Dry
Drove to Ballarat yesterday, to spend time with my sister. She's having a very rough time lately. Human beings are fragile things.
Had a gorgeous day though, and managed to keep her tear-free for most of the time. Alcohol-free, too, although that's something she's managing by herself - no mean feat.
Dry was the word du jour - we are in the midst of a severe drought here, and I would challenge any climate-change scoffers to continue scoffing after what we saw along the Melbourne-Ballarat road. Green seems to exist only in the memory, having been replaced by shades of ochre and brown. Much of the land is parched, and the dams and creeks virtually dry. Now and then we'd see huge sprinklers spraying life-giving bore water onto struggling crops. More often, though, what crops we saw were already beyond hope.
Anyone who's ever been to Ballarat will remember the beautiful lake - it is no more. Really. There are some largish puddles of water towards the middle, where the swans and ducks fight for territory, but all around the perimeter and a very long way out it is so dry and cracked that the water plants have been replaced by dry land grasses and drought-resistant weeds. Brave, opportunistic life.
The boat sheds are now locked up, and the launching ramps ludicrously far away from anything that could float more than a champagne cork. Word is that it will be years before the boats can be launched there again, if ever. For now, the very keen have to transport boats and rowers many miles away to get their oars wet.
We are gearing up for a long, hot summer, and the country is ready to burn. Some of it already has. When the hot Northerly blows, there is often smoke in the air. Only when you've lived through a bushfire can you understand the fear that smell evokes.
It's a lovely sunny day in Melbourne - about 24 degrees C, with a light breeze. Perfect.
Some rain would be nice though.
Had a gorgeous day though, and managed to keep her tear-free for most of the time. Alcohol-free, too, although that's something she's managing by herself - no mean feat.
Dry was the word du jour - we are in the midst of a severe drought here, and I would challenge any climate-change scoffers to continue scoffing after what we saw along the Melbourne-Ballarat road. Green seems to exist only in the memory, having been replaced by shades of ochre and brown. Much of the land is parched, and the dams and creeks virtually dry. Now and then we'd see huge sprinklers spraying life-giving bore water onto struggling crops. More often, though, what crops we saw were already beyond hope.
Anyone who's ever been to Ballarat will remember the beautiful lake - it is no more. Really. There are some largish puddles of water towards the middle, where the swans and ducks fight for territory, but all around the perimeter and a very long way out it is so dry and cracked that the water plants have been replaced by dry land grasses and drought-resistant weeds. Brave, opportunistic life.
The boat sheds are now locked up, and the launching ramps ludicrously far away from anything that could float more than a champagne cork. Word is that it will be years before the boats can be launched there again, if ever. For now, the very keen have to transport boats and rowers many miles away to get their oars wet.
We are gearing up for a long, hot summer, and the country is ready to burn. Some of it already has. When the hot Northerly blows, there is often smoke in the air. Only when you've lived through a bushfire can you understand the fear that smell evokes.
It's a lovely sunny day in Melbourne - about 24 degrees C, with a light breeze. Perfect.
Some rain would be nice though.
posted by MargieCM at 3:57 pm
12 Comments:
You can have all our rain if you surrender those 24C. It's been nothing but wet here for weeks on end, off and on, although today was sunny for most of the day. 7C is all we could manage.
Wanna swap?
I hope your sister forges ahead- you are right, it is no mean feat. Best wishes to her.
Margiecm- i think its incredible what you transported folk have done to your surroundings- a hundred years ago we sent all our villians over and now you have cities, cars and even digital watches- its incredible well done.
Seriously i hope things get better for your sis soon and the 14 yr old girl post was very moving, ill say no more cause im rubbish
keep it er.. moist
Hi Anne-Marie! I don't fancy the 7 deg C much (although we have plenty of days like that in the winter), but yes, please, I'll take the rain. I'm no good at taking three minute showers! Once it starts snowing though, you're on your own.
Neil - Neil! How lovely to see you here. Yes, it's amazing how resourceful hardened criminals become after a couple of centuries of good solid inbreeding. I personally am descended from several bits of rough, including a proud line of Eastend blaggers. My Great-Great-Grandfather was transported for an early form of celebrity stalking. Kept hanging around outside some toff's place in Richmond, apparently.
Incidentally, you, babe, are very far from rubbish.
And thanks both of you for the good wishes to my sister.
ps: that IS blaggers, not bloggers.
Blogging was only by ship's mail in those days, and Bill Gates' ancestors had a monopoly on oranges so the mail boys all died of scurvy. Doomed from the start.
well its raining here ill send some over for you..have you tried dancing naked round a flame at moonlight that could induce the rain god to shower some down on you??...
oh and huddles to your sister tell her to hang in there ..blue skys on the horizon.
Gypsy, I do precious litle else these days. So far the only things that have showered down on me are the contents of the neighbours' chamber pots. Bastards.
Ta for the goodies to my sis.
Margiecm - Sorry, no rain to send from here, but I'll do a rain dance for you anyway.
I was quite touched by the story of your 14 year-old friend. Gypsy is right. People do often use religion to gain personal power over others. VERY wrong and very sad. Your friend is extremely lucky to have you on her side. What an awful thing for a parent to say to a child who is already struggling to find out who she is.
My 13 year old has a friend who lives with abuse. She won't tell the school because she's afraid that her mother will do worse to her than she does. I've told my daughter that this friend is welcome at our house anytime she needs a safe place to go....so far not. If she comes here with bruises though the shit's gonna hit the fan!
I subscribe to Dale's philosophy. Spirituality is hands down for me better than any organized religion. That kind of faith can't be twisted.
Prayers and strength to your sister. It's so hard to see someone you love suffering.
margie,
It looks like our prayers for rain have been answered. As you know, Here In Melbourne when it rains it pours.
I hope they got some where its really needed.
Did You get the hail thismorning where you are?
Neans
Hi Margie,
Sorry to be so late in wishing this, but all the best to your sister, I will keep her in my thoughts. Hopefully things will look better for her in time.
Hm, what with Neil (and you) referring to the hardened criminals who were put in ships and sent off...Australia must have been a hard land to survive, especially in the summer, without any kind of technology, not even digital watches.
I wonder, though, has the climate changed from those times - gone drier and hotter in the summer? And if so, I wonder if it's human influence?
Maria
What a pathetic excuse for a blogger I am. Belatedly: Hi to you Rache - and thanks for visiting this rather odd little space. Good grief, there seems to be a lot of this sort of thing around; or are we just more open about it now? I hope at least children are feeling more able to reach out and ask for help these days.
No, Neans - no hail here, but I was woken by rain the other day - it was a really weird experience - I'd almost forgotten the sound! I'm not sure they got much of it where it's most needed though. This can be a bugger of a country if you're a farmer or a fish.
Yes, Maria, it must have been an absolute nightmare setting up in such an alien and unforgiving environment. Many of the convict settlers though (actually by no means all hardened crims, despite my jokes - hundreds were sent here for stealing bread or other food just to keep their families alive) were city slum-dwellers who, once their time was served, took to the freedom and fresh air with a determination born of a keen knowlege of a poorer life. They were also joined by free settlers who had some prior farming experience (although in different conditions). The farming efforts of the first fleet, however, failed, and had the second wave of arrivals been much later with new provisions, grain and stock, most would probably have died. Unlike the indigenous Australians, they had no idea how to live off the land.
I think global climate change is irrefutable, and almost certainly some of it is due to human populations. Greenhouse gas emissions, the damage we have done to the ozone layer (I think the biggest "hole" is still in our neck of the woods), over-clearing of forested areas, and the failure of governments, incuding ours, to address any of it really seriously have all done their bit. I am not proud of the fact that Australia still refuses to be a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. We are a very spoilt nation.
Oops! I wrote back last night after I saw your comment on my blog, but I posted to your 'Something Happier' post by mistake!
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