March 13, 2021

Mice holes & tracks everywhere in the stubble paddocks

February 5, 2021

Storm damage

October 8, 2020

Hmmm…….

 

October 1, 2020

Parked

September 30, 2020

 As if 2020 wasn’t long enough there’s an extra day in September.

July 26, 2020

Border crossing on a Sunday morning.

Earlier this month the New South Wales Government closed its border with Victoria. This is the border crossing into Victoria, over the Murray River at Tocumwal, our local town. The last time it was closed was during the 1919 Spanish Flu epidemic.

May 13, 2020

Empty shelves. 

8 weeks after nationwide Coronavirus panic buying and some pantry items are still in short supply. Here in country NSW, Australia, it’s flour & rice. 

I’m curious… around the world what are you struggling to buy?

May 12, 2020

The Unbreakable Hilux comes to the rescue.

May 5, 2020

Sifting out rocks

March 2, 2020

Breakdown timing not ideal

January 7, 2020

We are hay producers. 

It is what we do best. 

It makes me so upset to know that we could be helping so many more fire affected farmers if only this infrastructure was not sitting idle due to zero water allocation for two years in a row and the governments management of water. 

Sadly this is what our paddock of lucerne looks like today. 

January 4, 2020

Smoke fills the air

Spare a thought for our battle-weary volunteer firefighters who today face another extreme danger day. 

May they all come home safely to their loved ones. 

November 24, 2019

And we are still on zero water allocation...

October 2, 2019

Murray River at Tocumwal today

If you have been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I try to focus on the positives; I try to find the beauty in each day. But in reality, things are not quite so rosy. The Murray Darling Basin Plan and its rollout has devastated our district. 

Last July at the start of the irrigation season Dartmouth Dam was 89% full and we got 0% water allocation for the year. This year Dartmouth Dam was 63% and we are on zero allocation. Today’s water flow rate for the Murray River at Tocumwal is 15,422ML/day. This river is not in drought. It is running very high. So what will it take for us ever to get an allocation again? 

In this week’s MDBA’s weekly report Dartmouth Dam storage capacity “decreased by 13 GL” and coincidently at the other end of the system i.e. lower lakes in South Australia some 2,500kms downstream “13 GL of environmental water was released through the barrages (out to sea) over the week… to provide environmental cues and connection to support the movement of several migratory fish species”  

So while dairy cattle are being sent to the slaughter, crops are dying, citrus trees are being pulled out, and people are contemplating their future…. while Australia is now importing wheat and dairy products the migratory fish… in the ocean… are getting fresh water, through man made barrages from a man-made fresh water lake that used to be a natural estuary. It is nice to know where we all sit on the list of priorities with the government.

If you live within the Murray Darling Basin then I urge you to take part in the Panel Engagement Sessions being held through-out the basin over the next 2 weeks. If you can’t get to one of the sessions please, please fill out the Community Experience Survey. 

This survey is for all in the community not just the farmers. I urge you to take the time to fill out the survey. 

(Click on the blue text above to access websites)

March 31, 2019

The might of that wind! 

This was an old hay shed… but not anymore.

March 30, 2019

The cleanup begins

February 19, 2019

Lesson #1: don’t sleep under a windrow of hay. 

I did umm & ahh as to whether to share this photo that was taken whilst baling hay early this morning. 

It’s not pretty. 

Foxes are a major pest in Australia having been introduced in 1871 when shipped from England for the purposes of sport hunting. They have decimated our native wildlife and continue to cause much harm. As you have probably gathered from my blog over the years we love our native wildlife here so we really dislike foxes. But a living thing is a living thing... he wouldn’t have known what hit him & it would have been very quick.

February 7, 2019

Dust storm rolling in

January 26, 2019

Bit of dust and wind last night.

January 8, 2019

Sad eyes.

This little kitten got lucky today. Dumped like rubbish by a heartless person it has now found a loving home. 

Pets that become ferals are a big cause of loss of native wildlife in this country. Pet owners need to be responsible for their pets. Get your cats and dogs desexed, know where they are by keeping them confined to your yard and don’t dump your unwanted pets. Our wildlife depends on you being responsible.