Wet Weather Blues.

What happens when you mix lots of water, frequent thunderstorms, and a very "crackly" phone line? NO INTERNET ACCESS!! I have been off-line for nearly two weeks and have felt completely cut-off. To add to the grievances it has rained and drizzled and rained again. I have no spectacular flood pictures - just mud oozing up between my toes as I walked anywhere around my yard - and you really can't photograph that! I measured a total of 537mm for December right in my backyard.

Compared with other parts of Queensland we got off very lightly. The roads in to Gympie and also to Maryborough were cut for a day and the supermarket shelves were looking empty - especially for fresh bread and milk and eggs. The parking lot was filled with out-of-town cars so I guess there were a lot of people making the best of wet camps until they could get through the floods and start home.

The last few days we have had some sunshine which has started to dry out the ground. However, the 6+mm of rain we get most nights is enough to slow down any drying out that the sun can do.

I had to go down to Esk today and it was very interesting to see just how much water is still coming down the rivers and streams up that way. Of course the paddocks are very green and in many places the cattle were moving through grass tall enough to almost cover their backs. There were a number of places where the water had been flowing over the road. The water in the Somerset dam was higher than I have ever seen it. The Brisbane river has spread out across low lying paddocks and there is water where I have never seen it before. Just a couple of years ago the river at O'Sheas Crossing was reduced to a couple of puddles between the sand but now it is running bank to bank and we saw three Pelicans and a Cormorant swimming on the muddy looking water.

Thanks to all who have commented while I have been off-line and not able to see your comments or answer them. I am presently having a lovely time reading all the blog postings I have missed. I hope things are back to normal with my connection now.