News & Updates from Vicki Avcin ~ AusCrafts · Page 44
25th April is ANZAC Day here in Australia when we remember all those that paid the ultimate price so that we might have the freedom and lifestyle we have today.
Each year I attend our local dawn service and lay the wreath from the Brigade.
Last year there was no service and everyone stood at the end of their driveway or on the footpath with candles and wreaths but the restrictions were off this year and we were able to hold services again.
About 2 weeks ago I had an email from the President of the River Heads Progress Association asking if I would read the poem at the service.
Wow, what an honour to be asked and of course I said yes.
I read through a lot of ANZAC Day poems and came up with 4 that I submitted to the RHPA and they chose the one called All the Bloomin Way, which I was glad as it gave the true meaning of why we march and remember.
It is in the photo below. The photo of me reading isnt too clear as it was taken from a video.
The other is hubby and I walking up the street ahead of the pipers and trucks as that was all that proceeded up the road as there was no actual march.
Hopefully next year we can march as this covid horror has settled even more.
Last weekend there was a gathering of helicopters (majority Robinson 44s) at the Hervey Bay Airport. There was around 16 of them although a few more joined in the few days they were here.It caused quite a stir and a spectacle as nothing was advertised/reported until they were here.
They started arriving on Saturday and buzzed out on Tuesday to head up north. They are a tour group but what they are touring and whether it is business or leisure no one seems to know.
However with all these tourists in town, its great for the economy as theyd have had to have accommodation, meals and maybe even a trip to Fraser Island.
They would not have been allowed to land on Fraser Island so wouldve had to get the barge over. Was very cool seeing all of them lined up at the airport.
A lot of my news items are about rain? Why do I get so excited when we have a decent downpour?Well the photo below shows why.
We are in the area of Lowest on Record and its been like that for quite a few years now, so anything that puts a few millimetres in the rain gauge is exciting.
We actually got the lawn mower out this week, only the second time in about 18 months! Not only does the grass go green and grows but the few plants I have that arent natives thrive too.
My old rose bush has 11 flowers and buds on it, the most I think ever in the 14 years weve been here, and the gerberas and azaleas are all budding or flowering too.
I know a lot of UK people often say you can have our rain and wed welcome it if it could be shared.
La Nina, which forecasters got so excited about last year, was expected to bring huge amounts of rain but didnt eventuate and they have now said its done and dusted for this year so it was the biggest flop ever!
Fortunately though, we didnt get the really bad fire season either apart from the fire on Fraser Is which went for nearly 6 weeks and burnt half the island but we didnt get a lot of fires happening on the mainland all together which was great despite the lack of rain during the fire season.
They dont like each other and the pair in the photo seem to think that they live herewhich means the We have 2 pairs of Pacific Black Ducks that are residents here at home. other pair doesnt really get a look in.
This pair will shoo them off real fast if they try and come into the front or back yard, often with one grabbing the tailof the non residents until they fly away.
This pair arrive around 6.30 every morning lookingfor seed, which we throw out onto the grass. Quite demanding too because they will come tothe front door, sit on the mat and quack or peck at the door till we come out.
So although we didnt get the horrendous weather they predicted, this pair love the rain and it hasnt deterred them from still coming demanding breakfast and around 5pm in the afternoon, dinner.
Its pretty cool that although it can be raining heavily, these pair never look like they are wet and the water just runs off them. …… so like water off a ducks back as the saying goes.
Theyve been coming round for years now and have become quite tame.
These ducks can be found pretty much all over Australia and usually live in streams or ponds/dams. Not sure if this pair have ever had babies, but we have foxes around in the bush so maybe the foxes get the babies.
It would be awesome if theyd bring a brood up to us one day. And yes they are brown..... but they look black at a distance.
As I mentioned the predicted weather I spoke of last week didnt happen. We had 2 days of drizzly to medium rainfall with the wind way below what was forecast. The system moved out to sea and didnt reek the havoc they said it would.
Thats good news, as it saturated the ground and good run offs into our major dams with no flooding or damage anywhere.
It Pours! What a week. Last week I mentioned about our wonderful green grass, well its been raining on and off since then, only for us now to get warnings about a low bringing us tremendous amounts from rain from Sunday to next Wednesday.
Although this weather system will have all the symptoms of a Cat 1 cyclone, they are assuring us it wont be a cyclone.
Strong winds and huge rainfall, they are forecasting, depending on which modelling one looks at, anywhere between 150mm and 300mm with some even showing 400mm of rain.
So could be a wild week ahead for us.
This is just one of the forecasts…… Just a heads up on the Easter forecast. Wide Bay Areas. On or about Sunday morning (04/04) conditions will start to deteriorate around the northern Wide Bay areas. Torrential rain over a 24-36 hour period will intensify with localised storm force winds on exposed coastal sections of around 65-90km per hour.
Expect rainfall amount to be in excess of 300mm+So if we havent been blown or washed away, Ill let you know next week how we went.
Of course being in Emergency Services, we are all on standby.