Synopsis: With not enough water for both Wilgul and Drovers Run, Claire McLeod and Nick Ryan start a bore war. Claire McLeod needs water for her cattle, while Nick Ryan for his crops. Without any resolution in sight, the two stand to lose their farms. Meanwhile, the heat and water shortage had made Meg Fountain irritable, starting a quarrel of her own with Terry Dodge.Episode Summary: It’s the middle of summer, and water is scarce. The women of Drovers Run waste no time to fix their water problem, and they do so successfully. Unfortunately, just minutes after they get the water pumping to their tank, Nick Ryan turns on the irrigation system on Wilgul, leaving Drovers Run’s well to run dry. Continue reading...
In order to conserve water, Claire McLeod imposes on the rule that only one of them may use the shower. This proves problematic given that all of them are to attend Nick Ryan’s housewarming party, but one must do what one has to when water supply is low. Tess McLeod draws the longest stick, and gets her chance to shower after a long, hot, sweaty day working at the farm. Sadly, they learn that there is no water at all.
On their way to Wilgul, the women identify the cause of their water problem. Nick Ryan has taken all the water to irrigate his crops. Claire proposes that Nick only water his crops at night, while she fills the troughs for her cattle during the day. This angers Nick who then proposes that Claire move her cattle some place else. The arrival of Harry and Alex Ryan interrupts their heated argument. Alex’ new girlfriend arrives, which unpleasantly surprises Tess McLeod. Nick Ryan could just not get a break, as Tess becomes upset with him for not giving her a heads up.
In an attempt to reason with Claire, Nick shares with her his big plans for Wilgul, and how all of these depend on the success of his first harvest, but Claire is adamant. The two agree to leave the decision with the water licensing representative. With this behind them, Nick’s party comes to a full swing with Jodi Fountain convincing him to sing and play on the piano.
The women of Drovers Run return home, and decide that they all sleep in the coolest part of the main house. Lying on the floor, perspiring as much as they did before, makes them wonder if they got the right idea. Moreover, learning that snakes are up and about searching for water made Tess choose to sleep on her hot bed instead of the floor.
Given that Claire McLeod and Nick Ryan are sharing the same water source, Melanie, the water-licensing representative arrives to determine if anyone of them is actually detrimentally affected by the water shortage. Seeing that Claire’s hot temper is not helping her case, Tess steps in, in an attempt to coax the woman into ruling in their favor. Melanie pays a visit to Wilgul where Nick Ryan tries to use his charm to gain favor with her, but the woman cannot be swayed. Melanie calls for a meeting between two parties, and provides them with alternative solutions. Unfortunately, the two cannot reach an agreement leaving them to make the decision on their own. Failure to do so would result in the forfeiture of both their water licenses.
The heat, and the lack of water put the women of Drovers Run on edge. Seeing the men of Killarney who have access to unlimited supply of water only accentuates the direness of their situation. Nick Ryan arrives at Drovers Run to discuss their water problem, but the bore war continues when Claire insinuates that she has more to lose given that Nick could always turn to his father for financial help. Nick fights back with the prospect of Claire losing control of her farm to Peter Johnson if the two are to marry, noticing their deepening relationship.
Terry Dodge arrives with some good news, unaware that he had unnerved Meg Fountain after sharing his pet peeves on some of her habits. Meg retaliates by pointing out the man’s habits that annoys her. Dampening his mood, Terry decides not to tell Meg what it is that he won.
Finding no resolution to the bore war with Nick Ryan, Claire McLeod decides to sell some of her stock despite the unprofitable prices. Little did she know that Nick is also planning on letting his crop go, and just count his losses. Seeing that her sister is stubborn enough to sell her cattle instead of resolving the problem with Nick, Tess McLeod takes matters into her own hands. Tess drops by Wilgul, but sees that Nick is nowhere in sight. With the master of the house out, she runs to take a quick shower unaware that Nick had just arrived. Knowing that his brother is as stubborn as Claire, Alex Ryan drops by Drovers Run to speak with Claire who still is upset with Nick’s insinuation that the woman would lose her control over her farm once she marries. Moreover, he enlightens her with the real reason for her stubbornness. Claire McLeod is out to prove herself that she can find success without the help of a man. Tess’ quick shower turns into a long bath that amused Nick Ryan. Surprised at getting caught, Tess with only a towel on tries her best to reason with the man both for the use of his shower, and his feud with Claire. Her argument begins well, but ends up badly when Nick learns that Claire had shared with her the truth about Wilgul. Tess knows that Nick Ryan bought Wilgul in an attempt to get back at Harry for deciding to leave all of Killarney to Alex. Moreover, he purposely left out the detail that he had bought the farm using his own money, and that he lied to his family just so he could get full use of Killarney’s resources.
Tess McLeod returns to Drovers Run, and makes herself the women’s target having bathed at Wilgul. Angered with the woman’s good fortune, Becky Howard hatches up a plan with Jodi Fountain. Becky spends dinner making sure that Tess’ glass is continually replenished with water. Soon, the woman requires the use of the bathroom where she finds a snake. Soon after, a gunshot is heard. The women run upstairs, and find Tess with a shotgun, a broken sink pedestal, and a dead snake. Learning that Becky and Jodi were the ones who put the already dead snake in the bathroom to purposely scare Tess, the two young women, and Tess are left to clean up the mess. Getting the idea from Tess, Becky decides to accept Brick’s offer earlier that day. Becky goes over to Killarney to take a swim in the Ryan’s’ pool, learning from Brick that Harry Ryan is out late that night. Becky goes for a swim, while Brick keeps watch. With them alone, the young man takes the opportunity to ask her out on a date, and the young woman accepts.
Somehow, Tess McLeod convinces her sister to swallow her pride, apologize to Nick Ryan, and finally end the bore war. What the two sisters do not know is that Nick had already made his decision not to irrigate his crops. Regrettably, this angers Harry Ryan who is unaware that the crops are not his. Unable to force his son to turn the water pump back on to save the crops, Harry decides to go against his wishes thinking that it is his crops that Nick refuses to water. Pushed to a corner, Nick Ryan confesses the truth. Wilgul is bought with his own money not his family’s. This infuriates his father, and catches Alex by surprise. Harry orders Alex, and his men to pull out all of Killarney’s equipment out of Wilgul. Claire and Tess McLeod arrive at Wilgul a minute too late. Learning of Nick Ryan’s fate, Claire offers that she sell her stock to help save Nick from financial ruin, but Nick refuses the offer not wanting the young woman to suffer for his misfortune. Learning that Harry has moved everything that is his in Wilgul back to Killarney, including the stock that Nick is gisting for him, Claire is struck with an idea that Nick quickly accepts. Claire McLeod proposes that her cattle graze on Wilgul given that no other stock is at the farm. This way Nick Ryan could take all of the bore water to irrigate his crop without Claire McLeod having to worry about her cattle dying from dehydration at Drovers Run. With their water dispute resolved, the two friends end the bore war.
Meg Fountain and Terry Dodge do the same, and come to grips with each others annoying habits. Itching to know what it is that Terry won, Meg convinces him to finally tell her what it is. In fact, Terry Dodge had brought it to Drovers Run with him. Terry won a spa, something that Meg would have been happy about if not for the dry spell. The only one who is impressed with the prize is Tess McLeod who hatches up a plan to put it to good use. That night, she sneaks into Killarney to steal the water from their pool. Unluckily, Alex Ryan sees her, but is quick to turn a blind eye on the woman’s antic. However, he becomes curious as to why Tess had decided to get back at Harry for Nick. It was then that Alex Ryan learns that Harry had promised his brother half of Killarney, but decided to take it back, leaving Nick with nothing. The following day, Harry wakes up to a half empty pool, while the women of Drover’s Run and Terry spend the day in the spa.
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