Mother Nature Lashes Out

7 March 2009 In the last week we have had 2 tropical storms hit the country. Our farm has been hit by intense rainfalls and strong winds. Last weekend the stream level steadily rose and as we lay in bed on Friday night listening to the driving rain the possibility of flooding became more and more likely. The weather was so foul we opened the bar door and put towels on the sofa and floors so the dogs could take shelter if they wanted to. Whisky at least spent the whole night in dry and comfort. At 3am on Saturday Aaron awoke. The rain had not stopped. “We better go check things out”, and so we dressed and set off by torchlight down the drive. The cows were on the flood plain but with a hillside to shelter on we hoped they’d been sensible. I shone my light on the paddock but although I could pick up the reflection of flood water I couldn’t see the reflection of eyes. The paddock was flooded and I felt genuinely fearful. Too many times we have had to rescue our cows from flood waters and I wondered if this time I our number was up. I refused to think about the potential financial loss. Our main concern was Arthur. His paddock was almost completely flooded and the water was getting dangerously close to his house. We looked in his house and he was lovely and dry and fast asleep. I felt terrible waking him up but if the rain continued his house would soon be under water and as it was on the highest point he would have nowhere to go. He got up and thinking he was going to be fed walked straight around the side of his house and into the flood. Confused he kept on walking. We tried calling him back but he wouldn’t listen. I was starting to panic. If he suddenly stepped into a hole or got caught in a rip we’d have major problems. I raced up the hill to get a bucket of apples while Aaron kept watch. Arthur had walked through the water and was now on dry ground by his toilet area. I didn’t want to risk his walking back through the water so I raced around the drive and gave him some apples and then Aaron and I lifted the electric tape up and over his head and refixed it behind him. As I slowly managed to coax him up onto the drive Aaron also moved the electric wire in front of his house to behind it. We had nowhere to put Arthur and so the plan was to open the stockyards and let Arthur mill between the drive and the yards. We placed a sheet of corrugated iron over a thin section of the yards and hastily filled and dumped crates of woodchip on the ground underneath. We then dragged his trough into the yards and put the rest of the apples in. We left Arthur in the yards to eat. It was thoroughly unpleasant for him but at least he was safe. We headed back to the bottom paddock with a sense of dread, but then I picked up the reflection of 4 sets of eyes. 3 of the cattle were standing on the edge of the flood but Baby Red was standing in up to her knees. We called and called to coax them up the hill but they just looked at us. Aaron went up to the shed to get a crate of cabbage. I hopped in the paddock and got in behind the cows. As Aaron threw cabbage over the fence I slowly moved forward, waving my arms, saying “Let’s go. Let’s go”. They ambled slowly up the hill to the fenceline and then stood there eating cabbage. Aaron and I went back to bed. In the morning the cattle were still on the hill where we’d left them and Arthur stood on the drive outside his house, confused and wet. Poor boy. The flood had got no higher and had we left him he would have slept through it. Still, better safe than sorry. Now we know that we need to raise the ground underneath his house and put some fencing around so that in a storm he can be contained within his house area without fear of drowning. I’m thinking a rock retaining wall and a truck load of lime is probably going to be the answer.