A big sky

I took this image on 25 February when the sky was filled with large slow moving cloud. Today at 8:45Am the sky is clear and blue, the humidity low and a crispness that almost feels like autumn. Blissful.

Last Night's Storm

Yesterday evening between 5:30 and 6:00 PM we had a lovely late summer storm. Small amounts of thunder and lightening were followed by a short very heavy down pour causing gutters to overflow and making so much noise on the corrugated iron roof that it made conversation impossible. After the storm passed we had intermittent showers throughout the night.
This morning it feels cool and damp but I am sure we are in for another hot and humid day.
I am just about to set off on my crutches for the verandah tour of the garden. I'm hoping to see the little white crocuses that always come up after the rain. And I do.

High Summer in the Garden

After that winge about the humidity I have managed to propel myself and my camera onto the verandah to take some summer snaps.

Physostegia (Gallipoli heath) is always a late summer constant in my garden. I love the way that, if you clear a path for it when its first shoots appear, you will be rewarded with beautiful cobalt violet flowers when everything else is going off. Witness the azalia beside it which is yellow with forced undernourished growth so typical of this time of the year.

In the second shot I love the heaviness as the leaves droop weighed down by the water from two days rain.

Blogger is not cooperating. Pictures at a later date.

Humidity

Oh how I hate humidity. It is currently 21degrees and 75% humidity. I feel hot and itchy my skin crawls and there are damp patches behind my knees and my hair is wet. The dog, who obviously doesn't have a humidity register is insisting on lying wedged up against me.

I must try to hobble to the verandah to record these tropical moments.

Why no photos.

I haven't posted for quite a while for several reasons.
Firstly I fell and broke my leg in three places a week and a half ago. This severely limits my mobility as I live up a large flight of stairs.
But more importantly I have been observing the weather conditions to the north and south of Australia and thinking a lot about the enormous power of weather that we will never tame or control.
Having been in Brisbane for the 1974 floods I still remember the feelings of loss, isolation and camaraderie as we had communal meals with those who had no power. I remember tucking my skirt in my knickers to wade through water to go to work because I worked in a government office which gave aid to flood victims and victims of Cyclone Tracy. But these were not relentless floods accompanied by weeks (not days) of torrential rain.
Three thousand kilometers away protracted heat waves, strong winds and dry vegetation provide the conditions which result in an inferno which claims lives and leaves thousands homeless. One reporter hesitantly compares the scene to a war zone.
All of which makes me think as I lie on my comfortable bed, working on my laptop, having just used the remote control to turn on the air conditioner because the laptop makes my legs hot, that we lead such sheltered lives in our domestic cocoons.
I think a lot about how we are just a small part of the system, with the knowledge and resources to destroy ecosystems and visit the moon but not contain fire. About how until we are faced with chaos, loss and despair we probably have no idea what it might be like to live in a war zone, be homeless or lose the ones we love to a force we cannot control or understand.

28th January

The garden at home has received 154.5mm of rain in the last ten days of January. The garden is lush and green with growth. The lettuces can't stand the heat and have gone to seed, this will be collected for sowing next season; other crops like the eggplants are thriving.

26th January 9AM

The wet Australia Day morning revealed an array of droplet covered webs. Grass is in growth mode again after the few days rain. The turf is sprouting, but has another problem - little white moths that lay larvea in the grass, commonly known as lawn grub.

24th January Clouds - Rain?

Clouds at various levels were moving in all directions across the evening sky as the sun set. What I couldn't tell was if they were putting on a show or also carried rain with them.

24th January

The grass is growing overnight again.

23rd January Rain and the City 11AM

A few were prepared for the rain today.

Exposed areas of the city mall were empty as heavy rain descended. Under awnings people waited for the rain to ease.

The Rain.

The rain, the glorious rain has come after a very dry January when my garden became parched. This shot shows the response to last nights rain. I water the garden beds occasionally from the tank but the central piece of lawn has been baked for a month.
The second image was taken 12 hours after the first after an overcast and showery day.

Come In

When I took this the Bob Dylan line 'come in' she said ' I'll give you some shelter from the storm' was playing in my head.

Remember Where You Were

WE always say 'remember where you where' when there is an important moment in history. Well today (20th January 2009) I was in Brisbane on a very hot dry day. It was still hot when we walked the dog at 5.30 PM before coming home to watch another rerun of the inauguration. Happy News for a change.

20 January 5:45PM

Dry spell continues with not a cloud in sight.

20th January Dry Spell

No rain has fallen in the guage at home since the 6th of January, and that was only half a millimetre. With just 12mm total so far for the month, the garden is showing signs of the dry weather spell.

17th January 2009

A storm looked as though it was brewing but I feel the wind was too swift and just carried rain that might have eventuated with it.

(No one was walking their dogs this afternoon...)

6.40pm

18 January 2PM

Waiting for rain.

Reality and Dream weather

Ideal weather and dream destinations.

After looking at the images I took at Southport Spit yesterday. I realised that some of the images looked like holiday brochure shots that we look at when we dream of our ideal destination which is an escape from reality. The deep blue of the sea made me think of Greece. Most of us have fantasized about running away to a Greek island. So this made me think of the role that waether has in our fantasies.

Reality is often very different. So I am posting some images about the fantasy/reality experience of weather.

16th sunrise moon and evening clouds

Thanks for the invitation to contribute to your blog Susan... you are welcome to do the same on mine Elemental Conversations.


I woke early and caught the light of the rising sun and moon. Crisp, clear and not a cloud in sight. (A precursor for the day ahead)
As the shot of the moon was so crisp I thought I would compare it to the moonphase chart on your blog and it as a perfect match!


After a sweltering, yet breezy day, the light evening gusts whipped up some rather whimsical evening skies.

16 January 9AM Southport Weather Station

Early Morning Light

Yesterday morning Nicola and Uta my collaborators in the Weather Observation Project both took beautiful shots of early morning light while I snoozed on.
Not to be outdone I hurled myself out of bed this morning to capture these images.

11 January 4PM

Ants on the move are always believed to be a sign that rain is on the way. I must add that ants are not any easy subject for the amateur photographer!

11January 7AM

10January 6:45PM

From the East and West

8 January PM