Dark and Stormy

[Boots]

I really do wish it would just rain gently over here...

Have just come through a night of wild rain and it looks like there is at least one more ahead of us.

We spend ages waiting for rain, and then when it comes it is like the heavens just open up. The dam has risen at least 3 metres over night and is about 100m long and 40m wide. It is still filling with seepage, so that is a heck of a lot of water. The contours have collected about 3 inches of topsoil in different spots, with the pens catching an impressive 6 inches.

We lose power as soon as it even sprinkles, so we spend much of the wet season planning for life without it as you just never really know whether you will have it or not. Oddly enough, it went out during the onset of the storm last night, but was back on after a couple of hours and has stayed on.

I have a huge gum down the bottom paddock that has been debarked from tip to base - it is bright red and I can't for the life of me think what happened to it. Lost a tree to lightening last year, but it was all splintered and smashed up looking. This tree looks like it has been scalded.

The animals are all ok. A few ducks still sitting on outdoor nests that are unlikely to have got through unswamped, but ducks are committed critters.

Tanks are overflowing and gutters simply couldn't handle the downpour. They were overflowing everywhere. I'm not sure why you can only buy one size of gutter? I need big barrell type ones.

The pump was in water, but not submerged, so that was good.

I remember rain being enjoyable when I was a kid... Sprinkly and pleasant, with water flowing gently down road gutters that we could play in. I really wish we could have a bit of that rain again...

The old folks round here say our weather is cyclic... moves in 7 to 9 year cycles apparently... Not sure where the gentle rains fit in. Could be greenhouse warming effects, or icecap melting stuff... dunno, but I can't remember the last time we had good growing rains.

[pomegranate]

Send some of your spare rain south please Boots. We are in desperate need here, have only had 160mm all year.

[Boots]

What we don't catch rushes off pretty quickly pomegranite, so it may be heading your way.

Do you get big dumpings too? I remember Victoria being a bit more ongoing when I was down that way, but things are changing so quickly climate wise.

It's your fire season now, yeah? I hope you get some soon. South Aus is supposed to be dry as a ddd again too.

Tis only a matter of time before bottled water become barrelled water, I reckon, and then folks might realise the extent of the problem.