With our part of the world having officially been declared a natural disaster area a few weeks back I’ll be glad to see the end of 2011. At the risk of putting everyone off their prawns I’ve avoided ‘sharing’ all of our watery woes, however over the last couple pf weeks we actually did have another two rises down the Whalan Creek. That put our flooded country at 16,000 acres and officially places the property at shut down levels until late January. Of course no one knows what is in store for us over the next ten days and with a not so handy 62 mm falling on wednesday night it was quite a drama to get our of my place on thursday am to drive to Moree to pick my sister off the plane from Sydney. David and I left at 6.30 am, two lots of .6 and .5 water later we were at my landcruiser, which I promptly started and managed to bog to the back axles. We got the old girl out with a chain and I got to my neighbours property where my x-trail waited about fifteen minutes later. Wendy and Bruce Carrigan are the resident ‘helpers’ on our road. A substantial ridge and a spare carport next to the stables keeps my vehicle accessible. I can’t thank them enough. After that I swapped vehicles and met mum and dad in their landcruiser to pick them up. We got to Moree collected Brooke, groceries and presents and managed to get out as the water rose between Garah and Boomi. Of course back at ‘Frog Hollow’ David met me in the hilux and it was back to bracing serious water. Happy days.

In the above picture you can see some of the flood damage. That is a fence running in front of those two trees which has been partially knocked over from the force of the water and the weight of the wheat stubble washed against it from an adjoining cultivation. While the pumping of water off cotton fields continues, over at the main homestead we managed to get the sheep backlined against fly strike. We usually crutch them prior to Christmas which is akin to a top and tail partial shearing however the wet weather has made the job impossible, hence the backlining against the nasty black flies which are sure to make an appearance when the weather warms up.

One highlight so far is that no fodder drops have been required. The sheep have plenty of dry country while the cattle are walking out into the water to feed to return to ridges and a dry camp. Most of our cultivations are either under water or inaccessible so the NY will see the planes hitting the skies to spray out weeds in preparation for the 2012 cropping season. And so to christmas…

It’s hard trying to get into the chrissy spirit when it’s a drama to get things in and out however I found this cute chrissy cake in Moree that is ‘back pack / jet ski friendly’ in size. Next to Mum’s admittedly it doesn’t look so grand-but it smells delicious and ensures our Christmas cake fetish won’t be denied! (Who says size matters?) So it’s to the main homestead on Christmas eve / day to enjoy mum’s tasty christmas lunch along with the odd beverage. Here’s to a super 2012 for everyone. with good health and joy; and perhaps a touch less water. Christmas blessings.