We have had the driest summer on record, this year.The local dams are only 38% adn 51%. As an ex-farm girl, I get worried when the skies don't give up their bounty. Though I have lived here for over twenty-five years, I miss the rains that bombarded me as I grew up in Queensland (before the droughts).
When I say "I can smell he rain coming" some people think I am crazy but I miss the rich smell of the water-laden air. I miss the build up of moisture, leading to the expectation of rain. Just the gentlest of breezes could cool the air, adding some relief. The running joke was that we didn't need air conditioning, in the car; we had 4-60 air conditioning; 4 windows down, going 60 kilometres and hour.
I remember the longing for those first drops to fall, listening carefully for the slightest noise to herald the wanted relief from the humidity. I can still hear the brooding thunder, so faint that I thought I was imagining it at first; maybe I had wished too hard and only just imagined it? Then there is another slow rumble, rolling closer confirming that it was indeed the real thing. Soon I realise that the faint flickers of light, in the corner of my eye, is not just the bug zapper on the verandah, but lightning toungueing its way across the sky and occasionally touching with the ground, creating a split second vacuum. There is a loud crack as the air snaps back to fill in the void.
With a chill of excitement, I count the seconds, until the next peal of thunder. One thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three... The sound of the rumbling again builds up and rolls past. The storm is closing in. Already the air is becoming lighter, as it sheds its load. Tap, tap, tap - the gentle fall of those first precious jewels of water. Like a heartbeat starting to race, the taps increase in number, quickening until there is a curtain of droplets in front of me. As the sound grows steadily until I can hear nothing but the rhythmic thumping on the roof, I watch the light display playing across the clouds. Tesla had nothing on this!
Finally, there is relief as the air changes, clearing to a crispness equalled by no other. I can feel the negative ions making the air buzz, providing both instant calm and rejuvinating energy! An excitement. A fulfillment A relief. I live with South Australians who were born here; they don't quite understand the excitement I get when I smell the rain, then the disappointment I suffer when the electrical storms here end in no rain. But they have learnt to cope with my squees of delight as I frolllick in the smallest of sun showers...
Did I mention that I miss the rain?
Chosen essay practice: write in 1st person on a subject I love. 480 words
(photo: smoke from the Grampians in Adelaide)
With a chill of excitement, I count the seconds, until the next peal of thunder. One thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three... The sound of the rumbling again builds up and rolls past. The storm is closing in. Already the air is becoming lighter, as it sheds its load. Tap, tap, tap - the gentle fall of those first precious jewels of water. Like a heartbeat starting to race, the taps increase in number, quickening until there is a curtain of droplets in front of me. As the sound grows steadily until I can hear nothing but the rhythmic thumping on the roof, I watch the light display playing across the clouds. Tesla had nothing on this!
Finally, there is relief as the air changes, clearing to a crispness equalled by no other. I can feel the negative ions making the air buzz, providing both instant calm and rejuvinating energy! An excitement. A fulfillment A relief. I live with South Australians who were born here; they don't quite understand the excitement I get when I smell the rain, then the disappointment I suffer when the electrical storms here end in no rain. But they have learnt to cope with my squees of delight as I frolllick in the smallest of sun showers...Did I mention that I miss the rain?
Chosen essay practice: write in 1st person on a subject I love. 480 words
(photo: smoke from the Grampians in Adelaide)
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