Monday 27th was overcast and very muggy, so it looked like we were to cop some more rain. However, the sun came out around midday and things started to dry out a bit. The tracks were all too muddy to head out on a bore run though, so it was a day working in the garden at the main house. On Tuesday we awoke to a fine morning. The tracks had dried out a fair bit so we headed out around the bores to see how things were doing. All the rain gauges showed that the weekend’s rain had been well shared over the entire property. Despite the rain, we had to pump water at Carol’s and also at Frasers as the cattle seemed to have congregated there and given the troughs a hard time. This took a little longer than anticipated as we had to drain the fuel tank on the pump engine to get rid of yet more water contamination. Hopefully it is finally cured!!
Wednesday saw us head out first thing to check that the pump had kept running at Frasers, which it had, before making a dash into Longreach to pick up some last minute supplies as the weather forecast from Wednesday pm through to the next week was for very heavy rain and thunderstorms. We then concentrated our efforts in the garden for the rest of the day. Mid afternoon we got a visit from the Station Manager at Maneroo, Frank, and his parents after some mangos. They went away delighted with a couple of boxes which we helped them pick. Frank still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Ted, which he was surprised at as Ted will normally make it to his place within a couple of days of going walkabout. The worrying thing was that he said that there had been some Roo shooters about and they get a decent price for killing off apparent stray/wild dogs. Fingers crossed for Ted!!
On Thursday the weather men got it right and the heavens opened. It rained heavily most of the day and by 1800 we’d had 91mm in the rain gauge at the house. The ground was saturated again and with the rain forecast to continue for several days, we considered starting work on building an Arc. The rain stopped just as it was getting dark and the late evening brought us some magnificent skies as the cloud broke.
Christmas Eve dawned on a very soggy Tanamera. There had been another 4.5mm between our checking at 1800 and the rain finally stopping the previous evening. Driving anywhere was out, so we took a walk (or should I say slither) down to check Wally’s house was OK after the rain, and to have another shout for Ted around the Home Dam/Woolshed area. Wally’s place was good but alas there was still no sign of Ted. The rest of the day was spent planting potatoes and doing battle with an out of control honeysuckle over one of the patio eaves. Three Ute-loads of cuttings were removed to the dump and we’ve only started to make a dent in the thing. This could take some time!!
And then, all of a sudden, it was Christmas Day! The weather was a little damp and overcast but nothing as dramatic as the met men had forecast. Sheila and I set about creating our own little Outback Christmas lunch. Sheila produced a festive tablecloth, courtesy of her mum, and some Danish Nisse figures to decorate the table. Then it was time to feast! What more iconic Aussie fare than prawns and cold beer, followed by lamb chops from the barbie, washed down with some nice red wine, and not forgetting the Christmas pudding and brandy custard. Stuffed, it was time to retire to a comfy chair and wat
ch the “idiot’s lantern” whilst quaffing another coldie.
Did you know that cattle love mangos? We collected the fallen mangos out of the orchard at least twice a day for at least two weeks. The good ones we washed, dried and stored them in the cold room (all eleven large cartons of them), the bruised ones we took out to the nearby paddock where the bulls were. It got to the point where the guys were out there waiting for us at the appointed hour, morning and evening. They looked genuinely sad when the supplies started to dwindle.
Wally, Sally and Gus were due to return home on the 29th, but the flooding and road closures stranded them on the east coast for a further week, so it was a very quiet New Years Eve for Sheila and me. So that was 2010!!
Our hopes of a nice relaxed New Year’s Day were dashed in the evening when we noticed that the water tank at the house wasn’t filling as it should. This meant a late evening walk along the pipeline to the pump checking for leaks!! The pipeline joints were all intact but we found the pump not running. As it was getting dark at this stage we decided that we would investigate the pump and pressure switch electrics first thing in the morning. So, early Sunday morning saw us back trying to find the fault. We established that it was the new pressure switch (only installed by Wally before he left for Christmas) that was the problem. We bypassed the switch and ran the pump on timed runs to fill the tank.
Wednesday saw us head out first thing to check that the pump had kept running at Frasers, which it had, before making a dash into Longreach to pick up some last minute supplies as the weather forecast from Wednesday pm through to the next week was for very heavy rain and thunderstorms. We then concentrated our efforts in the garden for the rest of the day. Mid afternoon we got a visit from the Station Manager at Maneroo, Frank, and his parents after some mangos. They went away delighted with a couple of boxes which we helped them pick. Frank still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Ted, which he was surprised at as Ted will normally make it to his place within a couple of days of going walkabout. The worrying thing was that he said that there had been some Roo shooters about and they get a decent price for killing off apparent stray/wild dogs. Fingers crossed for Ted!!
Christmas Eve dawned on a very soggy Tanamera. There had been another 4.5mm between our checking at 1800 and the rain finally stopping the previous evening. Driving anywhere was out, so we took a walk (or should I say slither) down to check Wally’s house was OK after the rain, and to have another shout for Ted around the Home Dam/Woolshed area. Wally’s place was good but alas there was still no sign of Ted. The rest of the day was spent planting potatoes and doing battle with an out of control honeysuckle over one of the patio eaves. Three Ute-loads of cuttings were removed to the dump and we’ve only started to make a dent in the thing. This could take some time!!
ch the “idiot’s lantern” whilst quaffing another coldie.
Boxing Day was a quiet affair for us, catching up on the domestic chores between showers. Have we really been here 7 weeks?
The last week of 2010 turned out to be sunny and very hot at Tanamera with temperatures nearing 40 deg C. A far cry from the rest of Queensland which was experiencing the worst floods in decades! The first two days of the week were taken up jungle bashing in the garden at the homestead as it was far too wet underfoot to even contemplate driving anywhere after the previous weekends rain. We even managed to finish chopping out that damned honeysuckle. As the week progressed, the ground dried out pretty fast, so we were able to get out and about checking the bores, troughs and dams. All was good, the cattle were looking very healthy and there was plenty of water around the property for them, so we only had to do a couple of minor top ups to the system.
Did you know that cattle love mangos? We collected the fallen mangos out of the orchard at least twice a day for at least two weeks. The good ones we washed, dried and stored them in the cold room (all eleven large cartons of them), the bruised ones we took out to the nearby paddock where the bulls were. It got to the point where the guys were out there waiting for us at the appointed hour, morning and evening. They looked genuinely sad when the supplies started to dwindle.
Wally, Sally and Gus were due to return home on the 29th, but the flooding and road closures stranded them on the east coast for a further week, so it was a very quiet New Years Eve for Sheila and me. So that was 2010!!
Our hopes of a nice relaxed New Year’s Day were dashed in the evening when we noticed that the water tank at the house wasn’t filling as it should. This meant a late evening walk along the pipeline to the pump checking for leaks!! The pipeline joints were all intact but we found the pump not running. As it was getting dark at this stage we decided that we would investigate the pump and pressure switch electrics first thing in the morning. So, early Sunday morning saw us back trying to find the fault. We established that it was the new pressure switch (only installed by Wally before he left for Christmas) that was the problem. We bypassed the switch and ran the pump on timed runs to fill the tank.
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