Marge! The rains are here!, by Morrie Sinclaire

The annoying thing is everything was looking so good. After four years of drought that killed vines, ruined crops and closed farms, the rains came. Then the rains didn't stop.

Life on the land has always been subject to the elements. Recent drought, frosts, fires, and locusts have all impacted on the land, and now we have flooding, and that's just in Victoria. Queenslanders have had cyclones to deal with, too.

To complement the battle with wildlife and climate changes there is also disease. Many vineyards have reported downy mildew ravaging vines in the humidity, and this can decimate crops as much as drought. My family's small vineyard has been spared damage from mildew - touch wood - though we have not managed to escape the flooding in the area.

Our small block of land backs onto Victoria's Lodden River, with an eight-meter bank separating the river from our land. Those eight meters saved us whereas the lower lying township was flooded, some residences washed away. Of arguably greater concern are the livelihoods lost by many growers and graziers. Their crops ruined, up-turned or spoiled by the swollen rivers and then, when the water receded, the land left covered by debris.

We're still a lucky country...

For the remainder of this article please follow this direct link: http://agooddrop.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/marg-the-rains-are-here/

This artcile appears courtesy of Morrie Sinclaire.