Rain Rain Rain

[Brian]

About 2.00am we awoke to a loud crack of thunder & flashes of lighting and down came some pretty heavy rain. Mesured 96 points

[GraemeMonro]

Bloody primary producers, never happy.Not enough rain, too much rain, rained yesterday instead of tomorrow, rained in the front paddocks and not the back ones, the rain was too heavy and bent the grass, it wasn"t heavy enough to clean the gutters ...... on and on and on.Graeme.

[GraemeMonro]

Just looking at the radar Brian, looks like you got some more coming. Might catch up to Birdy.Graeme.

[Brian]

I agree Graeme, it looks very much like more is on the way, its just a matter of how much ?? ;DEvery day is humid and even if it starts off clear skies, but by 10 am the cumlo nimbus starts rolling in and results in storms around the place.The ground is that wet now, it only needs 5 mm to make a lot of water lay and 25mm

[birdy]

Bring on the dry spell i recon. >We dont need any more n 4" a year ere.If i liked 3" a year, i woulda moved to Darwin. >Beyond a joke ere now.Cant see the ground, lost most of me roads, and im buggered if me fences are even standn any more, and havent seen a cow in weeks.Go"n t burn me trusty ol tojo soon, cant keep the grass seeds out of it, and it actualy boiled yesterday [ first time in over 20 years].One hell ofa fire bomb out ere now, just waitn for a spark. Duno wot a single handed SCG can do with 1100 squ miles of potential fire bomb.

[bones]

Bring on the dry spell i recon. >We dont need any more n 4" a year ere.If i liked 3" a year, i woulda moved to Darwin. >Beyond a joke ere now.Cant see the ground, lost most of me roads, and im buggered if me fences are even standn any more, and havent seen a cow in weeks.Go"n t burn me trusty ol tojo soon, cant keep the grass seeds out of it, and it actualy boiled yesterday [ first time in over 20 years].One hell ofa fire bomb out ere now, just waitn for a spark. Duno wot a single handed SCG can do with 1100 squ miles of potential fire bomb. I know a fella who gonna need some work soon, he can drive a grader too, bloody hell, i went to work this year come home nd now i broker than when i started the year, i taken my bank details with me this time, bloody women they get hold of things, and next thing you know you got a dirty great debt again.

[Brian]

Bring on the dry spell i recon. >We dont need any more n 4" a year ere.If i liked 3" a year, i woulda moved to Darwin. >Beyond a joke ere now.Cant see the ground, lost most of me roads, and im buggered if me fences are even standn any more, and havent seen a cow in weeks.Go"n t burn me trusty ol tojo soon, cant keep the grass seeds out of it, and it actualy boiled yesterday [ first time in over 20 years].One hell ofa fire bomb out ere now, just waitn for a spark. Duno wot a single handed SCG can do with 1100 squ miles of potential fire bomb. Yeah, its pretty easy to tell the future after 3" of rain when it dries out or even with the right conditions and if and when it does go up, its going to be one big promlem to stop!!We have had approx 18 " so far and have actually only had 30 points over the last 5 days where as Mildura had 50mm on Saturday night plus another drenching yesterday afternoon.Only a mild fire problem this summer but give another year of 20 ", it will be lookout !! At least there are a lot more graders and firebreaks around than back in the 70"s when we had our last bad fires.

[birdy]

I recon the fuel load ere is worse this time round, and we still got the same number of graders or there bouts as in the 70s.Fire breaks are a waste of time now. For starters theyd have to be ten cuts wide, just to burn off of, and a coupla rains after their dun, they are grown over agin. >Im still attempting to burn a section of spinefex in the middle, bout 10 x 15 miles, just to give me half a chance. :-But everytime i get time, its either too windy or its f%^$*n rain"n agin. :-[

[Brian]

I recon the fuel load ere is worse this time round, and we still got the same number of graders or there bouts as in the 70s.Fire breaks are a waste of time now. For starters theyd have to be ten cuts wide, just to burn off of, and a coupla rains after their dun, they are grown over agin. >Im still attempting to burn a section of spinefex in the middle, bout 10 x 15 miles, just to give me half a chance. :-But everytime i get time, its either too windy or its f%^$*n rain"n agin. :-[I tend to agree with you

[bosca]

Brian.There is not much too celebrate in the wheat belt of NSW.5 farmers have topped themselves in the last week near Coonamble,Warran Narromine due to total wheat losses.Very sad.It is liken to the same scenario due to the wool and sheep crash in the 90"s in western NSW.

[Echo]

Losses from wheat crops alone vary from $200k to some places, I"ve heard, $10-$15 million . The best crops seen in ten years have literally been washed away , from central QLD , NSW & Vic . Also hard hit are the harvest contractors - most new headers costing $600k+ ,trucks , chaser bins & the operators all sitting idle , no good chasing the dry " down the road " , cause their is none . Even if there was, most roads are shut & they are stranded .

[Brian]

Kym ,Echo, I only too well know whats happening with the huge monetry losses from drowned crops, been on the land all my life and it can be one of the toughest professions out, I"ve seen thousands of sheep die of starvation /bogging in dams etc, I know of the blood sweat and tears and of the frustrations of being so near making a good quid. I know what the banks are like, been through the wringer meself and looked down the barrel from the wrong end......thank God I had a family & friends who got me through but for some, they havent the support and they feel like they are a failure, all lies but it takes its toll.Farming now

[Echo]

Rain from nowhere By Murray HartinHis cattle didn"t get a bid, they were fairly bloody poor,What was he going to do? He couldn"t feed them anymore,The dams were all but dry, hay was thirteen bucks a bale,Last month"s talk of rain was just a fairytale.His credit had run out, no chance to pay what"s owed,Bad thoughts ran through his head as he drove down Gully Road‘Geez, great grandad bought the place back in 1898,Now I"m such a useless *******, I"ll have to shut the gate.’‘Can"t support my wife and kids, not like dad and those before,Christ, Grandma kept it going while Pop fought in the war.’With depression now his master, he abandoned what was right,There"s no place in life for failures, he"d end it all tonight.There were still some things to do, he"d have to shoot the cattle first,Of all the jobs he"d ever done, that would be the worst.He"d have a shower, watch the news, then they"d all sit down for tea.Read his kids a bedtime story, watch some more TV.Kiss his wife goodnight, say he was off to shoot some roos.Then in a paddock far away he"d blow away the blues.But he drove in the gate and stopped - as he always hadTo check the roadside mailbox - and found a letter from his Dad.Now his dad was not a writer, Mum did all the cards and mailBut he knew the style from the notebooks that he used at cattle sales.He sensed the nature of its contents, felt moisture in his eyes,Just the fact his dad had written was enough to make him cry.‘Son, I know it"s bloody tough, it"s a cruel and twisted game,This life upon the land, when you"re screaming out for rain.There"s no candle in the darkness, not a single speck of lightBut don"t let the demon get you, you have to do what"s right.’‘I don"t know what"s in your head but push the bad thoughts well away,See, you"ll always have your family at the back end of the day.You have to talk to someone, and yes I know I rarely did,But you have to think about Fiona and think about the kids.’‘I"m worried about you son, you haven"t rung for quite a while,I know the road you"re on "cause I"ve walked every bloody mile.The date? December 7 back in 1983,Behind the shed I had the shotgun rested in the brigalow tree.’‘See, I"d borrowed way too much to buy the Johnson place,Then it didn"t rain for years and we got bombed by interest rates.The bank was at the door, I didn"t think I had a choice,I began to squeeze the trigger - that"s when I heard your voice.’‘You said “Where are you Daddy? It"s time to play our game,I"ve got Squatter all set up, you might get General Rain.”It really was that close, you"re the one that stopped me son,And you"re the one that taught me there"s no answer in a gun.‘Just remember people love you, good friends won"t let you down,Look, you might have to swallow pride and get a job in town.Just "til things come good, son, you"ve always got a choiceAnd when you get this letter ring me, cause I"d love to hear yourvoice.’Well he cried and laughed and shook his head then put the truck in gear,Shut his eyes and hugged his dad in a vision that was clear,Dropped the cattle at the yards, put the truck awayFilled the troughs the best he could and fed his last ten bales of hay.Then he strode towards the homestead, shoulders back and head held high,He still knew the road was tough but there was purpose in his eye.He called for his wife and children, who"d lived through all his pain,Hugs said more than words - he"d come back to them again.They talked of silver linings, how good times always follow bad,Then he walked towards the phone, picked it up and rang his Dad.And while the kids set up the Squatter, he hugged his wife again,Then they heard the roll of thunder and they smelt the smell of rain.Murray HartinFebruary 21, 2007

[Echo]

.....now the bl00dy rain won"t stop.....

[Des Garvin]

Thanks for that Echo it is a well written verse. Hope that it gives some one out there a different view of things. Cheers to you all. Des Garvin