General News
27 February, 2026
Barry's Corner: Snow games
Every season there is often snow in the higher peaks of the Gariwerds/Grampians national park.
Living outside the snow line of the hills it is easy to tell if there is much snow about h because the cold penetrates all your clothes and if you stoke up the heater and it still feels cold it means there must be snow nearby.
I have been catching some snippets of the snow games in Italy Olympics I have been amazed at the balance and skills of the men and women of the various countries.
The ability to stand upright on skinny boards slander, narrow things that look too fragile for any such work.
Only a few times have I visited snow and not often otherwise.
One of the few times snow has settled in this area was a few decades ago now.
When I woke in the morning it was extremely quiet as it gracefully and quietly landed on the vegetation, the paddocks and the trees.
The eucalyptus trees looked to be nicely decorated with a European twist, but Oh My, the damage caused to the trees was enormous, our Aussie trees are just not strong enough to hold them upright.
The weight on the ends of the branchers was too much to handle and they bowed down until it became too0 heavy then crack it would break the branch right off or just snap it part way through.
The dog stepped out to his kennel doorway and tenderly patted the new white carpet and was not sure what to do.
He came out soon enough once he could be sure it was safe.
But western Victoria is not built for snow and if we want better access to snow we need to move somewhere else.
Winter mornings can be cold and it might take a while to warm up enough to gol to work.
But layers of clothing are best to cope with those conditions, compared to the extreme heat of the past month when no clothes is more dangerous for sunburn and heat stroke.
Our birds and animals are not adjusted to snow condition.
With a blanket of ice over the grass and vegetation means gathering food is hard work.
All the reptiles go back to old burrows or take shelter in new holes or tree hollows so they are not as effected as the birds and animals .