Canola in Bloom

I was heading inland from Perth in Western Australia on a late winter’s day with threatening rain and heavy cloud build-up.  From York I headed inland towards the small farming town of Quairading, deep in the Wheat Belt. Canola crops were everywhere, mature, strong and in full flower.

Above, the moody clouds spat rain at the ground in passing showers. When I went off the bitumen and started exploring through the minor gravel back-roads that wended their way around the fields and undulating terrain, the gullys were awash. The small creeks and waterways were running or had recently been.

As Gertie the Jeep hit the bottom of each culvert with enough impetus to keep going through and up out the other side, explosive sheets of cold muddy water shot straight out, up and over everything. Thankfully, the rains later that day washed most of the dirt off, although as usual in such conditions, great clumps of mud were built up under the wheel arches and in other hard to get to places!

However, it was still a beautiful day and when the sun broke through the clouds, blooming heads on countless rows of Canola lit up in acres of rich yellows and gold.