OUR Andy’s gone to battle now
’Gainst Drought, the red marauder;
Our Andy’s gone with cattle now
Across the Queensland border......
Oh, may the showers in torrents fall,
And all the tanks run over;
And may the grass grow green and tall
In pathways of the drover;
And may good angels send the rain
On desert stretches sandy;
And when the summer comes again
God grant ’twill bring us Andy
Henry Lawson
When I was a little girl, my parents used to take us on Picnics to Lake Samsonvale, just a few minutes away from where we lived. North Pine Dam is one of the three largest suppliers of water for Brisbane, and important lifeline for this area of our state.
I remember the grass being incredibly green, the water glistening in the sunlight, as we played in large groups, our friends and our families relaxing in the beautiful Queensland sun. I remember that I used to love to steal away, lay on the grass and stare up at the clouds, daydreaming.
Last time I went to the lake, I almost cried. Gone was the lush soft green resting spot, the sparking water, the feeling of peace. In their place, dry, cracked soil, a lake barren, broken, exposed. I felt sad and wistful and somehow ashamed..we did this. Our carelessness, our ignorance has done this.
These pictures are taken inside the lake.
Today, we returned, taking the boys on a picnic, with the rest of the family. It was time to introduce our old stomping ground to the newest generation. It's not as it used to be. But it's something.
The grass was green, and we laid down picnic blankets for the babies (Miss Madeline and Luka). Madeline cooed at the clouds and practised her crawling(!), as she chatted to her Mama and me.
The boys ran around the playground, superheroes and villains hard at work.
Alexander entertaining Miss Luka.
With her Daddy (Shane).
Princesses at play.
Kayden, Shane and Melissa's eldest boy. Turning into the family footy star!
Alexander and Sammy. It's a bit blurry, but I realised you haven't seen any new photos of Sammy since he was about 13 months old!
Happy boy!
Today was the first time he'd been able to climb a ladder on his own (NOT a climber like his brother, who was climbing everything before he was crawling!). He was so incredibly proud of himself, he worked so hard. He spent almost the entire time, just doing a circuit..ladder - slide - ladder etc.
Remind me to talk to you some more about Sam this week.
We ate, we talked, we teased and we laughed. I looked at the clouds, and remembered days of old, my parents and my siblings, when life was simple, and water was plentiful.
Hope you had a wonderful Saturday, my friends.
Photos:
Lake Samsonvale The Big Dry Man's ImpositionBullocky's Rest.
Lake Samsonvale - just last week.
