Summer is not my favourite time of year, especially this time around as we have completely missed a season. We went from winter to summer and it seems endless.
The ground is parched and dams are drying up. Our dam is one of the few that still has some water. A stand pipe has recently been opened in our little town by the council. This means that the outlying properties reliant on rainfall for their water have access to town water for stock. Unfortunately this water is untreated and not recommended for human consumption. Some property owners have been buying water in bulk and a number of tankers have passed our front gate lately. Also, trucks carrying hay are regular passers-by as there is no grass left for stock to eat.
Very rarely do the wildlife drink from the dam now. It doesn't look very appetising; more like gum-leaf tea than water. They prefer to drink from our bird bath, which we top up every night. The birds bathe and drink from it during the day; at night the rabbits, hares, wallabies, kangaroos and perhaps other creatures drink from it.
The ground is parched and dams are drying up. Our dam is one of the few that still has some water. A stand pipe has recently been opened in our little town by the council. This means that the outlying properties reliant on rainfall for their water have access to town water for stock. Unfortunately this water is untreated and not recommended for human consumption. Some property owners have been buying water in bulk and a number of tankers have passed our front gate lately. Also, trucks carrying hay are regular passers-by as there is no grass left for stock to eat.
Very rarely do the wildlife drink from the dam now. It doesn't look very appetising; more like gum-leaf tea than water. They prefer to drink from our bird bath, which we top up every night. The birds bathe and drink from it during the day; at night the rabbits, hares, wallabies, kangaroos and perhaps other creatures drink from it.
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| Thornbills in the smaller bird bath. This is the only area where there is a little green grass. |
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| A fairy wren landing by the larger pool. The solar pump circulates the water from this pool to the bird bath. |
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| The agapanthus are struggling, but have survived only on rainfall. |
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| Dead grass and gum leaves! The gum trees shed their leaves continuously. |
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| Gum-leaf tea! You can see the gum leaves at the water's edge. From the depth stick you can see by the dark bit how high the water once was. |
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| This wallaby stopped by a few days ago for a daytime drink. It was too wary to come to the bird bath as it is close to the house. |
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| A pair of red-rumped parrots still finding something to eat. They'd been in the bird bath early yesterday evening. |
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| An old photo taken in winter. |
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