Five Feet High And Rising...

In eight hours we've gone from bone dry to flooding streets and rising creeks. The rain felt so good that Chris and I just kept working outside at Paddy's, getting soaking wet. The dogs are wallowing around in the mud, so filthy that we can't let them in the car or the house. I decided it was high time the dogs learned to travel in the back of the ute like normal outback dogs. It was extremely embarrassing (they must be the only dogs in Meeka who don't know how to ride in a ute), with both of them clinging to the top of the fuel drum with their idiot faces pressed up against the rear window slathering at us. Then Boy decided he should just kind of bark at stuff as we drove along.

Lots of little creeks criss-cross the town and run across the streets; they're all running now and could turn into rivers - the rain is supposed to continue for a couple of days. No one will be able to go off the bitumen now for a week - the iron-hard red dirt turns to deep bogging slush with even just a little rain. At least Gary hasn't started out on the station tracks yet - otherwise he'd be stuck out there with just half a sandwich and no Star Trek.

Not a single road train for hours - are we cut off from civilisation? It's exciting when Murchison Freight turns up - I always get Noel a cold Coke or ginger beer and he tells us any news from down the highway about fires, floods, road closures, dead animals and rollovers.

Tiny frogs are EVERYWHERE. They're croaking in the Pooool, coming up through the drains, leaping out of the washing machine. I keep rescuing them and putting them outside so that they can come back in again. When I finish flame-throwing the filthy Paddy's Flat laundry & rooms (mouse plague, indescribable) I'll take some photos.