Make the most of it

The rain is coming. A wet weekend beckons in Brisbane town!

Thirst Quencher

We haven't had much rain to speak of for months. Our summer this year was very dry and that's when we normally get the bulk of our year's rain. But now, 4 days into our official winter, it isn't just raining - it's an "event" according to the media. It's been pouring steadily in Brisbane since last night and is forecast to continue throughout the day delivering totals of between 100 and 200 mls. My plants will be happy!

Reward

Yesterday morning's fog draped over the city as seen from the lookout at Mt. Coot-tha. It would have been a better shot if I had been bothered to lug my SLR up the hill but it was hard enough on the bike without it. This was taken with my phone camera. Pretty lovely anyway and a nice reward for getting out of bed at the crack of dawn and hoisting myself up the hill.

A Subtle Shift

It seems that Brisbane is full of people that dislike boiling hot weather yet that's what we get here for at least 6 months of the year. The rest of the year it ranges from quite hot to pretty warm. Being from a much more changeable climate, it took me a few years to tune into Brisbane's seasons. We've just ticked over from 'boiling hot' into 'quite hot' (i.e. Autumn) in the last week or so. We don't get leaves turning orange and falling from the trees or cold gusty winds or anything quite so obvious. It's a barely detectable change in temperature - perhaps 2 degrees c. lower than a couple of weeks ago - with a drop in humidity. But it makes all the difference to important stuff like sleeping comfortably or being able to touch the steering wheel of your car without receiving third degree burns.

She's a bit blowy

 

In Australia the weather is 'She'. Often a whole conversation will start with "She's a...." and then a description of the weather. Sometimes it's an understatement...  e.g. "She's a bit blowy" in a force-10 gale and "She's a warm one" in weather so hot you think you're going to faint.

The Washing Line/Tarp Solution

When you are intent on having a BBQ, rain needn't be a problem. 

Mt Coot-tha Lookout Skywatch

It's funny - where I grew up in London, if you looked out of the window and saw this sky you'd be grabbing a coat but at this time of year in Brisbane, a break in the rain often means the humidity rises, the cicadas hiss louder and things get a little bit sticky.

Part of Skywatch Friday

And now here's Bob with the weather...

I suppose after last year we're all a bit more alert when the Bureau of Meteorology refer to rain in terms of being an "event".

So what's happening in South-East Queensland at the moment is plenty of rain. 100mm a day with no sign of it letting up over the next few days. The day before yesterday there was a dog on a surf board on a flooded street. Yesterday was a little less light hearted - there were lots of flooded roads and some cars went under in flood-prone areas like Toombul. The good news for me is that Wivenhoe Dam (the big Dam protecting the Brisbane River from drastic flooding and consequently my flat which I've just finished renovating) is only 75% full as of yesterday - the absolute capacity is 200%. Last year it got dangerously close to 200% but I am - erm - anxiously confident that this year they will have the benefit of hindsight and start releasing some of that water soon.

Everything's going to be fine.
>breathe<

Blooming Yellow

It's a perfect summer morning right now - blue skies, birds singing, the sun sparkling on the river. I snapped these blooms when I went for a walk this morning - I'm not sure what they are but they're putting on a bit of a show at the moment.

Vintage Frocks

Despite Brisbane being extremely hot and humid in the summer, there are quite a few outlets around selling vintage 100% polyester non-breathable frocks in every colour of the rainbow. Why are they here?

* because women continue to sacrifice comfort in favour of fashion
* because the fabric has a half-life of 500 years
* the people who bought them the first time round can't give them away
* or maybe they died from heat exhaustion/asphixiation/spontaeous combustion

Either way, if you like looking like Margot from "The Good Life" while smelling like a Cornish Pastie then head one of Brisbane's many vintage fashion outlets.

P.S. If any of the friends who bought me a very special vintage poly frock recently are reading this, I love it and will be wearing it on Christmas Day all day even if it is 33 degrees and 90% humidity.

Storm a-coming (15.10)

 

It was only the day after I went on my blog-holiday that I took this one from my friend's back yard so I have been waiting since the middle of October to show you! As I remember it was a short, sharp storm as is common in this part of the world when the weather heats up. The best place to be is under cover but outdoors where you can enjoy the show and the cool breezes that come with it.

For other skies in today's Skywatch Friday, visit the portal here.

1000 images today!

The jacarandas are in bloom everywhere in Brisbane at the moment. The evenings are warming up nicely and the weather radar has started to get a bit more interesting with storms starting to come through. Yesterday (while I was at work and couldn't get out with my camera) there was a huge hail storm on the south side of Brisbane blanketing a huge area with piles of hail stones. It looked like snow it was amazing.

So today is my 1000th post - HURRAY!! I'm going to use the occasion as an excuse to take a break for a while and have a bit of a blogging holiday. As those of you who do a daily photo blog know, it can be very time-consuming and hard work. So unless I have a little gem on my memory card that I can't wait to share with you, I'll be off until the December 1st theme day... when, if I may mix my animal-related metaphors for a second, I shall be back roaring like a Bengal tiger and ready to get the bit between my teeth. So until then, enjoy your Spring or Autumn depending on where you are and I'll see you on Brisbane's first day of summer.

Yeehaah!

Bottlebrush tree in the rain

Our recent rainy weather has been really welcome. Yesterday, briefly between downpours, everything sparkled.

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.

One of the free public barbeques in our local park looking very sorry for itself in the drizzle yesterday.

Tights Weather

Highgate Hill yesterday afternoon.

Persimmons $3 a kilo this morning...

It must be nearly winter!

Samford Stole Our Thunder! - Skywatch

This was the storm front that moved in from the south on Tuesday afternoon. It looked very ominous and there was a bit of battening down the hatches going on in our place (well... we closed some windows and congratulated ourselves for being inside). The wind blew, big raindrops splashed down and then... well then it just sort of petered out. We had a little bit of rain and a rumble of thunder and that was about it. Checking out the weather radar online, It appeared that the storm swerved northward towards Samford at the last minute.  I suppose we've seen enough rain recently but even so I must admit to being a bit disappointed. What about my drama?!*

Skywatch Friday

*subject to conditions

Raining Again

Brunswick Street

Brolly Rally

Protest yesterday in King George Square against budget cuts to medical research. The rain didn't dampen spirits.

Raining On The First Day of The School Holidays

Get the popcorn on standby, I feel a movie coming on.