CONNIKA

AFTER THE RAIN

Since our drought-breaking rains, the field is the greenest we've ever seen it, the grass is long and the wildlowers are flowering.   It's a delight to hang out the washing (when it's not raining).

57 MLS

  

It was promising rain all day.  The Bureau said it was coming;  the News said it was coming but by 5.00pm when David and I were sitting outside watching the sky, we finally decided it was skirting us just west, heading south and then east to the coast where it always falls.  Wandered in a bit dejected, sweat pouring off us - couldn't keep my glasses on most of the day!  Then, as I was preparing yet another meal from Gourmet Dinners (I did make the rice and vegies) the sky began to darken.  Went outside, lifted the carpet, dragged the chairs further into the verandah and down it came.  We    were     a-whoopin'. Wee Dougie took himself off under the table while the thunder banged and we could hardly hear ourselves talk over the rain on the roof.  

All those weeks with David dragging hoses around the garden, watching the creek dry up, trucks bringing water for the tank, trying to keep the place alive and here we were, watching every inch of the place being watered.

Tank's three quarters full with 15,000 gallons so I celebrated with a longer than usual shower this morning.

A bit more rain to come today - woo hoo!  

Photo's taken over the Darling Downs, but not by me.

ENJOYING THE RAIN!

 

FROM THE GARDEN TODAY

It's hot here today!  Hot yesterday as well.  But still NO RAIN!  We're all starting to contemplate packing up and heading somewhere where there is some of this magic stuff - how about Singapore?  It all sounds so lush there.  Around 4.00pm yesterday, the skies started to darken and Dougal took himself to safety under the coffee table.  Lots of bangs and flashes and rain which probably lasted less than a minute.  Checked the gauge this morning and it was a total of 2 mls.  From where I sit, I can see a few clouds in the sky - but they're still the wrong colour. 

Had a lovely play in the garden before breakfast today.  Went down to the potager but David had watered it last night and it was too sticky to work in, so back up and settled myself down to weed one of the beds nearer the house.  Staggered off for my shower after about an hour and when I came through to the kitchen, David had left some strawberries from the garden in a bowl for me.  Washed them and threw them into my cerial and it all looked so beautiful with the sun shining on them, I had to take a photo.  Can you see his squash, a little gold courgettes, some rocket and in the vase dill.  At this present moment, I can here him in the kitchen cooking lunch -  dear Charis and Neil are coming over.  I've done the sweet which entailed the culinary skills of a chef from France.  See previous post from a few days ago.  Packet of TimTams main ingredient.  We're going to open our bottle of Champagne which we were given when we bought the new car a few months ago.  We shall make an optimistic toast to "rain".

Just checked the post and yes, the lemons are from the garden and yes, they do go with the tonic!

RAIN

 

It's been raining!  These photos were taken in Brisbane which is about 150kms from where we live.  Fortunately, the town where we live didn't get this damage - in fact, good news for us - our tank is now full!  And good news for the reservoirs in the Brisbane/Coast areas with levels well above the 50% mark.  This is wonderful weather for us at this time of the year as our "wet" weather is supposed to be in the summer months.  Wonderful moisture in the ground as we settle down for winter - I imagine this will bode well for the farmers and their spring plantings.

LOVELY RAIN

  We've been having some good rain over the last few days which has really greened things up.  There had been next to no rain for the month of January which was very depressing as the summer months are supposed to be our wet months.  But, even with this rain our dams (town) are only at 10% - the past 20 years that we have lived in this area, have been in 'drought' conditions.  Fortunately the east coast's (we are about 200 kms inland) dams are faring much better with some of the full.

I've just started a book by Barbara Kingsolver called ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE in which she describes how she and her family pull up the tent pegs in Arizona and head to where the water comes from the sky rather than from tankers and pipes from some faraway place.  Also points out that most of the food that is on her supermarket shelves has comes from a long, long way away.

I've just started reading the book and I must say I find it a bit unsettling.  Fully agree with her though and wonder how my city of around 100,000 can continue to survive when we have so little rainfall.

More thoughts on this another day!

This photograph taken from the front of the house.

RAIN

 

Last week we had just over 30mls of rain - everything very misty and dreich for a couple of days but just fabulous this early in the season.  We should now see the "field" and the town green up.  Still a lot more needed to lift our dams above the low, low 10% level.  We put some fences up around the garden a while back because of the damage the wallabies were doing - this wee fella looks none to happy about it!