The Red, Blue and Green Beckons!

The rich red dirt, vast blue skies and green vegetation of the Channel Country beckon. The Western Rivers Carer will be out and about over the next week having adventures. I promise to share lots of interesting insights and images once I return.

Solar Farm - So Far, So Sustainable and Oh So Good!

Today, I heard that the Australian Conservation Foundation has released its inaugural Sustainable Cities index, which ranks Australia's 20 largest centres to come up with our 'greenest' city. I would like to nominate a town in the Channel Country for what could possibly be the smallest and most sustainable town.

And that nomination would be for Windorah!

As you drive into Windorah from the East, you whizz past these magnficent dishes that make up a solar farm which was commissioned in 2009. Different combinations of dishes are used at different types to generate the electricity for the town of Windorah. Some are parked whilst others generate the power - a whole 360 000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. Before this farm was installed, Windorah churned through 100 000 litres of diesel each year to keep the generators fueled, which in turn provided the electricity.

In the solar farm, there are five mirrored dishes, each 13.7 metres across which reflect the sunlight to a central point in the dish where there is a high capacity solar cell. The season, time of day and amount of cloud cover all determine the amount of electricity produced.

Why not check out these magnificent sentinels that stand guard to Windorah as you enter from Cooper's Creek? I take my cap off to these renewable energy sources which Ergon Energy has installed.

Emu's and Emu Eggs

Did you know that the Emu's are sitting on their eggs at the moment? An Emu usually lays between 6 - 10 eggs. It takes almost 2 months for the eggs to incubate. It is also the job of the male Emu to sit on the eggs for this period of time. He is also the chief carer of the chicks once they are hatched. An Emu nest is usually built in a small depression in the ground, and surrounded by sticks, bark and grass.

During August, it is quite a common sight to see the small, stripey chicks being led around the countryside by their father. Emu's are the second largest bird in the world and are very inquisitive animals. However, do not get too close to an Emu as they have a deadly kick and use their feet with keen accuracy to protect themselves. Stay behind them!

Check out these Emu's enjoying the fabulous season that Western Queensland is enjoying in 2010.

Australia's Largest Emu

Did you know there is an Emu in the night skies? Whilst we might find our largest Dinosaur under the ground, you will find our largest emu in the night sky during this month. The Emu appears in May each year. So what is this Emu?

Our Australian Aboriginals have their own night sky objects that they have always identified. In Western European society, night sky constellations are identified by linking stars to create a pattern eg Southern Cross, Scorpion, Orion the Hunter etc. Indigenous Australians use the very black, dark patches in the sky to create objects. These pitch black areas are dust lanes near nebulas where stars are formed.

The Emu is found in the Milky Way. It is easiest to find if you start looking for its head first..........also known as the coalsack. Now trace back and form the neck, body, tail and legs of the Emu. This emu will be around for a month or so........and is clearly visible on nights when there is not a moon. The Western Rivers Carer loves this time of the year when the Emu is in the sky - which coincidentally is the same time of year as when the Emu's are sitting on their eggs. The images accompanying this come from a book titled "Emu Dreaming" by Ray and Cilla Norris.

Australia's Largest Dinosaurs

Did you know the largest Dinosaurs to be found in Australia have been located in South West Queensland? The first dinosaur fossil was found in the Eromanga area in 2004, and since then, eleven dinosaur sites have been discovered.

This week, an army of volunteers are undertaking a dig in South West Queensland. One ponders what the earth will reveal in the 2010 dig?