Optimism in the face of drought

from w
Nullawil is a tiny wheat-growing town halfway between Hopetoun where we lived for six years and my hometown Swan Hill. The drought has been on-going for years and most farmers are not going to strip the harvest at all this year. But as Ron Pollington said, 'I say if you're getting three feeds a day and half a bed at night and the bank manager is not at your door and if you've got your health, you're doing all right.' How's that for optimism.

potplants survive on soapy water

from w
The plants close to the house get plenty of second-hand water from the washing machine, but the poor lemon tree down the yard looks dismal. This plant is okay though it looks a bit mutated by my drawing style.

I've been busy this week and not drawing much because I've decided to have a good chuck-out of old music, books, folders, drafts of thesis sort of things so have filled the recycle bin with ethnomusicological notes, etc. Found some memorabilia and good stuff in the clean-up though.

Today I played the music for the funeral of a Vietnam vet, a man in his early 60s. Lots of ex-soldiers were there and the RSL led a ceremony when the vets line up and place a red poppy on the coffin. It made me think of a cousin who was damaged by Agent Orange in Vietnam and he lost his way when he returned home. Today he is somewhere in the Philippines and the family have lost touch with him.

The green green grass of home... and golf

from peceli
We throw out most of the junk mail but when this postcard arrived the green grass of a golf course is worth a second look. I play four days a week at Barwon Valley club in Geelong. The postcard was advertising the Murray Downs Golf and Country Club Resort across the Murray River from Wendy's hometown of Swan Hill. It's a really good golf course. Wendy pointed out the fine print at the top NEWSFLASH: RECENT WATER PURCHASES WILL ENSURE THE MURRAY RIVER NUMBER ONE GOLF COURSE WILL REMAIN AT ITS ABSOLUTE PEAK THIS SUMMER. Well, have they got their priorities right? said my wife crossly. She said, 'The Murray River is actually dying and the land is salting up and water is getting very scarce. Is golf so important?'

Website for Swan Hill

When should you dob in your neighbours?

from w
It's considered un-Australian to dob in people. Let them be. But perhaps there might be times when you ought to ring Crimestoppers or the Water Board and dob in someone who's not doing the right thing. In Hoppers Crossing, a southern Melbourne suburb, one household had a lovely, lovely lawn and shrubs, green and blooming, when everyone else followed the strict Stage 3 water restrictions (Geelong is on Stage 4, even stricter) and their lawns died and their plants shrivelled up. So the Water Board gave them a warning, but neighbours insisted the guy was washing his car and at night the sprinklers were on. The owners said they had a tank for rain water and were using that. Well, there hasn't been THAT much rain! So the punishment was to limit their consumption to 2 litres per minute which isn't much when taking a shower!

So should you dob in your neighbours or let them be?

Dobbing in has become the way to go - noticing people acting suspiciously such as taking photographs of a tall building, getting unemployment benefits while working, maybe being an illegal alien. There are phone numbers to ring up! When John Howard initiated the dob in a suspected terrorist with a fridge magnet per household, I rang the number and told them it is un-Australian to dob people in!

A leaf in drought

from w
We started the Geelong Visual Diary blog about a year ago and I posted some pics of pretty autumn leaves. This year the leaves so far are not pretty, but are brown with hardly any yellow or orange. This is one from a creeper in our garden. I did a pic of it but I couldn't get the leathery look. Today I paint to try and forget a sore throat!

Pot plants in a drought

from w
Soapy water has kept succulants going and they are getting huge, but the orchids look desperate. We still cannot open our outside taps and use hoses. It was 37 degrees today here in Geelong and it rained in Melbourne this evening. So far, not here though. The picture is A5 in size, in a small sketchbook.

Effect of the drought on a backyard tree

from w
It was sad to chop down this tree which was in the centre of our backyard, a small tree sheltering the barbecue, but it just died because of the drought. A tree usually covered with a thick foliage of green leaves. The leaves all died and the seedpods cracked open. Our citrus trees are surviving...just.