Finding joy in the everyday

I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me! ~My country by Dorothea McKellar~ Rain, if you ever meet an Australian farmer, rain will certainly be discussed, often in great detail  — either about the lack of rain or too much rain. There is rarely a conversation about just the right amount of rain, perhaps because it doesn't happen very often. Growing up, we never missed listening to the weather forecast on the radio (wireless as my dad called it). Knowing what is happening with the weather is critical for every farmer, even those who are retired! When I speak to my dad (a former farmer from a long line of farmers) we always talk about the weather. At present we (where I live) have received very good rains, the dams are full and the grass is tall. It all sounds g...

My favourite drink on a very hot day - icey iced coffee with lots of vanilla ice-cream! Hot Hot Hotter Ok, it is summer but 40C (102F) or thereabouts for the entire week is no fun at all. But after looking at the weather forecast I know that just around the corner (Monday) it will be down to a glorious 25C (77F) which will be more than welcome.  The poor pets have really been struggling, Ruby (one very fluffy black cat) has spent much of the week lying on the bathroom tiles getting cool, she hasn't been impressed. However, I thank the Lord as the nights haven't been too bad and I have been able to get a reasonable sleep and the cooler air has cooled the house down a little by morning.  Thunderstorms are on their way this afternoon, not welcome as thunderstorms without rain is a recipe for disaster as we are currently seeing in both South Australia and Victoria with the many bush-fires started as a result of thunderstorms. I pray that we don't have th...

Google imagines The occasional thunderstorm is quite enjoyable, every night is just a pain. Summer at my place is meant to be hot and dry.  Summer this year is grey (overcast), cool, slightly humid and wet (it's raining as I write).  I feel like I am living in the tropics!  On Saturday night we had an impressive thunderstorm followed by an even more impressive hailstorm.  My son and I stood on the front porch and watch the amazing show (no photos sadly), at one point it was raining leaves as they were being shredded from the Gum Trees. My poor zucchini and pumpkin plants look worse the wear now and aren't likely to recover. The major problem with thunderstorms is our dog (Gaia). The moment he hears the noise he barks.  He will stand in the pouring rain and bark.  He will run about wagging his tail and bark.  And he will bark non stop until the thunder has past us.We can't quite work out why he barks as he doesn't appear to be scared - we think he i...

Photo by Greg Sorenson - storm follower On Tuesday afternoon at 5pm the first storm rolled in, it brought thunder and lightening, rain, wind and hail.  Two dobermans were very unhappy and one wouldn't stop barking so into the bathroom he went.  By 8pm the first storm had past - dogs were settled, all was quiet, so I sat down to watch a DVD and have my tea. At 10:45pm I could hear wind and rain, so I thought I would check the Bureau of Meteorology radar - not good news.  A massive storm front was almost upon us and before I could wake up DH, the thunder and lightening had returned, more hail, wind and rain.  So one dog in the bathroom, one cat in a bedroom (the other cat was outside somewhere and hadn't returned home) and the other dog was wandering the house.  From 10:45pm to 12:30am it was a light and noise show with the addition of a barking dog and the other one jumping all over us.  I lay on the bed and to my surprise managed to fall asleep, waking ...

Its been really cold .   At 7:00am yesterday morning it was -8C (17.9F) with an apparent temperature of -10C (14F). The coldest winters morning in 17 years.  By midday (when I sat outside in the sun) the temperature had risen 18 degrees to 10C (50F). This morning wasn't any better. Check out the black swans below - they are white due to the frost on their feathers.  I wonder if they feel the cold like we do? Photos from the local newspaper: link ~oOo~ Happy weekend to all my lovely readers. Do you have any special plans? ~oOo~