Summer in Western Australia's South West

Summer

Summer has arrived in beautiful downtown Boyup Brook at last. As I write this the time is 5:25 pm and the temperature is 29 degrees Celsius, which is warm. The temperature will keep climbing until about 7:30 pm and then slowly decrease overnight. Usually the temperature rises as the seasons change, but this year has been a strange one. We had a very dry winter, a cold spring, and a very wet and cold autumn. Boyup Brook is a farming town, and many farmers feared the worst, however we did get just enough rain for a decent wheat crop. Live stock farmers have  had differing conditions, some of them cut hay for feed only it have it all spoiled by unseasonable rain. But they tell me that's farming.

The wildflowers suffered too, some started to shoot with the spring rains, and then grew stunted and with few flowers.  Even the birds got confused, Wattle Birds who fiercely defend their territory seemed uncertain whether it was worth the effort, and the Magpies didn't nest until very late in the season. Magpies are usually very aggressive birds, swooping on any one who gets near their nest. Because my hair is graying, to a Magpie I  appear to be an interloper, as does my Border Collie. But neither of us were swooped this year. I wear a hat to protect myself from them, they can sometimes misjudge the distance, and they've got very sharp beaks.  But this year they seem to have spent most of the year on the ground.  I've seen a few Blue tongued Lizards, but so far no snakes. Most people seem to avoid walking off the main streets in summer for fear of snakes, but I reckon that a snake is more frightened of me than I am of him, so he'll usually get out of my way before I see him. My dogs have been taught not to chase lizards, and I'm pretty sure that they can't distinguish the difference between a snake and a lizard, so they're pretty safe.

If I don't properly scan the ground and I accidentally step on a snake, I'll probably die. But that's not likely; most people in Australia get bitten when they disturb the snake, usually when they trying to kill it.

So this year Boyup Brook hasn't shown its residents its best face, but there's always next year. And of course the wonderful community spirit that binds the residents is always evident. We all know that next years harvest will be good, the wool clip will fetch good prices and meat prices will rise. And if they don't? Well we'll just tighten our belts, and when needed give quiet help to those who are really struggling.

That's the spirit of the  Australian Bush.

© Wayne Coughlan