Early Spring in N.E. Downunder - Over four months into our 'dry' season

I take it that you have a good fire break?

You can tell too,Bernieh..they look almost tinder dry..

Meanie, yes we keep around 10 metres of the grass outside our fence-line mown. There was a bushfire that broke out just a couple of weeks ago and it came roaring across the little hillside opposite ours. Luckily the flames didn't cross the creek in between the two hills, so we remained safe and sound.

Bloomer, yes the grass cover in the bushland turns a lovely shade of brown, as does the grass cover in our yard. It will be parched and dry for a few more months to come. That's why I never bother with too many vista shots of my place. It's not a pretty sight for most of the year.

I remember it well Bernieh - long journeys, like Townsville to Darwin could be a real drag.

You're spot on there, Meanie. This is a very dry continent, and that stretch from Townsville across to Darwin has to be one of the driest spots in the whole country (apart from the centre!).

At least the centre had some colour though.........
And not forgetting Coober Peedy too - loved that place!

Meanie, having visited Coober Pedy myself I can honestly say that is one of THE most interesting spots in Oz. We searched everywhere to find a tree to sit under to eat our lunch, not realising that it was a ridiculous quest! The landscape around there is just incredible, given that there's not much in the way of vegetation.

An overnight stop became a week down a filthy hole seeking my fortune!!
It was a no bull poo place.
But memorable nonetheless.......

Meanie, how did you get roped into that? I remember the week before we arrived, the someone had discovered the remains of some poor English tourist down one of the unused mines. There are literally thousands of them, so the discovery was just a freaky twist of fate!

This was no mine - literally a four metre hole in the ground! It was fun, but not a way of life that I would choose. Poor sod that I was with had a shoulder injury (from a fight!) and I offered to help out for free booze!!! When I left, Ed gave me one of the six opals we found in a hard week - the first that he'd hit on for a month or more!
As I say, a hard way of life........

Well, helping out a mate for free booze ... what else could you do! In the end you got a little bit more, six opals. I know some can make it rich finding opals, but for most it's not really the path to instant fortune! As you say, a very hard way of life. I just can't imagine how they put up with it, especially when the temps start climbing! On top of which, there's not a whole lot to do in your spare time out there.

I got one of the six that we found, which was more than I'd agreed anyway.
These miners are like people who're addicted to gambling - the next big find, the really big one, is just around the corner.

That's exactly it, Meanie ... they are a certain breed of people. It's a hard way to live. Only one of the six? I suppose that's better than nothing. Very kind of your mate to give one of those hard won finds.

Most certainly a certain kind of person!
A good experience though.

Bernieh:

This looks lush and green compared to how dry it is here now.

We lucked out today, though. We had some monsoonal down pours which is pretty unusual. Typically, we just get the heat and humidity along with some clouds.

Boy, it must be dry over there then if this looks lush. Of course the Eucalypts still have quite a bit of green canopy. They haven't dropped as many leaves as they usually do during a dry ... there must still be some moisture deep down underground from last year's/this year's rainfall.

The daytime temps here are starting to warm up considerably as our spring has now started. The humidity levels are still fairly comfortable so I'm not complaining too much.

Bernieh:

It's the typical dry season...everything turns brown.