Clay blows off the surface of the lakebed on a very hot, windy day: technically this was still the middle of spring but the surrounding country was bone dry and the winter crops had failed. It looked as though the following summer would be dreadful. Only a few months later, however, the first of a series of chance thunderstorms passed over parts of north-western Victoria and the expected devastation did not eventuate. It’s been more than 10 years since the Mallee had "average" winter rainfall, and it’s not reasonable to expect it will in future.