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| The view from my upstairs verandah this morning |
Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me with her unpredictability. Just last week Gympie was officially declared a drought zone and farmers became eligible for much-needed assistance. Calves were being sold for a few dollars each because the cost of feed was just too high for many farmers to maintain. I also read earlier this week that, even though we were expecting some rain, Autumn rainfall would be below average - leaving not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. Then you get thrown a curve-ball.
It has rained heavily here for the past few days. I estimate we have had over 200mls of rain in the past 48hrs. Because the creek was bone dry, and the forecasters only predicted minor flooding, I was not really expecting to be flooded today. I suspected the roads would be cut, and I would not be able to get to work, but in the top photo, the water is well past our power pole...which means the Six Mile Creek bridge is under water.
Our first job this morning was to rescue my little red car the boys drive around the farm in. It conveniently ran out of petrol at the bottom of our block, so...
...Paul and the boys towed it to higher ground.
The water is coming from the gully which surrounds our property. This side is well and truly overflowing, and the water level of Six Mile creek will determine whether it keeps coming onto our block. At the moment it is only a few metres from our house, and even though the creek is slowly falling, the water is still creeping towards our house.
That's the nature of floods. They are so unpredictable. It is the decision-making which is the most frustrating part though, at the moment. I have the kids downstairs cleaning out their rooms, and preparing to move their stuff upstairs....just in case.
You can just see the water through the trees here. This is where we have lost cars before, when there was little warning.
The rising water brings all sorts of rubbish from the creek onto our block. Some of it is stuff that washed into the gully in the last flood. The black blur in front is Puppy Bella, who runs like the wind.
Despite the threat, there is beauty to be seen during a flood. The birds are already enjoying their temporary lagoon.
This is the latest photo I took a few minutes ago and the water is now coming up from the back, which isn't a great sign. So, I am off to clear upstairs just in case we need to bring everything up...plus it needs to be done anyway. There is always a bright side :)
I hope you are having a wonderful day so far, and a little less adventurous than mine!
