Phew the storm passed us by…

During the night the storm fizzled out, the wind dropped and, thank goodness, so did the temperature. It is still grey and overcast this morning and I’m hoping we get more rain. Only 2mm fell overnight. But it has refreshed the plants. Rain has magical properties that no amount of watering can supply.

Thank you to all my blogging friends who expressed their concern. The connection and caring of the WordPress community is heart warming.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend whatever the weather and wherever you are.

Storm warning…

Yesterday a violent thunderstorm ripped through Sydney killing a man, destroying many buildings and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. (For more details and pictures click here) Followed by hail and gale force winds. The man died when a tree fell on his car The storm was centred in the Western Sydney area where the farm we recently cared for is situated.

I received this e-mail from Deidre (who with Kim are the farm owners))…

“I’m glad we were home when this storm hit – we took a direct hit, a bit of hail and wind like you can’t imagine. Power went off of course.  But we have been very fortunate.  A tree that could have hit the house has been stopped by the dead tree (to the south of the dog pen). That tree should have been taken out after a lightening strike last year, but the contractor never turned up to do it!  Branches fell off, one hit the very corner of our bedroom but only bent a gutter that needs replacing anyway.  There is a big part of tree near the dog pen, but it fell between the wheelie bin and the gate, so if we crawl under we can still lock them up.  Other small stuff down all over, but the driveway OK.  The rented house had a tree fall between the carport and a shed, it damaged an old trailer. Andy and Raylene had a tree fall between structures too.  And, miracle of miracles, the power, phone and internet all came back on very quickly. That is a first.  (Neighbours said trees pulled down power lines locally, so I guess it was a relatively easy fix).

 Thought you might hear stories of storms in Sydney, and wanted to let you know we are OK.”

I was so relieved to hear they were ok, and thankful we never had that terrifying experience when we were in charge.

Now the storm is heading our way, 70 km per hour winds are presently buffeting our area and rain is forecast for later tonight. Fortunately the intensity has decreased so hopefully we will get some rain but not as bad as Sydney.

I biked down to the end of the street just before the rain started to capture these images of the storm clouds rolling in.

This sensible duck had bunkered down off the water for the night.

The garden is in need of a good soaking rain. I didn’t do any watering today…

Travel Theme : Wild Wind

Queensland is the sunshine state, beautiful one day, perfect the next.

The lake at the end of my street is placid, with just a few ripples to ruffle the surface and the air is still.

But Australia has a capricious weather system and it can show its violent side.

 The storm clouds can roll in from the distant hinterland, dark and foreboding. The wind builds and boils to a ferocious storm.

In the garden the palm fronds bend and twist in a frantic dance to the accompaniment of the wind and lashing rain.

Branches snap and fall unable to withstand the cyclonic force of nature.

At the beach the ocean is whipped into a frenzy of foam and spray.

The Pandanus tree, unable to bear the destructive winds, topple and fall.

This country is subject to intense changes in weather patterns and Ailsa’s “wind” theme made me think of the storms that occasionally lash our coast with disastrous consequences.

Weekly Photo Challenge : Rule of Thirds

 

This week Jen has challenged us to compose our subject off-center, obeying the Rule of Thirds.

The Rule of Thirds is a photography concept that puts the subject of the photograph off-center, which usually results in blank space in the rest of the image. If you focus closely on your subject and use a wide aperture, your photograph’s background will also be beautifully blurred in that blank space. The blurred area behind your focal point is referred to as bokeh.

So when it stopped raining I headed into the garden to experiment with the cameras settings. I think some worked, (some were a woeful failure, and I won’t show you those)..

Grevillea Ned Kelly

Anthurium

Water Lily

Desert Rose

Plumbago

Fungus

***********************

Update on the storm.

Cyclone Marcia caused terrible devastation where she came to land as a category 5 cyclone.

 “The BOM said Marcia had weakened to a Category Two cyclone, with sustained winds of 110km/h (72mph) and gusts of up to 155km/h.

It was about 60km west of the town of Gladstone, Queensland and 65km north-northeast of Biloela, and moving south-southeast at 18 kmh but expected to weaken below cyclone strength by Saturday morning.” (For more information and photos go here to the BBC news report)

Hundreds of people in the central Queensland area are now homeless with their homes torn apart and large areas are without power. Thankfully there is no loss of life or major injuries. As it moved south it gradually lost power and by the time it reached Brisbane it was classed as a tropical low, lots of rain and some flooding, but the winds had dropped. It then veered out to sea away from our corner of Queensland. We had approx. 200mm of rain over 3 days, but no wind. As you can see in the flower photos they are flourishing in the rain.

*************************

 

Storm Warning…

 

 Storm warnings are in place for this coast line as Tropical Cyclone Marcia bears down on us. She is due to land later today approx. 600 to 700 kilometres north of here. Then over the next 24 hours she will head our way.

********************

Cyclone Marcia has formed off Queensland’s coast and is expected to intensify to make landfall as a category two cyclone early on Friday.

Between 200 millimetres and 500 millimetres of rain is expected to be dumped between Thursday and Saturday on a massive stretch of Queensland’s coast, from St Lawrence to the southern border.

Some areas could get more than 300 millimetres in 24 hours and a flood watch is current for the Capricornia, Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast, and the Darling Downs and Granite Belt District forecast districts.

About 200 swift-water staff have been prepositioned for the event.

Gusts of up to 125 kilometres an hour, flash floods, high tides, beach erosion, possible tornadoes and powerful surf are expected from tomorrow to Saturday. (ABC News report)

****************************

When I woke this morning I could hear the ocean pounding and roaring. It was just past high tide and it is another 24 hours before the cyclone reaches here. I grabbed my raincoat and camera and went down to Burleigh Beach

It was grey and overcast, the wind was whipping up the ocean into a maelström of angry waves.

Not 3 metre high yet, the storm front is still approx. 600 to 700 kilometres north. But this is just the forerunner of what is to come. It is forecast to reach 3 metre+ swells tomorrow.

The life guards are already here to close the beaches

This surf is far too dangerous for swimmers or surfers. The rips will drag out to sea any one silly enough to venture in.

I think this family may be here for their holiday and they are determined to give their son a beach sand castle building experience. (I wonder if they have seen the sand sculptures at Surfers Paradise)

Other beach walkers, like me, capture the churning ocean. Most I notice are using their phones as their camera.

Every time these “weather events” (as the media now call them) strike, the surging ocean washes away the sand. This man is looking at the start of the beach erosion. Previous storms have created 6 to 10 foot drops were the sand has been washed out to sea. (see them here)

A favourite pastime for many locals is coming down to the beach for a run or walk and followed by a reviving cup of coffee.

Of course it is also a favourite place to walk the dog. I think this little fellow is telling them to hurry up…

This is a lovely part of Queensland and that hill is Burleigh Heads National Park, but it is starting to spit with rain so I won’t go along the headland track today. (If you would like to see what it is like on a sunny day click here)

As I write this post it is raining and the wind is getting stronger. I have tucked all my pot plants away in a protected corner. Now will just wait to see what tomorrow brings…

*****************

G’day Jo I would like to join your cyber walking group this week and show you the angry side of my home turf. Click here and come over with me to visit the other walkers from around the world.

Sunflowers and then the rain…

Welcome to South-East Queensland.

For days the sun has shone and the heat rose to a steamy, humid, almost unbearable 34C.

It didn’t cool down much during the night. The hottest night in 10 years the media told us. They also said 83% of Brisbane households have an air conditioner, and they estimated nearly all of them were turned on.

We are in the 17% that do not have an air conditioner. It was a difficult night….

But the sunflowers love this weather.

Then today the storm came. Torrential rain, thunder and lightning

It poured down in sheets and bounced and swirled along the driveway.

The fish ponds over flowed.

The paved area round the side of the house became a mini lake.

And the rain forest area lived up to its name.

I will now be able to roll the hose up and put it away for a few days.

 

Rain at last…

A downpour

 

It has been a while since we had rain. The plants drooped and wilted, every evening I would water them. The heat and humidity rose and the past 3 days this corner of Queensland has been sweltering in record-breaking temperatures. People flocked to the cinemas and indoor shopping complexes to escape into air-conditioned comfort.

Then yesterday afternoon the sky darkened the wind howled. Thunder and lightening roared across the heavens and it RAINED, it poured. We watched in awe the might of nature.

That evening on the news it reported that Palmbeach, a suburb only 5 kilometres south of us, had hail and rooves torn off in the torrential downpour.