Season: Beginning of Summer and the start of the 'wet' season
Well finally, after a few light showers here and there in the last couple of weeks, and a few grey-cloud days, I am sitting inside listening to the raindrops hitting the tin roof ... and I've been listening to that beautiful music since very early this morning. Yes, it's been raining for hours and hours and hours! The sun has been tipped from the sky and there's not a patch of blue to be seen! Just glorious!
This is the only part of Summer and wet season that I relish. Right now, at the beginning of the Summer season, before the heavy torrential downpours begin, there's excitement and pleasure at hearing and smelling decent rain after months of going without. There's a freshness to the air.
I adore the first blanket of grey skies and dull light and I almost forget that, when this lovely day of rain stops, there will be hours and hours of hideous humidity, stifling sizzling heat and blinding scorching sunlight!!! I forget just how claustrophic it becomes when you're forced to stay inside because of the pelting rain and the mud and slosh everywhere. Yes, right now those memories are faded ... but give it a few weeks and I'm sure I'll be in the depths of wet season misery.
At the moment, there's no chance of getting out into the garden and, unlike the wildlife that seem to enjoy being drenched, I sit back in the shelter of the verandah just watching the world go by!
Can you tell I'm rather pleased that today definitely seems to herald the end of our dry season for this year????
It's fantastic to see green grass appear once more in the yard, in contrast to the still brown parched grasses of the surrounding bushland.
All those cyclone-damaged shrubs and trees somehow look happy today!
Or is it just me?
It's just brilliant to see the trunks of the tall Poincianas trees ...
... and bushland trees streaked with rainwater,
... and the Eucalyptus leaves dripping with sparkling raindrops.
The school year is now over and I'm on a long end-of-year break ... seven weeks to be exact ... and somehow it seems perfect that at the end of a very long last week of school, I'm forced to sit back and relax while the rain just keeps on falling on the thirsty trees, shrubs and flowers all around me!!!
I've been saved from walking around the awfully depressing sight of the pergola re-construction site out in my courtyard, and I'm trying very hard not to notice the trampled plants and severely trimmed vegetation out there in the distance beyond that Cycad.
Instead I get to wander along the verandah and take in the work-in-progress from a distance, where the rain-splahed new pergola structure looks almost acceptable. If I don't get any closer I can't see all the damage underneath! Of course I know there's a whole lot of work still to be done and I'm keeping my fingers crossed the workmen get to finish it before the wet season really sets in!!!! Fingers crossed!
If the usual wet season does set in for the Summer, there won't be much chance to get out and do much gardening. There are some comparisons to be drawn with the northern hemisphere gardeners who 'put away' their gardens for the winter. Whilst my garden won't be hidden away under layers of snow, it's pretty much a no-go area when the heavens open and the deluge of monsoonal rain begins.
I can't do much around the place other than the usual chore of helping some of the potted plants survive the coming hot, humid, wet couple of months that they really don't enjoy ... plants such as the Pelargoniums and the Gazanias! I have trouble with them every Summer.
But ... at the moment ... as the rain keeps falling down ... that rocking chair off the right of the photo above has my name written all over it. It's time for a snooze! ...
... and I'm afraid those poor drenched wallabies and the raindrop-splashed plants are in for a snoring treat!!!
Superbly descriptive. I could almost hear and smell that glorious rain myself. Everything is looking so lovely outdoors and your verandah is the ideal place from which to enjoy it all. The colours seem richer offset against the grey skies and it was a treat seeing both that pretty bird with fluffed out feathers and the curious wallaby. Enjoy your contented nap in your comfy rocker.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I love this post, and if I were you i will feel exactly the same. I thought Dec is the start of your summer, but it's raining! I love the way your house is designed, in the province we have a big terrace but it is in the ground floor. My 5th floor window here in the city is not as conducive to take photos of rains. I love your rain photos especially the first one. I wonder why I now cannot take those drops seen in my photos!
ReplyDeleteYour photos are wonderful, Bernie. I can almost smell the rain. Hopefully, it will follow here in Brisbane before too long. It was a very dry November (driest on record) and the garden is crying out for a good soaking.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine that so many thousands of miles away I am listening to rain falling on our metal roof too. I know everyone else is celebrating that we are getting rain but after 3 days of it I have had enough already. You get heat we will be getting the cold as temperatures drop. People are happy because it is so seasonal. It is lovely to see all your greenery and flowers despite the drenching they are getting. I love the veranda on your house. You can be out there and enjoy watching the rain. What about the mosquitoes. Do you have them? Enjoy you snooze in that comfortable chair and then watch the new life returning to the land.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post - I can almost hear the plants slurping up the rainwater after the dry season. That verandah looks very enticing -- I'd be out there napping too!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it's not just imagination; the plants are happy to see the rain come.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your summer break.
I much prefer your take on the little song - gosh I could easily snuggle into any one of the chairs on your lovely verandah. We have been getting a bit of rain but it is mainly at night, and then the days are hot and humid!
ReplyDeleteDesiree, it was wonderful just chilling out on the rocking chair yesterday. There's nothing quite like that very first full day of rain after a long dry season.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I always take loads of photos and hope that at least a few work out alright. That's how I got the first photo. I'd taken at least five and that was the only one that showed the raindrops falling. Yes December is our first Summer month and it's usually when the wet season starts.
Marisa, I'll hope that the rains reach you very soon. I'd like to share but right now I feel rather greedy and just want to keep the rain clouds up here!!
Lanchasire Rose, I know that if the wet season rolls on as usual I'll be fed up with the rain after weeks and weeks of it, but right now it's glorious! We're lucky that we don't seem to get many mosquitoes up here in the hills. When we lived closer to city they were definitely a problem.
Jayne, that verandah is just the right spot to relax in when the rain is falling. You can sit out there and feel the cool fresh breeze and sniff the rain, and just enjoy it all.
Missy, yes I think the plants definitely look happier somehow when the rains come! Thanks, I'm looking forward to the break and popping down to Brisbane to see my eldest son, his partner and our grandchildren. Can't wait!
Bernie, it all looks so lush and fresh. I want to sit on your verandah and savour it...
ReplyDeleteAfricanaussie, I don't really want to stray far from the verandah when it's holiday time. It's a great spot to just relax and revive. Rain has continued off and on since the weekend, and the yard is already looking much greener!
ReplyDeleteJanet, I'll do plenty more sitting out on the verandah for you, lol!
I could hear and feel the rain and smell the fresh air... this visit to your garden was a wonderful break to frosty weather here in northern Europe. Just four more months and we can feel the spring rain. Just four.
ReplyDeleteDear Bernie.
ReplyDeleteRain or shine, the scenery is amazing. Your garden plants are beautyful, despite the weather.
Best regards, Iris.
Hi Bernie,,, I was excited to get your visit to my blog this morning.. and had to laugh at your photos, I can almost see you out in the yard with your rain gear on snapping photos in the rain! What a lovely blog you have and I'm going to follow you and would love to keep in touch. I live in the part of Florida USA that also has rany season but ours is over this month and into a cooler winter. I have all the vegetation you have except for the wallabie.. how cute was he/she.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays to you and your family and stay dry!
Sandy
Dear Bernie, What a pleasure to imagine your world through your wonderful words and images! How exotic and lush. I hope you can sit back and enjoy this beginning before it gets too much. The sounds and smells must be heavenly right now. Oh, I gather you had damage from a cyclone . . . hope all is back to your perfection soon and that it was not too bad for you. Here there is a bit of snow and frost coating the ground. I would enjoy your rain for awhile I think. Enjoy your vacation. Carol
ReplyDeleteYes I know the feeling. We are having our first decent rain for a while. It is my excuse for not dealing with the weeds and staying indoors and blogging, reading and enjoying the pitta patter on the roof. Love your photos of the cleanly washed garden.
ReplyDeleteA great story about your son at monkey Mia.
What a lovely verandah and a cute wallaby
ReplyDeleteHello Bernie, that verandah sure does look inviting! Sometimes I forget just how different our climates are, but this post brings it home. We are contemplating a relatively 'wet' summer at this point, but our idea of a wet summer doesn't have a patch on yours!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the school holidays :)
what a superb post Bernie, the view from your verandah is beautiful, as is the damp kangaroo visitor. Maybe humid for part of the year, but seems like paradise to me. Have a wonderful break. cheers, cm
ReplyDeleteFantastic celebration of rain. When Summer approaches in my part of the world we generally hope to get a little less rain.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing garden you have!! We are at the beginning of our rainy season too. Last year it didn't seem like it would ever end. I know what you mean about those first few rains and how nice it is to see the plants get a good soaking, but I do get tired of it by March. Especially since it's also cold here.
ReplyDeleteLove the wallaby!
Geranium, while you're wishing the next four months will go quickly so it's spring once again for you, I'll be wishing that the three months of summer will go quickly so it can be autumn once more!
ReplyDeleteThank you Iris. The plants are certainly enjoying the first summer rains.
Sandy, thank you for becoming my latest follower and I hope you continue to enjoy the posts from my garden downunder.
Carol, the rain has been off and on every since this post, but it's been wonderful to sit out on the verandah when it is raining and enjoy the smell and the refreshing atmosphere.
Diane, it's just so refreshing when we hear those first raindrops on the roof after our dry season, isn't it?
Thanks Cathy. The wallabies certainly do have rather cute little faces.
Gippslandgardener, it is fascinating to see the huge differences even though we live on the same continent. Our summers are usually poles apart arent' they?
Catmint, yes the humidity levels are excruciating at the moment. I don't get out into the garden much during the day right now.
Alistair, we also hope that the wet season isn't too extreme this coming summer. I think we all had enough of record rainfall totals last summer!
Catherine, it sounds as if you know exactly what it's like putting up with a torrential wet season. It does just seem to go on forever. Ours lasted for around four months last year, but that was after an unusually wet dry season, so the effects of the monsoonal rain were most unappreciated.
A light shower is always perfect for a quiet afternoon. Your verandah looks so cozy and perfect for viewing the outdoors.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about your pergola. It will be even better than before soon. Just as the rest of your garden is recovering, that area will regain its beauty too.