It is time I wrote something up here! My apologies. A comment berating me might be in order!
I want to share news about one of our National Treasures: The National Library. I occasionally visit and now must certainly do so, even if it is only to drink coffee! See this news article in The Canberra Times: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/early-bird-gets-the-bookworm/2072075.aspx
a larger photo of Andrew is at http://static.lifeislocal.com.au/multimedia/images/full/1108215.jpg
Animals have a way of humanising a space. Sitting in the gardens behind the National Gallery last year I almost had thornbills on my feet looking for crumbs. The bush in the sculpture garden there has attracted birds of the bush.
As I write we are visited by Blue Wrens for their last treat for the day. Earlier there were pigeons (including the one surviving youngster whom we watched in the nest until the two of them fledged and just took off); and Crimson Rosellas getting their last almonds of the day and also picking up fennel seeds that aren't yet mature. Magpies in there as well of course. Today was supposedly the day without treats from the hoomins. but now we are at home.
It has only been three weeks since the post about our own flood here in Burra. Now the photos.
at 5.30am on the 9th December 2010:(see the December blog entry "The Creek is roaring")
The water came over the dam wall (which is visible on this photo, but the grass has been laid flat!) and almost to the fence across the creek. I reckon that this is the highest point that it has ever reached. Of course the valley was created at some time! A few hours later (8.20am) the level had gone down a bit.
At 4am on 9th December 2010. Fred read the rain gauge and we had had 73mm. Now it is nearly 5am and the rain is still falling heavily. We will have had three inches tonight. The creek is roaring below, the eastern verandah is swamped.
Our main worry is that the dam wall beside the creek might be weak. There was originally a dug out area which looked as if a potter had been getting clay. That was what had led us to expect a clay floor to the dam. Unfortunately that was wrong. With the creek flooding as much as it is doing that will be a weak point. If it has not collapsed (and the night time is no time to look!) then that might be a place to dig out completely so that the dam is drained and no longer able to fill.
The wombat has dug a hole by the driveway coming down to the house. He would not have been able to cross the creek to the old burrow which is now being flooded for the third time in the last couple of months.
"Land of droughts and flooding rains". It certainly is. But we still remember thinking that it would never rain again. Tonight is similar to a night twenty five or thirty years ago when the rammed earth walls were finished to the lintel height and five inches of rain fell. We covered and re-covered the walls with plastic until the torches ran out. Then we retreated to the shed, lying in bed thinking that the walls would be simply mud in the morning. They were not. We built the lintel and put on the roof. Now we sit in the kitchen drinking tea as the rain pours down!
I had heard of this fridge but not seen the description before:
One of the biggest advantages of Cummins’ design is its relative simplicity. It can be easily made using recycled materials, such as cardboard and metal.
Ms. Cummins' solar powered refrigerator works like this:
The fridge’s inner chamber, which stores items like milk, cheese and other perishables, is surrounded by a layer of organic material, sand, soil or composted waste.
This layer is then sealed in between the solar fridge’s outer chamber and soaked in water. The device is placed in the sun and as the water evaporates, heat is drawn away from the inner chamber, dramatically cooling items inside.
Found on the energy matters web site.
