This dry spell

[chambezio]

Here on the foothills of the New England Ranges, the continuous hot spell with days around the 38° (100°F) and quite warm nights has made the native trees that surround the house dump copious amounts of leaves and sheets of bark. Last year at this time a box tree just fell over! No strong wind at the time. The tree seemed to have some sort of response built in to it that is very dry times to jettison branches to conserve the functioning root system. The amount of fuel on the ground is disturbing! We have all the right pieces to the mix for bush fire to take hold!! I am sure we are not on our own either. We have been watering selected trees and shrubs around the house to at least get them through this summer. We need a lot of rain spread over a long time to replenish the groundwater and to keep all the greenery growing
My heart felt sympathy for all those affected in the bushfires that are all over Australia at the moment

[rwbuild]

Its only those that have a love of the land that are attuned to its well being. The majority of the population haven't a clue, they have no concept of the bigger picture and the effect it has on us.

The ups and downs of rural life, rural economy and the flow on effect is not appreciated and it is the tenacity of these people that has formed this great land.

[chambezio]

I have a couple of mates who have cattle. They are both struggling to keep the cattle properly fed. Its not a proposition to sell them off because the whole area is in the same boat. To take them to a sale yard will only make the carrier some money because no one wants to buy because they have no feed. Farmers are usually optimists, thinking/hoping rain will come and change the situation in a few weeks. This year we have only had enough rain to put half a dozen spots on a sheet of the Herald. I think that most of Australia is going through this tough time.
If your sausages go up in price it will be due to the fact that cattlemen are buying in feed for their stock. I wouldn't like to be paying off a loan in this environment with the uncertainty of rain in the near future