Today was chopper day. The get up in the air and see what’s happening variety. My Dad went up first and checked some of our  western country. I then retraced his steps and went further afield. Every flood is different. We can try and gauge levels and by extension predicted land inundation however our records which extend to well over one hundred years can no longer be relied apon. This is due to a number of factors most of which fall into the demographic change variety and of course mother nature herself. The land changes, continually. Our other problem is due to water readings. With the retirement of a particular property owner along the creek, a prime measuring point has been lost and we are now in the hands of the water gods. This first picture shows some of our country which adjoins the Whalan Creek and that soggy crop is fodder sorghum planted for cattle feed. We certainly received more water than we bargained for. Dad and I did numerous runs down to the creek as the water rose and everytime we expected the peak to hit we were wrong. There were certianly quite a few anxious hours as we waited to see how much water we would end up with and 400 metres from the homestead was quite close enough! The next pic shows one of our wheat cultivations and the mother bin which is full of wheat. Harvest is definately over for us as it will be weeks before we can get to this particular field.

Much of our lower country is totally inundated with about 4 ft of water as the third picture shows. The chopper was invaluble when it came to pushing cattle towards higher ground. The sunlight on the water was particularly strong this morning which is why this last picture isn’t so clear however it gives you a good idea of the depth of the water and the singular tenacity of the cow heading towards a dry

‘island’. So that puts us at about 13000 acres under water. Over in cotton world David is now cut off and continues to pump water from the fields. Our phone calls take place at David’s end from a pump site on a storage facility with the wind buffeting every word and me straining to hear him. My ‘window’  for a quick visitation came and went today while I was airborne so we now sit and wait and pray that the rain stays away and the water gets away quickly. What a year.