Rain and more rain, filling up the tank

Well, I don't know what happened, but the story and the pictures got flipped on this post, and I don't know how to fix it. Bear with me! Story at bottom.

Our newest 5,000 gallon rain tank arrives. Steve is on right.

Coming through the gate to our paddock, just clipping the blooming wattle tree that is a home to myriad parrots.

Going past the verandah.

Pushing into place next to existing 5,000 gallon tank and a smaller, 2,500 tank in the middle.

Timber!


In place.

Steve hooking up system.

Working man.

Nearly done.

Ducks enjoying major rain puddle near fenceline with neighbor's house.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Victoria was inundated over two days with rain, cold wind, and winter-like conditions. And this is summer! While everyone marvelled at how strange the weather was, I rejoiced! Steve and I went Christmas shopping in busy malls where live bands played carols in open areas, Christmas tunes were piped into stores, and we dashed for cover from wind-driven cold rain. Even Steve got into the spirit of things and whistled seasonal ditties. In two days we had three inches of rain. It broke weather records, and I was happy.

After the rain tapered off, the weather stayed cold. We've had frosty mornings, with early temps in the low 40s, daytime highs struggling to reach high 50s. The south wind is nippy, and the woodstove is blazing away, even as I write on this chilly morning, all rugged up in my warm trakky daks (Camas athletic sweatshirt and jogging pants.) More of the same is expected, with temps warming up a little into the low 70s, and showery weather patterns through Christmas Day. After that, the forecast is HOT. I'm praying the cool holds out just for my benefit.

But another benefit to all this rain is that our new 5,000 gallon raintank filled up. Despite the respite, Australia is still in drought...it will take a few years of "normal" rainfall to catch back up. As a result, our house has two 5,000 gallon rain tanks and one 2,500 tank. Steve has plumbed the house for rainwater so we're off the local water system. We can get back on if needed, but I hope we don't.

Several houses in Australia, except for cities that struggle with air pollution, are on rain water or well systems. I never knew water could taste so good. The way the system works is that rain is diverted off our house, shed, and garage roofs into the tanks, where a filter is set up. I wondered about bird poop and bugs and dust entering the system, but Steve explained that it's set to catch rain after about 10 minutes of a good flush, so most of the junk just gets pushed through. It's still filtered, however, and I've yet to come across gunk or bugs.

Next big project? Installing a windmill. And you probably think I'm joking.