Hope springs eternal..............
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message ... We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. Now I've just had a killer of a frost as I've just been thinking it's time to plant the tomatoes. Thank heavens I stick to the maxim of neverplant till I know who won the Melbourne Cup. The frost killed all the new growth on my buddlia (sp?), has knocked new growth on the roses, has done for all the new leaves and grapes on at least 100 of the grape vines and killed all the flowers on most of my Irises. Sodding weather. 3 days ago it was aircon in the car because it was so hot (over 30C) and last night it was back to fires and the winter duvets. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. September for us saw me in shorts, dry and sunny. October has been cold winds from the south, rain and dull skies. rob |
Hope springs eternal..............
We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have
tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. Now I've just had a killer of a frost as I've just been thinking it's time to plant the tomatoes. Thank heavens I stick to the maxim of neverplant till I know who won the Melbourne Cup. The frost killed all the new growth on my buddlia (sp?), has knocked new growth on the roses, has done for all the new leaves and grapes on at least 100 of the grape vines and killed all the flowers on most of my Irises. Sodding weather. 3 days ago it was aircon in the car because it was so hot (over 30C) and last night it was back to fires and the winter duvets. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message ... We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. Now I've just had a killer of a frost as I've just been thinking it's time to plant the tomatoes. Thank heavens I stick to the maxim of neverplant till I know who won the Melbourne Cup. The frost killed all the new growth on my buddlia (sp?), has knocked new growth on the roses, has done for all the new leaves and grapes on at least 100 of the grape vines and killed all the flowers on most of my Irises. Sodding weather. 3 days ago it was aircon in the car because it was so hot (over 30C) and last night it was back to fires and the winter duvets. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Never thought of Australia as having frost - ever! Jenny |
Hope springs eternal..............
In message
, Farm1 writes We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. I've heard about the dire effect on the Australian wheat harvest, etc. So worrying. Maybe this is a silly question, but does 6 years of drought mean 6 years unbroken sunshine and few if any clouds - or are the clouds up there, the rain just doesn't come down? (I guess I'm trying to get a picture of drought in terms of how it works globally, now that there is drought in so many parts of the world.) -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
Hope springs eternal..............
In message , JennyC
writes "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message ... We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. Now I've just had a killer of a frost as I've just been thinking it's time to plant the tomatoes. Thank heavens I stick to the maxim of neverplant till I know who won the Melbourne Cup. The frost killed all the new growth on my buddlia (sp?), has knocked new growth on the roses, has done for all the new leaves and grapes on at least 100 of the grape vines and killed all the flowers on most of my Irises. Sodding weather. 3 days ago it was aircon in the car because it was so hot (over 30C) and last night it was back to fires and the winter duvets. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Never thought of Australia as having frost - ever! Jenny They even have ski resorts. I may be mistaken, but I think the skiing is more reliable than in Scotland. Even Queensland has frost. -- Stewart Robert Hinsley |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Klara" wrote in message ... In message , Farm1 writes We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. I've heard about the dire effect on the Australian wheat harvest, etc. So worrying. Maybe this is a silly question, but does 6 years of drought mean 6 years unbroken sunshine and few if any clouds - or are the clouds up there, the rain just doesn't come down? (I guess I'm trying to get a picture of drought in terms of how it works globally, now that there is drought in so many parts of the world.) Klara, Gatwick basin Interesting question Klara ! That's one of the things i love about the web..........it sets one of on all sorts of quests that you'd maybe not think of on your own:~) Went a googling and found these: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/livedrought.shtml http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm Al Gore's film might also be of interest (on a wider scale).... http://www.climatecrisis.net/ Jenny |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Martin" wrote in message
... On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 11:33:46 +0200, "JennyC" wrote: "Klara" wrote in message ... In message , Farm1 writes We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. I've heard about the dire effect on the Australian wheat harvest, etc. So worrying. Maybe this is a silly question, but does 6 years of drought mean 6 years unbroken sunshine and few if any clouds - or are the clouds up there, the rain just doesn't come down? (I guess I'm trying to get a picture of drought in terms of how it works globally, now that there is drought in so many parts of the world.) Klara, Gatwick basin Interesting question Klara ! That's one of the things i love about the web..........it sets one of on all sorts of quests that you'd maybe not think of on your own:~) Went a googling and found these: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/livedrought.shtml http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm Al Gore's film might also be of interest (on a wider scale).... http://www.climatecrisis.net/ When we were in South Australia and Victoria in February-March 2005 not only was there cloud, but it rained hard several times too. Melbourne seems to have colder climate than Adelaide and elsewhere. Flying over Australia the first cloud we encountered was around Melbourne. -- Martin We were in Darwin in February and it was hot. HOT hot, but you could see by the lush vegetation that they do have rain and by the boardwalks in the Forest and the way the scrub was 'swept' one way, they had a lot of rain complete with floods and fast flowing water. Mike -- .................................................. ......... Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association www.rnshipmates.co.uk www.nsrafa.com |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Klara" wrote in message
Farm1 writes We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. I've heard about the dire effect on the Australian wheat harvest, etc. So worrying. Yes. A third of this years wheat crop has already been written off and food prices are rising. About 3 years ago my favourite breakfast cereal hit $8/ pkt (3.22 UK pounds) so I hate to think what it will be this year. Our Federal Government (which like the US, has refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement) has very suddenly begun to do an about face on climate change. They have finally realised that it is country people who run businesses or farm who are hurting badly and with an election less than a year away they are obviously getting a wee bit nervous as this is their main voter block. Maybe this is a silly question, but does 6 years of drought mean 6 years unbroken sunshine and few if any clouds - or are the clouds up there, the rain just doesn't come down? (I guess I'm trying to get a picture of drought in terms of how it works globally, now that there is drought in so many parts of the world.) We never have a lot of clouds where I live and rarely get a day or more of rain, (or even overcast) just showers but even those have been rare of late. Some months there is no rainfall at all and most months with lower than average rainfall. We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now. It is right on the edge of a coastal escarpment which is the type of location I knew from my childhood and this location usually means good rain as any clouds rolling in fromt eh sea usuallyd rop some rain as they come inland. The troubleis that most clouds are now coming across the Continent from the west it seems nad then swinging south before they hit the more productive land in the SE of Aus. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Stewart Robert Hinsley" wrote in message
writes "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message ... We've had 6 years of continuous drought where 30 year old trees have tried to die but been resurrected by 3 days of watering. Last year the grasshoppers ate just about everything in the garden including stripping the leaves totally off 2 apples. Now I've just had a killer of a frost as I've just been thinking it's time to plant the tomatoes. Thank heavens I stick to the maxim of neverplant till I know who won the Melbourne Cup. The frost killed all the new growth on my buddlia (sp?), has knocked new growth on the roses, has done for all the new leaves and grapes on at least 100 of the grape vines and killed all the flowers on most of my Irises. Sodding weather. 3 days ago it was aircon in the car because it was so hot (over 30C) and last night it was back to fires and the winter duvets. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Never thought of Australia as having frost - ever! They even have ski resorts. I may be mistaken, but I think the skiing is more reliable than in Scotland. More skiable snow than Switzerland in fact. Even Queensland has frost. Parts of it. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Martin" wrote in message
Melbourne seems to have colder climate than Adelaide and elsewhere. Melbourne is famous for being a place where you can have 4 seasons in the one day. Sod of a climate IMHO. But I would think that both Canberra and Hobart would be colder. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"JennyC" wrote in message
Interesting question Klara ! That's one of the things i love about the web..........it sets one of on all sorts of quests that you'd maybe not think of on your own:~) A kindred spirit :-)) I love the Internet. Went a googling and found these: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/livedrought.shtml http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm Alas, nothing on our present problems in those cites. Al Gore's film might also be of interest (on a wider scale).... http://www.climatecrisis.net/ Interesting you should mention that..... I went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" t'other day and I kept thinking that I'd rather have gone to see "An Inconvenient Truth" which was on at the same complex. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Martin" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote: "Martin" wrote in message Melbourne seems to have colder climate than Adelaide and elsewhere. Melbourne is famous for being a place where you can have 4 seasons in the one day. Sod of a climate IMHO. But I would think that both Canberra and Hobart would be colder. Yes I meant to write "elsewhere in Victoria and South Australia. :-)) From that comment, I take it you didn't go to any of the Victorian ski resorts? Sodding cold places which make poor old Melbourne look positively balmy. But yes, it would be colder than SA. Did you get a chance to see any good gardens when you were in either Melbourne or Adelaide? Both have some lovely gardens. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now. It is right on the edge of a coastal escarpment which is the type of location I knew from my childhood and this location usually means good rain as any clouds rolling in fromt eh sea usuallyd rop some rain as they come inland. The troubleis that most clouds are now coming across the Continent from the west it seems nad then swinging south before they hit the more productive land in the SE of Aus. What do you farm ? Cattle, kangaroos ? Pictures ?? Jenny :~) |
Hope springs eternal..............
In message , JennyC
writes "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now. It is right on the edge of a coastal escarpment which is the type of location I knew from my childhood and this location usually means good rain as any clouds rolling in fromt eh sea usuallyd rop some rain as they come inland. The troubleis that most clouds are now coming across the Continent from the west it seems nad then swinging south before they hit the more productive land in the SE of Aus. What do you farm ? Cattle, kangaroos ? Pictures ?? Jenny :~) That's exactly what I was going to ask! It doesn't sound, then, that there are any clouds to seed, or whatever they may come up with for breaking a drought :-(( -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Martin" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote: Did you get a chance to see any good gardens when you were in either Melbourne or Adelaide? Both have some lovely gardens. We spent most of our at time sorting out my father's problems and on the beach, when not driving from Melbourne to Adelaide and back the pretty way. We hadn't been in Oz since 1984 in the meantime dense traffic has been invented :-) :-)) I hate traffic - a good reason for living in the country. By the 'pretty way' do you mean the Great Ocean Rd? |
Hope springs eternal..............
"JennyC" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now What do you farm ? Cattle, kangaroos ? Angus cattle. And we support far too many kangaroos and feral pigs. We used to have a mob of about 15 kangaroos which stayed in one of the back paddocks. Nice to have around, but the drought brought roos in from everywhere and at one stage they were like locusts. I even had 2 big buck roos which were coming into the garden but I fixed that. I've actually had 2 friends been attacked by big buck roos right in their gardens. And they drown dogs by going into dams and when the dog swims after then they push them under the water with their front paws till they drown. Can be a bit nasty. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message ... "JennyC" wrote in message "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now What do you farm ? Cattle, kangaroos ? Angus cattle. And we support far too many kangaroos and feral pigs. We used to have a mob of about 15 kangaroos which stayed in one of the back paddocks. Nice to have around, but the drought brought roos in from everywhere and at one stage they were like locusts. I even had 2 big buck roos which were coming into the garden but I fixed that. I've actually had 2 friends been attacked by big buck roos right in their gardens. And they drown dogs by going into dams and when the dog swims after then they push them under the water with their front paws till they drown. Can be a bit nasty. Is hunting allowed? IF so are they good to eat? Jenny (not a vegetarian!) |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote We own one farm which we bought specifically to drought proof ourselves. It got about 50 inches of rain a year when we bought it about 14 years ago but that would be under 30 inches now "JennyC" wrote in message What do you farm ? Cattle, kangaroos ? Farm1 writes Angus cattle. And we support far too many kangaroos and feral pigs. We used to have a mob of about 15 kangaroos which stayed in one of the back paddocks. Nice to have around, but the drought brought roos in from everywhere and at one stage they were like locusts. I even had 2 big buck roos which were coming into the garden but I fixed that. I've actually had 2 friends been attacked by big buck roos right in their gardens. And they drown dogs by going into dams and when the dog swims after then they push them under the water with their front paws till they drown. Can be a bit nasty. Cattle - Presumably they need almost as much rainfall as arable, for the grazing... I suppose there's no way you can keep roos out - or only at enormous cost! But roo meat is supposed to be low in cholesterol... Are the feral pigs palatable? Daughter's partner has been working as environmental officer on a mixed organic farm here - and their boreholes have all had to be extended this summer. Fortunately the new willingness to pay a bit more for organic kept them going through the current mess. -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
Hope springs eternal..............
"JennyC" wrote in message
... "Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote in message kangaroos Is hunting allowed? In limited circumstances and too much administration to bother. IF so are they good to eat? I don't think so but it is very low fat and needs a good chef to do properly. Give me a good bit of beef any day. |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Klara" wrote in message
"Farm1" please@askifyouwannaknow wrote Angus cattle. And we support far too many kangaroos and feral pigs. Cattle - Presumably they need almost as much rainfall as arable, for the grazing... Angus being of good Scots origins seem to cope resonably well here (as do the Herefords which I prefer but butchers don't for some reason). There are (sort of) 2 classes of animal farms in Aus. Cattle do better where rainfall is better (which isn't necessarily arable as you would know it in the UK - your land is far better in general than ours - our soils tend to be ancient and depleted). The other land is generally in wheat/sheep country - hot, dry and inland. I suppose there's no way you can keep roos out - or only at enormous cost! They really can clear a 6 ft fence but they prefer to go under fences for some reason. I haven't had a problem with them in the garden since I got rid of one of the big buck males. But roo meat is supposed to be low in cholesterol... Yes it is and no signs of visible fat at all but it needs to come from very young roos and to be thin and quickly cooked and needs a more skilled cook than I am. I'm not a bad cook but can't do roo meat at all well. Are the feral pigs palatable? Yes I believe so but I've never tried them. Some of them are sold to Germany where apparently the odd bit of skin and hairs in the packaging are acceptable as proof that it's from wild pigs. Daughter's partner has been working as environmental officer on a mixed organic farm here - and their boreholes have all had to be extended this summer. Fortunately the new willingness to pay a bit more for organic kept them going through the current mess. Good to know that people are prepared to pay for organic food. Our bore dried up about 3 years ago but we have good dams that luckily have managed to provide us with water all through the drought. |
Hope springs eternal..............
In message , JennyC
writes Went a googling and found these: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/livedrought.shtml http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/le...hc/drought.htm Al Gore's film might also be of interest (on a wider scale).... http://www.climatecrisis.net/ Finally found time to read these - thanks, Jenny. I suppose the one bit of silver lining one can cull from this is that there have been droughts for centuries, so maybe hope can always spring eternal.... -- Klara, Gatwick basin |
Hope springs eternal..............
"Martin" wrote in message
We eventually gave up, as neither of us could stay awake, and spent a night in Hahndorf, where we served with food by sweaty Australians wearing lederhosen. I was there a few weeks ago. Nice but too touristy to want to spend more than a few hours. We did the same trip last year and there was hardly a time when there was no other traffic, especially very big trucks. But a lot less scary than the trucks on some of those narrow British roads TMWOT. The trucks in Sth Wales scared the crap out of me :-)) Incidentally have you looked at Oz as seen from Google Earth recently As far as I can see, all the photos are new and in high resolution. I've briefly seen them on a friends machine and it's very impressive, but my machine is ancient and I don't have access to broadband (rotten country lines) etc, etc. |
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