Sat, 30th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

The wind blew all night – van closed up.

7.30am 18 degrees, clear sky and cold wind still blowing.

I baked some cookies while Steve started packing the truck.

25 degrees at lunch time, the wind has settled.

Pottered about packing things and cleaning the cottage.

Emptied my flycatchers after I had left them to dry out – still stinks. It is amazing how many they have caught – thousands, and there are still heaps bugging us!!!

The cattle wandered in for drinks as we had coffee on the verandah.

Ceri used the photos I sent her to advertise for a new caretaker – looks good, maybe we should stay!!

Played a few games of Skipbo – I am having a run of very good luck at the moment.

Drinks on the verandah – had to put my flanny on as the breeze is quite nippy. Forecast for 14 degrees in the morning.

Watched another great movie based on true events – seen a lot like that lately. This one was the USS Indianapolis which transported the atomic bomb across the ocean during WW2.

Cool evening.

NO PHOTOS TODAY

Fri, 29th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

Cold strong wind came up during the night.

8am 20 degrees and overcast – closed up the van again. The weather changes so much in temperature the poor fridge is either struggling to keep things cool or freezing everything!!

Sorted the groceries and started sorting things in the van ready to move on Monday.

10am the wind has blown all the clouds away.

Jon rang – he and some mates are heading to Marina Plains in May to do some fishing so he wanted some tips of places to go etc.

Lunch, 25 degrees, still windy and the sky is clear.

Did our last bore run. All good. Saw a few cattle and a little calf then at another well a dingo was wandering in for a drink.

Home again. The two tanks are now full here which is good.

Had drinks in the van with the windows closed to keep out the cold wind. Mabel (a brown cow) with her big calf and some friends wandered around the back of the cottage nibbling on the green shoots. Two kangaroos came in for a drink from the goanna bath and nibbled the green lawn grass.

6.30pm 25 degrees in the van and the wind is still blowing.

Clear crisp sky tonight with the stars twinkling brightly but too cool to stay outside and look for satellites unless I did out a jumper.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 28th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

6am 28 degrees, overcast and no wind.

Headed down to Kalgoorlie to do the shopping. Went through a shower of rain about 40km south of Leonora then the sky cleared as we headed into Kal.

Got the bits and pieces we needed and things needed at the station. Nice lady as Vinnies gave me flannelette pillow cases for Kym to use for the joey to keep him warm.

Had my birthday lunch at Montys Restaurant – very nice. TV was on, luckily with no sound as it is all about the upcoming Federal election. That part of the news I don’t miss – all the horrible things politicians say about each other rather than concentrating on what is best for Australia.

Headed back home. The rain band was still in the same spot south of Leonora and we went through a heavier shower of rain – gave the truck a wash.

Called into the post office at Leonora and picked up our 40E permits so we are right to go detecting there from the 8^th April.

As we headed up Old Agnew Road towards the homestead the wind picked up and was blowing dust everywhere – so much for the clean truck.

Dropped off Kym & Glen’s groceries and the items we picked up for the station. Had a nice time chatting then headed back home again.

Easy dinner as we didn’t get home till dark. Unloaded the groceries and I packed the meat into bags ready to put into the freezer in the truck. No more big freezer to use.

Heidi and Max posted they are heading to Leonora so sent a message that we will be at Malcolm Dam on Monday. They are getting there Saturday so we will camp near them and catch up on all the news.

Still quite warm in the van so got the fan going to move the air.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 27th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

8am 23 degrees, overcast and gusty wind from the north. Got up to close the roof vents at 3am as a shower of rain passed over – nothing in the rain gauge this morning though.

Did my last food order as we will do a trip to Kalgoorlie tomorrow.

Steve coloured my hair and luckily it worked. It was a different one to my normal ones which has a crème to go in the bottle and I put the conditioner in the activator instead of the cream! We added the crème and tried and it worked.

Lunch 34 degrees, clouds went south, no wind.

Took the old ute with the fuel pod back to the homestead so Rob can use it for the grader etc. Had a nice afternoon chatting and said farewell and thank you to Rob. He offered for us to come back any time which was very nice and he has looked after us well. We have learnt so much too.

Back home for drinks (37 degrees) as dark clouds are coming across and the wind is back.

10pm 32 degrees and a short pitter patter of rain on the roof. Had to put the fan on to go to bed as it was very still now. I had packed it away after having those cooler days!

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 26th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7.30am 19 degrees, strong north-easterly wind, puffy clouds and blue sky.

Sent Rebecca a happy birthday text.

Pottered about for the morning.

1pm lunch 30 degrees and still windy.

Rang Mum for a chat – Dad was still snoozing. They are doing ok. Had a nice drive with Greg up the Palmerston Range for Marg’s funeral on Saturday. The Gillies was closed as a tree had fallen onto a car killing a lady – so sad.

Did our last grocery order to top up us to what we had when we first arrived  nearly 4 months ago – wow the time has flown.

Warmer afternoon as the wind has stopped blowing and it is quite humid.

Played a couple games of Skipbo while we had our drinks – one all.

7pm 29 degrees, stars out.

10pm the wind is back and it is still 29 degrees.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 25th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

Strong south-easterly wind blew all night.

7am 17 degrees, clear sky and the wind is still blowing. All the windows are closed and I had pulled up the bedspread in the early hours. Steve turned on the heater to make sure it still works – it did.

Washed the sheets and aired our big blanket that had been packed away. I cleaned the van’s windows and gave the side of the van under the awning a wipe down as the other side got a wash with the recent rain. I washed the floor with rain water then put the carpet back down which we had stored in the cottage for the summer.

Steve took the old ute for a run down to Glens Bore to turn the pump on for a while. He is trying to refill the tank. The pump only pumps water for 15 minutes before it starts sucking air but he is slowly getting more water in the tank.

Lunch 24 degrees with the cold wind still blowing.

After lunch we did our bore run. All good. We stopped for a cuppa at O’Keefes bore. There were about 10 cattle hanging around the old tank and windmill nearby. Three dingoes – looked pure bred in colour – wandered over to the cattle. We thought they might have been after a calf but they just wandered around the cattle then walked along the track towards us. I think they were just trying to find water and could smell it in the trough near us. I spoke and the lead one stopped and looked, the other two headed off in the other direction. The first one eventually turned but we think they just went to the other side and waited until we left to go into the trough for a drink. We have never had a problem with any dingoes we have seen in our travels but we are always careful, just in case.

Back home for drinks. ‘Mabel’ and her big calf are enjoying the fresh shoots popping up around the cottage and shearers quarters.

I finished off my 6^th jigsaw – might even get another one done if it is as easy as this one was.

Steve having fun watching videos on the tablet and dreaming of digging up a big nugget like some of the guys online have done. Saw a great one of two guys catching a huge Barramundi and a huge croc come up out of the lagoon to eat it.

Cool evening though the wind has settled down a bit.

Sun, 24th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

The wind stopped blowing in the early hours. 5am I got up and put the bedspread over us as it was cold even with the windows closed.

7am 20 degrees, clear sky and cool breeze.

Kept working on my jigsaw – only two sections to finish off now.

Met Kym and Glen on the track and the followed us to where Steve had left a target for Glen to check out with his detector. Unfortunately it turned out to be a little piece of steel. He and Steve kept wandering. I went around that area and turned up a tiny little ball which was stuck in a clump of hard dirt. I gave it to Glen for good luck. Soon after that Steve called to say Glen wasn’t a virgin anymore and had found his own piece by himself. It was a lovely clean little nugget in the shape of a lamb chop – I thought, Kym thought it looked like a grenade.

Back home for BBQ lunch with them. Kym is looking after an orphaned Euro joey so he had to be fed every 3 to 4 hours with a little bottle – so cute. I forgot to take a photo! She also has to encourage him to do his business afterwards – won’t mention what she had to do to get that happening!!

Played Sequence – girls v boys. Kym had read my blog and said she thought the boys had won the other day when we were at the homestead. Oops – well we rectified that and gave the boys a trashing today.

Played a couple of games of Skipbo playing pairs using Kym’s 2 up and 2 down rule – great fun.

Nice temperature too, 30 degrees with a nice breeze blowing.

They headed home and we settled onto the deck with our drinks. Lovely after sunset colours today.

Looks like the demon is hiding in the bushes with those two red eyes.

Van closed up still as the cold wind is blowing hard again.

Sat, 23rd Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

8am 23 degrees, overcast but the sun is shining through the clouds in the east. The wind is strong and cold from the south east.

Cyclone Veronica is heading towards Port Hedland now – Margaret’s daughter and son-in-law are there but they say they are fine.

The sky has cleared so I did my washing. Fed some meat to Cyril who has such a fat tummy we are wondering if it is actually Cecily. Tried to find out the info on how to tell the difference but we need to see his ‘bits’ and I am not getting that close.

After lunch Steve went off for a detect. I decided I could do one more jigsaw so got into it – 500 pieces.

The wind stopped blowing at 3pm – warmed up to 31 degrees.

Steve came back with two little bits and a target he left for Glen to dig out when they come up tomorrow as he hasn’t found any gold yet with his detector. Steve found with the Leonora ‘locals’ were camped – lots of rubbish left and the remains of a kangaroo hanging in the tree.

The wind is back as we had our drinks on the verandah. Some more cattle wandering in for drinks again.

Closed up the van as the wind is strong and cold to have dinner and watch our movies.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 22nd Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 22 degrees, overcast with a cool westerly breeze. Dark clouds are still hanging in the west. It rained during the night – had to close the windows. 2mm in the rain gauge.

Good day for games and I finished my jigsaw. I have done 5 out of the box of 10. Will leave it here for the next caretakers.

Steve’s other collection of bits and pieces he has found around the place.

Lunch then a game of 3 to Kings – that’s enough games for Steve for today!!

Did some cleaning – trying to get the calcium build up off the shower, taps etc with CLR – works well. I have kept some rain water so will give the floor etc a wash. The carpet pieces will go back down too.

Steve emptied the pool – gave the lawn another good soaking, it is slowly coming back. It was wonderful to have the pool especially on the really hot days.

The dark clouds are thinning out in the north west – forecast for some sunny days ahead but then Cyclone Veronica could send some rain this way I suppose. It will cross the coast on the weekend near Whim Creek which is between Karratha and Port Hedland. Qld’s cyclone, Trevor, went across the Gulf and will hit the coast again at the Qld/NT border then head south into outback Qld.

Watched some lightning flashing in the south as we relaxed on the verandah with our drinks while dinner cooked. The sun is just hitting the trees making them look like they have autumn leaves – well it is autumn.

Lovely evening temperature – a few stars are out.

Thurs, 21st Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7.30am 28 degrees, overcast with pitter patter of raindrops on the roof and a cool breeze.

Rain through the night but it must have been very light as nothing registered in the rain gauge.

Steve saw a dingo with white paws go into the yard and have a drink from the trough. He didn’t hang around long and quickly disappeared back into the trees.

I did some baking and then some cleaning.

10am 27 degrees with a shower of heavier rain.

Pottered about for the morning.

After lunch the sky looks like it is clearing to the north but it is still very black to the west. We can hear the drill rig working.

Drinks on the verandah watching the storm clouds travel south on our western side. A few good flashes of lightning then the long rumbles of thunder came quite a while afterward.

A cow and her large calf wandered around the cottage nibbling on the green shoots. She wasn’t worried about us at all but the calf was skittish.

6pm 26 degrees. The storm is disappearing to the south and it is clearer to the north and north west. The full moon rose and shone through the strips of clouds in the east – very pretty.

Cool evening with a fresh breeze blowing. Will enjoy a warm shower tonight.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 20th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7.30am 28 degrees, cloudy and still. No water in the rain gauge from the misty rain last night.

Did our bore run – still some boggy sections of track from the 20mm rain we had. (I just realised I had been putting ml for the rain measurement when it should be mm – oh well everyone knows what I mean.) No cattle about.

Sky is clearing with a warm south-east breeze.

Home for lunch 37 degrees.

I sorted out our movie and back-up hard drives. Steve washed the truck as it was splattered with mud from the track. He has plenty of fresh water to use in the pool.

Storm clouds building again in the north west. We saw on Facebook that Cairns had good rain – TBHS oval was under water so rang Mum and Dad. She said they had a couple of showers yesterday and nothing today so not sure what that was about. Cyclone Trevor has crossed Cape York Peninsula near Lockhardt River and is continuing west into the Gulf which they predict it will intensify but keep heading west into Northern Territory.

Rob rang to let us know that they won’t get to do the muster at 10 Mile now as rain is predicted – what a shame we were so looking forward to being a part of it. Mum won’t have to worry about me going in the helicopters with the muster pilots at least or zooming along in a bull catcher. At least we got a taste with helping with a small section of processing and trapping the cattle here for a bit. We will move on at the end of the month as we have put in our 40E permits to detect on a couple of exploration leases and we can detect on pending ground while we wait for the 40Es to be processed (takes 3 weeks).

A near full moon rose above the clouds and a few stars peeked out as we sat on the verandah waiting for dinner to cook. Saw a few good flashes of lightning in the south.

Dark clouds are coming over us and at 10.30pm we heard the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof but only light.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 19th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7.30am 26 degrees, clear sky and a cool breeze from the north.

Spent the morning investigating places to detect.

Clouds building in the north west again.

As we turned into our track home we heard men chatting about just pulling off onto the dirt road. When we came over the hill we found them. It was a big drilling rig and camp and a few chaps who said they were working around here and were waiting for the geologist ahead to call them down. We continued down the track and met the CEO of the mining company and his geologist. Nice chaps, they will be around for about a week. We explained who we were then left them to get set up near the old airstrip. They are doing deeper drilling for gold from the information they gathered with the drilling they did here in December.

Dark clouds in the north. 3pm 36 degrees with a slight south-easterly breeze.

Pottered around for the afternoon.

Soaked my feet and legs in the pool as it is quite humid but it was too chilly to get into the water after having all that nice rain water in the pool now.

Warmer evening. 8.30pm we heard the pitter patter of rain on the roof but it is very light.

Needed the fan as the breeze has stopped when we went to bed.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 18th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 26 degrees, blue sky and wispy clouds with a nice northerly breeze.

Did our morning jobs then played a game of 3 to Kings. Steve started off winning 5 straight then things went bad. He ended up losing by over 100 points – we are even in winning games so far.

Told Dan, Jon and Mum &Dad that I had booked tickets to fly home in end of October for 3 weeks then put a note on Facebook so my friends can mark their calanders.

Had a cuppa then headed down to Leonora. Put in two 40E applications to detect on two exploration leases when we finish up here. I asked the lady about the ‘locals’ detecting and she said they need permits just like us.

Topped up with water. Steve chatted with a chap who was from New Caledonia. He was born in France – his English was just passable. He had worked as a nurse for 30 years and is now retired and travelling the world looking for gold. He has a French detector so not sure how good that is. We were talking about the different minerals in Australia and he said that New Caledonia is the 3^rd largest supply of Nickel. The girls at the Mines Dept will have fun sorting him out with permits etc.

Back to the homestead. Kym and Glen were still out doing their bore run so we had our lunch which I brought with us. Steve then put the tyre off the rim that had split onto the new rim we bought using the tyre changer in the shed.

Kym and Glen arrived – they had gone up to St Patricks to see if the dingo/wild dog was there but he was gone. Played 5 games of Sequence – the girls won 3 games to 2. They put up a good fight!!

Just as we were leaving the Mines Dept rang to say my Miners Right has never been put on the system and could we bring it in to show them. Luckily we only had the 30km to go back in so we went back into town and she photocopied it. So much for the 40E we did last year for Halls Creek – that person in Kalgoorlie didn’t do their job.

Dark clouds are building in the north-west. The cattle were having a drink from the muddy pool on the track near home – so much for having to clean their troughs if they are happy to drink that muck when they could have walked a bit further for nice clean water.

Sky looking sinister but nothing is showing on the BOM radar. The clouds have blocked out the sun so we had our drinks on the verandah.

Nice bit of colour as the sun set. Looks like no rain for us tonight.

Sun, 17th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7.30am 24 degrees, blue sky with wispy white clouds and a cool breeze from the north.

Quiet relaxing morning pottering about. Steve kept up to date with the Supercars racing in Melbourne on the tablet – the new Mustangs have hit the track flying.

Rang Ray and Carol about detecting with them later. Looking forward to catching up with them again.

Kev and Linda rang for a chat. He was sure we would be in front of a TV somewhere watching the racing. They are continuing with fixing up their new home and he has some car projects underway too.

After lunch we headed out for a detect. The Leonora aborigines we met yesterday have moved closer to the Darlot Road. We could see the bonnet was up so Steve turned onto the track to check on them. They had flattened their battery. The chap we chatted with yesterday showed us the 3 little nuggets he just found – I don’t think they worry about getting permission or 40E permits!! Nearly reminded him about picking up his rubbish as there were packets on the ground again but he probably wouldn’t listen. Steve gave them a jump start. They said their friends should be here shortly. As we drove out a 2wd car drove in with three younger guys in it. I didn’t feel comfortable now leaving the van and cottage so Steve took me back to the van then he headed back out to detect on land we have permission to detect on.

Quiet arvo pottering about. Storm clouds are building in the north west. Dan sent a message about his trip to Melbourne with Fran in August – will be a bit chilly. Jon and Jess rang for a chat. They were just back from the farm where the dogs had a ball swimming so they are nice and clean and worn out now.

No cattle coming in for drinks now there is water lying around the area. No joy for Steve either in the gold department!

Drinks on the verandah with the flies – dark clouds blocking out the sun but I don’t think we will see any rain.

Dinner and movies with a nice breeze blowing.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 16th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA (4 years 7 months)

Rain started again at 1am but only light.

8am 24 degrees, cool breeze and mackerel sky to the east with the sun shining brightly and blue sky elsewhere.

Checked the rain gauge – only 0.3 ml for the early morning sprinkle.

Drove down to Glen’s Bore to turn the pump on – trying to fill the tank again. A good inch of water now in the trough from the heavy rain.

Drove back out towards the main road to check out the light from last night. It was some local aborigines from Leonora who were detecting. He said they were waiting for their friends and his son was working for the drilling group that was working for Round Oak. I don’t think they worry whose lease they are detecting on. He said he had found some small nuggets. Friendly chap though I picked up some rubbish of his and gave it back to him – he said it must have blown out of the car. I felt like saying ‘we all need to keep Country clean’. I said how we have had people leaving fires burning so hopefully they will respect the place.

Home for a cuppa. Rang Kerry and Brian to see how they are travelling. They went to Wave Rock but it was still a bit hot for them to come towards Kalgoorlie so they headed up towards Geraldton and will work their way back down again. They were at Bindoon and planning their next bit of their trip. I said to go to New Norcia as it was quite interesting.

Steve put the new battery in and I worked on my blog.

No breeze so it is feeling quite warm – midday 32 degrees. Fluffy clouds passing over us.

After lunch headed off on our bore run. The water has dried up near the well but there were still pools of water along the track but otherwise ok. Lots of green shoots are appearing. All good with the bores and wells, no cattle about, only a few donkeys and kangaroos.

Back home for drinks, nice cool south-easterly breeze blowing so the 34 degrees in van doesn’t feel too bad.

Rang Mum and Dad. On Monday they went for dinner at the Balaclava where we went each week playing the pokies. They played our favourite machine for Val and she was smiling on them as they won a jackpot of $74. Friday was Val’s funeral service and wake which was lovely. Mum said it was nice chatting with all the family.

Killed a little scorpion when as I opened the door of the cottage – got all agro when I hit him with the screwdriver.

Breeze getting stronger – lovely evening.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 15th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

6am 25 degrees, overcast with the sun peeking out under the cloud band in the east. No breeze. Everything feels fresh after the rain last night.

Headed off to Kalgoorlie – water across the track as we head out and in a few other spots but certainly nothing compared to the drenching we had in December.

Ground hardly wet the further west we headed along out track to the main road. Down the highway and there was water along the side of the road but all dry in Leonora. A few sprinkles of rain as we continued south. Most of the number plates that covered the old servo at Menzies have been removed – maybe someone bought them? Sky clearing as we near Kalgoorlie.

Got a new rim for our spare as it was one of the original ones and the last to break the weld. Bought a new battery for the truck too. Did the rest of our shopping then after lunch picked up the groceries and headed home. Clouds have started coming across now.

Dark clouds in the west and east again as we drove into the homestead. The wind is blowing in the storms too. Dropped off Kym and Glen’s groceries and topped up with fuel then had a drink with them before heading home. They had some rain as the track out to the mine was quite wet in spots. Lightning flashing around us all the way home.

As we came over the hill on our track we spotted a bright light in the bush. I thought it could have been the drillers working late – it was after 7pm. Will check it out in the morning.

Easy dinner – hot chook on a bun then unloaded the groceries and packed it all away. No more rain here though the storms are around us.

All quiet when we went to bed.

Thurs, 14th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

Lovely cool night for sleeping with the pitter patter of rain on the roof. Slept in till 8.30am, 27 degrees, overcast and light breeze.

Only 0.7ml in the new rain gauge. That won’t do much for the well.

Jon rang for some gas installation advice from Steve – glad they can both still call Dad for help.

Rang Sandra to wish her a happy birthday and catch up on her news.

Rang Tracy Pink too since I didn’t get to talk to her for her birthday recently. She is just starting to walk again after hurting her leg on the last day of the skiing trip in Japan at Christmas – no nice.

After lunch we played some more Skipbo then I worked on my jigsaw while Steve caught up with what’s happening with the Supercars racing in Melbourne over the next three days with the Formula 1 race there, on the tablet.

Storm clouds are building in the west but look like they will go south east of us.

Drinks on the verandah as the sun is blocked by the dark clouds. Watched the goannas wander about and the galahs and cattle come in for drinks. Saw flashes of lightning in the south east.

No wind and it is quite humid so time for a dip. 5.30pm 34 degrees.

6pm a black cloud slowly passed over the top of us heading for the dark clouds that have come down to the east of us. Lots of great lightning strikes in the east storm and long thunder rumbles. Sounds like it is coming towards us. Nice to be able to sit out here and enjoy nature’s show.

The wind has picked up from the south east bringing the rain. Proper rain too with lots of wind so I got everything closed up as it arrived on top of us. A few brilliant flashes and claps of thunder overhead. The ground quickly turned into a lake and I took a photo through the bedroom window looking south then one out the north side.

Rob had texted this morning to see if we were getting any rain so I texted back that it was chucking it down. Kym messaged that they weren’t getting anything at the homestead but she was getting fabulous lightning strike photos – one was a bit close for comfort though.

The storm went around us with the wind changing direction a couple of times as it blew us around and pelted us with rain. All over in half an hour. Checked the rain gauge and we got 20ml. Now that should help the well and might put some in Glens Bore too.

Still hearing thunder and lots of lightning flashes as the storm moves around us.

7.30pm light rain started again and the lightning and thunder continue. Great storm.

The pool is overflowing. Will be nice and fresh now with all that rain water.

10pm the storm has moved on and all is quiet again.

Wed, 13th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

Overcast, 25 degrees and no wind at 8am.

By 9am the wind had come up and was blowing well from the north.

11am 35 degrees and the sun is shining as the sky cleared which we need to be able to pump the water back into the new tank. All the water we put in has seeped into the soil so the well goes onto low well after a couple of hours. Will take a while for it to flow back into the well again.

I did the washing and worked on my jigsaw. Steve made a couple of brackets for the solar pump controllers as he noticed they are only held on with a strap.

Clouds are coming back down from the north at lunchtime. More humid today so we might get a storm. The hot northerly wind is blowing strongly. We played a few games of Rummykub for a change.

3pm 39 degrees, time for a dip in the pool which had stayed nice and cool.

Drove back to Holding Paddock to check the float is working ok and we are losing water onto the ground again. All good and the ground is drying out.

Checked St Patrick’s too. A big bull with his cow and 2 calves were having a drink but wandered off as we pulled up. I saw something move near the water pod and thought it was the dingo but it was a small calf. Somehow he was on the wrong side of the fence – I think he came in through the old sheep gate in the main gate. I opened the gate and tried to get him to go out that was but that was in the opposite direction to his family. He found a bit of fence that had fallen down so jumped through that and ran across to them mooing as he went. He had pretty little white hoofs. I wired up the fallen fence panel and Steve wired the sheep gate closed so hopefully nothing else will get trapped in there.

Found another dead roo on the other side so pulled it out and dropped it with the one from yesterday.

Black black clouds to the west and as we drove back we saw some great flashes of lightning. Looks like it is heading south.

Rang Margaret for a chat and to see when they might be heading up our way. Through the window I saw more lightning flashes but to the east of us so another storm must be travelling down on the other side.

Got our drinks and sat on the verandah as the wind picked up. It feels like the front of the storm coming so I closed up the van as the wind whipped up the dirt and hurtled it eastward. Fabulous lightning and thunder show then a few drops of rain started. The light rain continued as the storm passed over us – nice cool breeze now. This storm is heading east as the sky to the west is clearing now and we can still see the lightning flashing to the east. Still light pitter patter of rain as we headed into the van for dinner.

Erica rang, Terry’s aunt Eva passed away today in Maryborough. She would have been 97 on Friday. She had been pretty independent though had recently had a fall and suffered from cancer so it is a blessing for her not to suffer anymore. 

I messaged Jess to see how her Uni studies were going.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 12th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 27 degrees, blue sky and puffy white clouds and nice breeze.

Found a little bat in our pool – poor thing.

Headed off on our bore run. All good at most of the water points. No cattle about at any of them.

The trough had overflowed again at Holding Paddock – not helping in filling up the tank again. Steve found some feathers caught in the float seat – hopefully just the remainder of the last finch, not another one. Plenty of cattle hanging around here. Found some pipe to use on St Patrick’s windmill shaft so took that back to cut up.

Home for lunch then we headed back to St Patrick’s to replace the t-piece and pipe on the windmill shaft. Fiddly job as you have to tie up the blades – luckily the wind isn’t blowing at the moment. Then he had to disconnect the pipe and unscrew the old t-piece which with the calcium in the water was stuck fast but he managed with some brute strength to get it apart. Got it back together and released the blades. A gust of wind came through and it worked well – yeah.

The dingo/wild dog is here again wandering around.  We found out why there was water on the ground around the trough, he had climbed in and was cooling off – he did look cute, should have brought my camera. It was 41 degrees after all. He must have been a Leonora dog as he is not afraid of us at all and just kept his distance. There was another dead roo inside the busted water tank and it pongs. Another newly killed one and another rotting one near the water trough. I pulled the newer one further away – only the end of the tail was eaten. The other was too rotten to move so the place is really stinking now. Shame he is killing the roos but we can’t do anything about him so will just let Rob know.

Back home for a cool off in the pool, still 41 degrees. Put the air conditioner on for the van and had our cuppa inside in the cool as the flies are still very annoying.

Did my grocery order ready for our trip to Kal on Friday. Need to look into tyres and batteries too.

The cattle have moved under the trees near the yard and settled in for a quiet afternoon too.

Dark clouds have moved over and Steve saw a couple of drops of rain fall – boy we could do with some rain.

Saw a few flashes of lightning in the south even though the sky is now full of stars.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 11th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am clear sky, no wind and 28 degrees.

Quiet day pottering about.

40 degrees at lunch, so glad we have our little air conditioner to use in the van.

White puffy clouds floating over as the wind gets stronger.

Looked up places to detect when we start heading north so I can have all the information ready to put in the 40E permits etc.

Steve checked out tyres and batteries online and we will sort something out when we go to Kalgoorlie on Friday.

Rang Mum and Dad for a chat. Her friend, Marg, passed away too the same time as Val.

Had our drinks in the pool as the sun set and the cattle started wandering in for drinks. So nice outside once the flies and sun go to bed. The stars appeared and the little bats zoomed around above us.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 10th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 29 degrees, wind blowing well, blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

Rang Emma to wish her a happy birthday. She has just started a Business Degree at Uni in Townsville.

Quiet morning flittering between my jigsaw, my book and the games on the tablet. Steve finished reconnecting the water tank so the water is now pumping into it from the well. Probably won’t get all the water back as it would have pushed out into the dirt but should flow back eventually.

Tom rang for a chat and to get information about Steve’s solar panels. They are off to a dam in Harvey to camp and have fun water skiing.

The wind is getting hotter again so we put the air conditioner on.

Sent Lorraine a message with my memories of the great times Mum and I shared with Val over the years.

Lunch in the nice cool van. Play a few games of Skipbo. Did some more jigsaw – pretty hot in the cottage then back into the van for a game of 3 to Kings while we had our cuppas. A willy willy crashed over us but luckily the van was closed up with the air conditioner working so I didn’t have to clean up any dirt for a change.

Steve drove down to Glens Bore to check it now we have shut it down. The cattle have finished off the water left in the trough and had shoved it about but luckily hadn’t broken any pipework. There were about 30 cattle hanging around so they will figure it out and come back up to 10 Mile to drink. One cow and her calf came bounding in thinking Steve had put water in the trough – he said it looked funny as she stuck her head in and then looked up at him saying ‘what’s going on’.

Clouds building in the west making lovely colours at sunset.

Decided to keep cool tonight and left the generator and air conditioner running. Bit of luxury.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 9th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA (Uncle John’s birthday)

7am 30 degrees, clear sky and gusty wind.

Rang Uncle John for his 91^st birthday. He and Jocelyn had a lovely lunch yesterday with all the family. He is a bit put out as today is also International Women’s Day so he wants to do a protest and get it moved off his birthday. He is such a card. He said it is very smoky on Mornington Peninsula as the south easterly wind is bringing all the smoke over from the fires that are again burning in Tasmania.

Sent Tracy Pink a birthday message too as she wasn’t answering so I figure they are off camping somewhere for the weekend.

Hot days are back again, 37 degrees at 10am and forecast for 42 today. What to do on a hot day – bake. I made some banana muffins and Anzac cookies – used the oven in the cottage of course.

Erica returned my call. They are at Woodgate. She was sad about Val’ passing but glad she didn’t suffer for too long. Aunty Maree is still in hospital waiting to have a stent put in.

Drove out to Holding Paddock to make sure the float was working ok and the tank was filling again after the big flood yesterday. All good.

The musterers arrived to move the tank but we haven’t drained the home one yet. They rolled the cream tank over and then set it on its base. We will drain the tank back into the well (25,000 litres) then pull it out and put the other one in its place. After a few drinks and plenty of chatting the guys left.

Had lunch then a dip in the pool. Haven’t used it in a while but it was nice and refreshing. Steve put on the sprinkler for all the birds wanting to cool off too. He has connected us up to the top tank while he empties the other one.

Decided to set up the air conditioner for the van again since we are in for a few hot days again. The south easterly wind is very hot and everything in the van is starting to feel like it is on fire again. Clouds are building in the north west but no rain predicted.

Rick and Kaylene rang for a chat. Rick is trying to see if he can fit in a trip over to do some detecting with us.

The home tank is empty so we put a big strap around the base and Steve towed it away ready to take out to St Patrick’s one day. We levelled the pad and then towed the new one into position. Steve got the pipes hooked up again for the cattle trough and connected the new tank to the solar pump so in the morning it can start pumping all that water back up into the tank again. Will probably take a few days as long as the sun keeps shining. A thick black cloud is blocking the sun as it started to set. We got the tank sorted as night fell so had a nice dip in the pool with a drink. No wind so it was lovely to sit and enjoy the stars.

BBQ dinner which was quick and easy. The van was down to 27 degrees with the air conditioner on – a lot warmer outside.

9pm the wind is back again but we are all good inside the van.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 8th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 28 degrees blue sky with white clouds and a light breeze.

Headed off on our bore run. Holding Paddock windmill was pumping well but the float hadn’t shut off on the trough and there was water everywhere. Just what we need when we are trying to fill the tank again. We shut off the tank and Steve pulled the float apart and found little bones, probably from a finch, was stuck in the seat of the float keeping it open. The finch probably got in the tank and died then when the tank was empty and started to refill the bones got washed down the hose to the trough.

A lone green budgie was having a drink with the finches. I could hear his lovely tweeting then he flew off to find his friends.

The windmill at Granite Well has a plastic shaft and it was sliding up and down so Steve made some clamps and we put them on and then wired them to the frame to stop it moving about which was wearing it out.

At Bulldog the same herd of cattle has been there the last 3 visits – one very huge bull.

All good with the others then we checked on Glens Bore and the trough was dry. The cattle have taken to coming here more since we had the yard at 10 Mile but with the bore dry we are going to have to cart water again.

Back home for lunch. A blustery south east wind is blowing and very hot. 37 degrees in van. The sky is clearing in the south but dark clouds are building in the north and west.

Took the ute pod back to Glens Bore and filled the trough then put the rest down the bore so it can pump up into the tank. There were 10 cattle hanging around waiting for a drink so I told them to go back to 10 Mile – I don’t know why they don’t listen to me!!

Drove down to the Homestead to top up our fuel and fill up the jerry cans for the generator. The musterers were finishing processing and there were 15 calves that Kym and Glen will look after. They got some hay on the back of the little ute and played Pied Piper trying to get Splash to follow them. They wanted him in there to show the other calves what to do.

Unfortunately all the other calves who were from the last group decided to come too so in the end Glen hopped off the ute and took Splash through the house yard to the back fenced area where the orchard was to go. It will now be home for the calves.

Splash was in heaven has we tipped the hay off the ute. He just stayed there and chewed.

The musterers brought the calves up using a 4 wheeler and motorbike.

One calf was very small so Jay picked it up on the motorbike and then Kym fed it some milk. It took to the teat easily and was very happy to have a nice drink.

Rob came in so we chatted about what to do with Glens Bore. He said to shut it down for the time being. The cattle will walk back to 10 Mile for water.

He will send up the musterers tomorrow to move the big tank that has been sitting on its side since we arrived. He wants to put it where our home tank is and then the home tank can go out to St Patricks so we can bring the trailer pod back. That should keep Steve busy sorting that out.

Home for drinks – heavier cloud cover now. 6pm 36 degrees and the hot south-easterly is still blowing well.

Had dinner and were watching a movie when Mum rang to say that Val had just passed away. She had been on pain killers etc for the pain in her legs and went off to sleep. So pleased she didn’t have to suffer for too long. Mum said they had had a lovely lunch together last week. A text came through from Lorraine as she had tried ringing. I rang her back and we chatted about Val. I sent off texts to Erica, Brian and David to let them know. Val had lots of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and they all loved her but we are all happy she is at peace now and is reunited with Geoff. She was 86 having just had her birthday in February.

Thurs, 7th Mar, 2019 10 Mile Outcamp, Tarmoola Station, 60km north of Leonora, WA

7am 23 degrees, overcast and no wind. Lovely listening to all the different birds chirping in the morning. Very peaceful till the generator starts up.

Went for a detect – got some more exercise!!

Lunch, 31 degrees and still no wind and still overcast. Very dreary day. Darker clouds are building in the west.

Played Skipbo for a while. Worked on my jigsaw and read my book. Nice relaxing day.

A light breeze has come up as we had our drinks on the verandah. As dinner was cooked in the Ecopot we played a game of 3 to Kings. Heard something on the roof and it was spits of rain.

Dinner and movie. A south-westerly wind has come up making it nice for sleeping.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.