September 30, 2016

Blowing in the wind.

September 29, 2016

Wattles brightening up a grey day.

September 28, 2016

The buyers circle.

September 27, 2016

Backed in and ready to load.

September 26, 2016

A family of Australian Wood Ducks is dwarfed by the trunk of a flooded River Red Gum.

September 25, 2016

Parked for the night.

We organised a function last night at the Tocumwal Historic Aerodrome. As the sun set against a dark sky small aircraft where taxing in and parked for the night.

Tocumwal has a rich aviation history.  It played a very important role in World War 2 when the town was used as a major base by the US during the war effort, building the largest aerodrome in the Southern Hemisphere at that time, McIntyre Field, with some 5,000 RAAF and 400 WAAF personnel based here. McIntyre Field was a training base for Liberator Bomber crews.

This weekend the Tocumwal Aerodrome welcomes a whole new generation of pilots. The Murray Border Flying Club is hosting “big kids” from the Peninsula Aero Club - Year 11 and 12 school students here learning moves, formations and attaining their first solo navigations.

Tocumwal also hosts the Australian Aerobatic Club National Aerobatic Championships in November. Our skies are filled with planes doing breathtaking maneuvers and dives.

If you don’t have the stomach for aerial acrobatics then perhaps gliding is more your style. Tocumwal is world renowned for its gliding conditions. Summer days are long which are ideal for gliding. Our local town has hosted the Australian Gliding Championships and the four time world gliding champion Ingo Renner calls Tocumwal home.

Our visit to the Aerodrome last night was totally unrelated to aviation and we are no plane buffs but it is wonderful to embrace the history of your local area and showcase what makes it unique.

September 24, 2016

Dish drains through the oats working well.

September 23, 2016

Always just a step behind.

September 22, 2016

Under the rainbow.

September 21, 2016

Might just need this soon.

September 20, 2016

Pink sky in the morning.

September 19, 2016

Ag pilot - not a job for the fainthearted.

September 18, 2016

Wheelie good job for wet weather.

September 17, 2016

Slippery when wet.

September 16, 2016

The Murray is certainly mighty at the moment.

This is the railway bridge at Tocumwal this afternoon, the water is still rising.

September 15, 2016

A little more rain overnight.

September 14, 2016

A lot of little birds out singing in the rain this morning… including this little Grey Fantail.

September 13, 2016

Parked till it all dries out.

September 12, 2016

Here comes the rain.

September 11, 2016

Spilling over.

This is Hume Dam which is located on the Murray River upstream of Albury straddling the NSW and Victorian borders. Our irrigation district is supplied from water flowing out of Hume Dam.

The original dam was started in 1919 and took 17 years to build.  When finished in 1936 Hume Dam was the biggest in the southern hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. It was built to capture the winter and spring rainfall from the Australian Alps and releasing it to regulate the flow of the Murray River for better navigation for the steamboats, irrigation, flood and drought control.

Today it is at 97% capacity and holding 2,896 gigalitres of water. Releases have started to mitigate the risk of flooding downstream as more rain is forecast this coming week. Today 45,000 megalitres is being released into the Murray River causing minor flooding downstream, including at Tocumwal some 320kms (201 river miles) downstream.

It is quite a number of years since the dam has been at full capacity and was well worth the drive to see.

September 10, 2016

Motherly love.

We are fortunate that our farm is only 10 minutes away from Australia’s longest river, the majestic Murray River. The River Red Gum forests & wetlands alongside the river are a natural habitat for koalas.

Pretty excited to come across this koala with her joey on a walk this morning.

September 9, 2016

Preserving Melbourne’s history.

This is the 50 metre high Coop’s Shot Tower that was built in 1889 to produce lead shots for ammunition. It was saved from demolition in 1973 and is now encased in the Melbourne Central shopping precinct underneath a domed glass roof.

September 8, 2016

At the trough.

September 7, 2016

Crystal ball gazing.

September 6, 2016

Beef discussion day.

September 5, 2016

Well strapped down.

September 4, 2016

Drive home just got longer.

September 3, 2016

There is beauty everywhere.

September 2, 2016

A lot of bull … err steer actually.

September 1, 2016

National Wattle Day