... on the edge of disaster

we are in Canowindra (my pronunciation is incorrect, much to my mother's pleasure – although closer than hers. wikipedia entry's pronunciation a bit better: canowindra actually on deciphering mine isn't that far out).

sun out at Hampton yesterday while loading car. grass promises to be as high as an elephant's eye (from Oklahoma the musical not state) with just a little bit of sunshine. packing although only for two nights, turned into a panic pack where I piled every conceivable clothing combination into large back pack like laundry bag. unfolded, which I paid for this morning when getting dressed and ironing on regulation barely useable motel ironing board (with fold up ski jump like attachment, a new feature). usual budget iron with impossible water inlet. only one useable plug (which also does duty for microwave, toaster, kettle - although this banished by me to bathroom basin side). another plug is on opposite wall between queen and single beds, maybe for vacuum, although now with my travelling radio which is on floor with antenna extended so as to catch signal of ABC FM from Mt Canobolas, on whose western slopes we are, at 200 metres.

downhill 40 minute trip from Orange, followed as usual by boot biting country cretin in Toyota branded 4 wheel drive, probably inevitable Land Cruiser but just might have been Prado. road has double white (I still nearly always say yellow, although these banned in NSW at Victorian insistence several decades ago). speed limited to 80 km then 90 km; beige coloured car overtook as soon as broken lines and 100 km area reached, followed by large shiny white Holden/Falcon ute both immediately increasing to real country speed limit of 130 km. road wasn't in that great a condition. country beginning of real sheep and wheat with rolling hills, isolated clumps of trees and distant hills in blue. drop from Orange at about 900 metres to here, about 200 metres.

we are only a few km from flood water's and today's trip to Young will neccesitate detour via Grenfell because of floodwaters. overcast and humid in low 20's here this morning. yesterday sunny with high cloud and humid until about 4 pm when cloud lowered and filled sky.

town is usual country grid with wide streets and less usual narrow winding main street (Gaskell Street but called "Bendy" Street locally). big modern museum with fish fossils. several art galleries and several more recent boutiques in main street; otherwise contains necessary elements of life mixed with empty shops. shops some still in use mixed with empties on several other parrallel streets to east of main. largish but abandoned railway area. kate, owner of bendy street emporium, the best of main street store, kindly arranged table for us at taste of canowindra, a wine tasting restaurant on ferguson street. more of that later. now to Young.

07.56 am AEDST Saturday 04 December 2010