I thought I would show you a comparison of how much the water levels around here vary with the slightest bit of rain. The land just seems incapable of retaining water unless it is in the lower paddock.
From this
To this
Turallo creek. As you can see it is much lower than before, but still actually higher than normal!
From this
It rained a touch today. These 2 creeks are normally crossable at this point!
To this
This is the same place as before where Turallo Creek meets the minor mountain stream. Last time I couldn’t get near to it safely! A few days later and whilst the water levels are still high, I can now safely cross it again.
And from this
Water, water…. Australia is hot and dry apparently!
To this
Turallo Creek and one of the crossing points. If you look to the left of the photo you will also see one of the barricades created by fallen debris. There is a very good pool on the other side. You would almost think we had beavers!
And this
This is normally a crossing point on the side creek. Not today. That water is well over a meter deep in the middle!
To this
Back to a babbling brook and easily crossable.
The barricade on Turallo Creek. Naturally made I presume, all of wood, branches and mud. The wildlife probably loves it!
It’s due to rain very heavily all day tomorrow. So it will be back to the flooding and digging moats around the chook house again, this is to divert water away from this inside of the chook house btw, not to keep the chooks in!
It started raining at 8am and it didn’t really stop until 4 or 5pm. Just clearing up in time for a few photographs in sunshine, but not many. It rained continually and to the point where I had to dig a moat around the chook house to stop the water running into the chook house and divert it around the outside. Life outside was very, very wet and the creek could be heard from inside the house, our house not the chook house that is. Here when you can hear the creek it is high, when it is silent, it is at its normal level.
The usual water level in our side creek.
Last Saturday the side creek was like these two pictures.
The usual water levels in early spring.
Then it rained, over 2cm inside 9-10 hours. These 2, above and below show the same area, the picture above is shown in the top left of the one below (hope that makes sense) and from a slightly different angle, but I could not get to where I had taken the picture on Saturday because of the water levels and rather a lot of water running off the mountainside from the right of the picture below.
Slightly more water in it today.
The pictures below are all of the ‘main’ creek (Turallo Creek). Usually you can cross this creek without getting your feet wet! And in fact I was standing at one of the main kangaroo/wombat crossing points for both creeks.
Water, water…. Australia is hot and dry apparently!
In the picture above, the water is well over 3m deep (9-10 foot) at the deepest, if not deeper. No way I was getting any closer to it. And I am told that Australia is a dry, arid country. Hummm perhaps it is because all the rain simply runs away rather than being absorbed into the land?
This is normally a crossing point on the side creek. Not today. That water is well over a meter deep in the middle!
If you look carefully, you can see the crossing points. One in the bottom right and the other is just above the ‘rapids’ on the left. That water is over 2 meters (6 foot) deep in the middle. Usually you can hop across the rocks and not get your feet wet.
It rained a touch today. These 2 creeks are normally crossable at this point!
Nope, not getting anywhere near this!
That waterfall does not normally exist. Usually it is dry on the opposite mountainside.
Those shiny patches (below) are running water, water literally running off the mountainside down into the bottom paddock which was under water twice during the day.
Slightly wet today.
On the bright side of things, the rain water tanks are almost full and we are due a few days to dry out before the next deluge arrives! I should get chance to get the bore water tank full as well. That shed is in fact an old stable which houses the bore water pump and there is plenty of water down there for it to pump back up to the top of the hill from where it ran off from in the first place. The irony.
