It's raining! It's raining!

Now what are you going to do with it?

With the grasslands, dp?

Save them from development. Which has been going on around this area at an alarming rate, for quite some time. (We are one of the "designated" areas.)

Save as much open space as we can, which is disappearing at an alarming rate.
If we don't save it, we'll never get it back.

What would you do with it, dp?

If you had a number of options. Which we don't.

This is all in the hands of the state government & the local council.

Our campaign was to influence them, in resident's interests. Which appears to have been successful. (Fingers crossed, new government since the last election.)

We simply want to retain the last bits of natural open space in our area.

So what do you want to happen to the Mansfield wetlands now, dp?

An update. Our rain bands have moved off to the east and north and have lwft us just as rapidly as they hit us. It was torrential rain I checked the house for any laks (this would have been the kind of astorms that leaks would show up).

NO LEAKS i the old place. (The new roof is qworking fine).

This line of stormsa came barreling out of the wst and midwest and just wrecked the SOPuth. I think the number of peoplwe killed is about 20 in the SOuth alone.

These spring storms are common. e get another batch of almost reversed energy storms on the fall as cold qweather pushes wqarm qweather out of the way. Usually we get those as "Squall lines" that have very strong winds . The only exception in those is we have very few tornadoes, whereas our spring squalls are tornado birthing places.

In Australia its the animals and insects that try to kill you
In the US its the weather.

I can run away from a redback spider

The wetlands is performing its designed for primary function. Cleaning the town runoff before it hits the creek and to provide habitat for animals/birds that are necessary for a fully functioning environment.
In addition education was a goal. Well detailed signage informs visitors about the plant they are looking at. Story boards educate about how and why this type of environmnet is neccessary and about historical points of interest. Bird hides and trails allow visitors to interact (as much as possible).

Thats a huge question
Manage it. dont let it go wild.
reseach and restoration. seed collection and propagation.
Access and education

I've just been reading about the tornadoes in the southern US states, farmer.
Terrible.
Very relieved that you escaped the worst of it.

The grasslands are Crown land, dp.
Set aside & left undeveloped because they we the site of a possible freeway in the future.
Ten hectares. What a stroke of luck!
Managed by Vicroads & maintained by the local council.
They had been used as parklands by locals for years & that's how the locals want things to remain.

In the US, wetlands , as defined by the corps of engineers, are resurveyed every five years in a project. SO any plans must be in accodance with the boundaries. Around here weve been getting overabundant rains and cooler temps for the past 7 years and the wetland boundaries have expanded. There was a project a few tens of miles away that was designed to skirt wetlands by a 150 ft setback. SInce that survey was conducted in 2003, the entire wetland has changed signiciantly. It has joined another wetland in a string and the newest denizens of the increased wetlands are the endangered bog turtle. Now that the bog turtle has been identified and found in this habitat, the project was totally killed. We now have a wetlands park and an adjoining wet forest and cliff and uplands forest. Kinda cool > we had , originally several parkelets of 3 to 500 acres each with this "corridor" that would have been used for a road ROW. Now, with the big wetlands and the bog turtle, the wetland park area has grown to over 3000 acres since its all joined together. COurse the pro development folks were claiming that someone snuck the little bog turtles in and they took over. That is untrue from all Ive read.

It is!
That's really a terrific development, farmer!
Hooray for those little bog turtles!

As one of the weather guys said yesterday, "war" is the worst -- as is a "warning." Watches are as you say, conditions could spawn one. Glad you and other A2Kers in the region are okay.

I worry that my big pine trees will die on me. I haven't the cash have them cut.

Ah, that's certainly a worry, edgar!

Cold Winter rain in Springtime. We had better weather in Ekka week. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I just noticed something. When msolga started this thread I was 18 years old LOL

And on another note, we are coming close to the end of our rainy season here in Florida, cooler weather ahead!

Clouds today looked as though they were pregnant with snow......but it is just rain.


And cold.

Mind you, I hate drought so I am pretty much happy to see rain anytime.

Sad to see so many dead trees. The rains this year came too late for many.

(Counting on fingers)
"one, two, three, four ..."

... which would make you ...let's see ... 29 years old now, jcboy!
Positively ancient!

Looking forward to the cooler, dryer months ahead?

27 or 28 I think you mean.

But still a shock. 9 years a2k has been here?


Bugger.