The local countryside continues to look really dry and brown with little rain. My few walks around the edge of the bush adjoining the estate reveals an eerie quiet from the small bush birds we would expect to hear this time of the year. Much of the bush is dotted with brown vegetation, displaying signs of stress and death from a lack of moisture. There is a little tinge of green in the open spaces, but the growth is nowhere near lush! Several of the constructed ponds are empty and water levels in the wetlands is just hanging in there while the creek line is down to a very slow trickle. These green arteries of the wetlands and moist home gardens continue to provide vital habitat. Tough times continue for our native animals as they eek out a living.