Weather Archives - INSPIRING MAX

F: Flooding

April 8, 2024April 8, 2024 inspiringmax

Australian weather is changeable. Floods can and do happen very quickly, sometimes without notice. On more than one occasions we have been traveling and have had to change our plans because of floods. I find it fascinating that a road that you could drive easily on one day, the next is totally cut off by flood waters.

It is also weird to me that as I wrote this blog post last weekend, New South Wales had a significant weather event and many parts of the state are again in flood. Watching the football on Friday night which was playing in my home town was very funny. It was pouring with rain and the players were tackling like they were on a slip and slide. the field was covered in water. Our team won as they held on very tightly to the ball and fortunately no-one was injured.

The excess amount of rain everywhere leads to the serious risk of life threatening flash flooding. The secret to dealing with flooding is always to

Be Prepared and Be Alert and Never Drive Through Flood waters.

The following photos are of Wannon Falls during floods. The water was very brown and smelt very earthy. The water was also flowing very hard and fast.

The other major problem that Truby ( our Iveco truck and slide on camper) has in the wet is that she is heavy. This means that the places we can stop are limited. We need either gravel or a hard surface so she doesn’t get stuck in the mud.

The following photos are of the Murray River in full flood. It is the longest river in Australia. We had been there six months before this and the river was several metres lower.

Coffee Catch-Up # 44

March 11, 2023March 11, 2023 inspiringmax

If we were having coffee I would tell you that we have recently returned from Japan. The purpose of our visit was to meet our first grandchild. A beautiful healthy baby boy who we will call X. Unfortunately Japan’s covid rules don’t allow hospital visits so while we waited to see him we enjoyed sightseeing around Japan. I look forward to sharing our experiences in the future.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO was right when he said that ‘Australian’s had forgotten how to travel during the pandemic.’ When he first said it, I was offended. I didn’t agree and thought he was making excuses for his company’s problems. But we had forgotten many of the things that need to happen before you get on a plane. As we hadn’t flown in 4.5 years I suppose it makes sense.

If we were having coffee I would I would tell you how great it felt to have my first swim of the season just before we left for Japan. It was a very hot day and my girlfriend and I were meant to go walking but instead choose to swim. She hadn’t swum for a long time either so it was a win-win all around.

If we were having coffee I would tell you how happy I have been learning how to make projects with my Cricut machine. I signed up to Jennifer Makers Design To Shine course. I love it. She is teaching us not only how to make things but also how to design them from scratch. I find it fascinating how by using simple shapes, very complicated designs can be created. I am loving having an idea and seeing it come to life. Below are several of the first things I have made using various techniques and materials.

If we were having coffee I would you how weird it was going from 35C in Australia to -5C in Japan. Then just to add to the weather confusion last week we had the hottest days in our state since 1964. I hope that the beautiful Autumn weather we usually have arrives soon. Last weeks hot nights made it very difficult to sleep.

If we were having coffee I would ask you what is happening in your world?

Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekend coffee share.

What A Difference A Week Makes

September 5, 2021September 5, 2021 inspiringmax

The photos above were taken last Sunday on my walk. The news had said that the southern swells and Spring high tides earlier in the week had caused major erosion of my local Merewether beach not seen in our area since a major storm in 1974. The 1974 storm was locally known as the Sygna storm after the Norwegian bulk carrier of the same name that ran aground on Stockton beach at the time. I was fascinated to see what everyone was talking about. Wow! I wasn’t expecting what I saw. It didn’t even occur to me that there were rocks under the sand. All the media reports about the erosion stated that history had proved that the sand would return by summer. The swells and the tides would put it all back again. No intervention needed.

While I had no evidence to go by I just trusted mother nature and didn’t think any more about it. Today on our lockdown walk as we had nothing else to do we thought we’d go back to Merewether and see what was happening. We were gob smacked. Merewether beach was back and beautiful. The photos below were taken this morning. They are from similar spots and of the same stretch of beach that was stripped bare last Sunday. We were also surprised to note that there seemed to be even more sand on the beach than before. It was also clean and yellow. Merewether beach had been Spring cleaned at no cost.

Thanks to Natalie for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare

Weekly Photo Challenge: Symbol

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 inspiringmax

This week, share a symbol with us, and tell us what it means to you.

I loved this symbol of creativity I found at Lithgow’s McDonald Restaurant. It may be an “only in Australia” moment but it works for me. It is an example of simple, practical fun.