At last, we have had 13mm or half an inch of rain – our biggest fall since the end of November.
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I had almost forgotten that one year in 10, it will not rain for six months!
At least the autumn weather was warm and mild, and nothing much in the way of black frosts.
We have had some magnificent sunsets too.
The high-pressure systems are now moving up over central Australia, so hopefully, we will soon enjoy a series of cut off lows on the end of a cold front to bring more rain inland.
Also, the past two years have been ‘early breaks’, so it is not likely to have three in a row.
Meanwhile, many crops have been dry sown, which should reduce the pre-emergent chemical bill.
The annual colour change from grey and brown paddocks to green always amazes me, and likewise, after two months of playing golf on dry grass and straw, Minyip Golf Course is changing to a fairway view of beautiful green.
Unfortunately, sometimes the view from my ball, jammed up against a tree base isn’t quite so good.
The fact that I have fed out to ewes and feedlot lambs for several months now, and will continue to do so through winter, doesn’t really bother me because wool prices are simply astounding.
And I can’t see them retreating.
Wool growers had 10 years of hard times after the ‘Floor Price Crash’ of the early 90s, and then another 20 years of only just making a living, and many went out of the industry, never to return.
But for those of us who kept faith in ‘bread and butter’ Merino ewes and first cross lambs, the rewards are now taking place.
Of course, now there’s a shortage of shearers and shed staff. I honestly believe more of our wool levies need to be spent on training young people studying agriculture to shear sheep easily, and handle wool precisely.
Apart from the economics of productivity in a shearing team, and saving unnecessary wear and tear on your body, it is a great second income and if you can work in woolsheds, you will never lack for employment!
By the time you read this, I will be in Bhutan again. I went there two years back and now am revisiting with several others to see how our fledgling educational centre is proceeding.
No doubt the enormity of the Himalayas towering 10,000 plus feet above the Paro/Thimphu Valley, which at 7000 feet is already higher than Mt Kosciusko, will be as equally impressive as last time.
Cheers, until the next episode.