 23. Wayne’s daughters made friends with the twins very quickly and every one had lots of exercise outdoors for once.  We were all exhausted by Sunday but had thoroughly enjoyed all getting together again.

 

From then on, the weather has continued to improve. We have wormed the sheep and checked their feet before moving them to new pasture. The goats have also been moved so that they can go down the gullies and eat out the new blackberry leaves as they emerge.

 

I have begun working on spring vegetables. We have lots of lettuce and purple sprouting broccoli but it will be so good when we can have zucchinis again. We usually get too many and quickly get sick of them but last year Bo found a great recipe for zucchini pickle that goes very well with our goat’s cheese. We definitely need more of it this year. The snow peas are slow to get going but I keep trying.

 

I also tried treated myself to a shopping day at the huge Knox shopping centre with a plan to get all the little things I have done without over covid. I was horrified to find all the shops I used 3 years ago have gone missing and even the floor tiles had been taken up so that walking between the shops that did exist was quite hazardous. I gave up and came home empty handed.