First Rain.

After almost four years without our summer rains clouds are gathering and we have already had over one inch of rain, delivered in the first real electrical storm for years. We have had rain but not the thrilling light shows we are used to. Sometimes we have watched lightening flash in awesome displays that have lasted all night. Our storms generally come at night.

Dark clouds crowd the sky,
wind swirls winter's detritus,
changes cloud shapes
to form Thor's anvil.

Bird songs cease, blossoms
release perfumed oils
to float on warm, waiting air
in eerie yellow light.

Low grumbles swirl closer,
sky lowers, darkens,
promises rain to
frogs' rasping chorus.

Wind bells, rudely rattled
by strengthened wind,
dance to fresh music
under sheltering eaves.

Lightning snaps its jaws,
cracks to earth
in the brooding still as
fat drops begin to fall.

The feeling of isolation comes after some of these storms. Roads are often cut for days where bridges are low-lying. Travellers are generally prepared for such eventualities and, in some areas good money is made by locals who pull unwary drivers out of a suddenly swollen creek. This little lake is fun for both kids and adults to paddle through.