6.30am
24 degrees, clear sky and strong ESE wind which is cool.
10am
mackerel clouds are coming over and it is only 29 degrees with the nice cool
breeze.
Steve
made a shelter for the generator from bits and pieces – great place for recycling.
I said he will have to put a wall on it too in case the rain blows in.
Shifted
the hay trailer to near the water trough and that way they won’t hang around
the cottage and poop everywhere!!
There
is a new big round plastic water trough in the shed which we reckon will make a
great pool for us. Checked with Rob and we are ok to use it as they won’t be
putting it in place till next year. Steve cleaned the cottage’s roof then
connected a hose from the downpipe so the rainwater can fill the tank. Put
heavy weights on the edge of an old tarp to keep it covered and keep the wasps
and frogs out of it. We are supposed to get a storm this afternoon so we might
get a drop or two. There are to be storms for the next 4 days – well for
Leonora according to BOM.
2pm
36 degrees and gusty wind then very still. Steve having fun pottering about
fixing things. Had a cuppa on the verandah enjoying the nice cool breeze.
Lovely blue sky view from here and I commented that we mustn’t be going to get
any rain then we heard a rumble and went around the other side and there is a
huge black cloud building to the north. I checked on the BOM site and it was
going over Leinster so we figure it would head east and miss us.
The
cloud continued to spread to west and east of us. I got the wheelbarrow and
removed the cow dung from around the spot where the hay was. Now to train the
cows!!
About
4.30pm I heard more rumbles from the storm and saw a couple of lightning
strikes. I went to get my camera to try and get a photo of the lightning when I
heard a roar. I was in the cottage when the roof started getting pelted with
small hail stones. Steve was over with the generator so I ran to the van to
close up the windows and vents on the north side then back to the cottage to
close the back door. The hail was amazing and the wind was strong so the
branches and leaves were being torn off the trees. Our poor Pat was stuck out
there – I hope the solar panels survive.
I
videoed the hail from the verandah then the wind swung around and it came
roaring across from the west and then south. I realised I had left those
windows open in the van but luckily Steve got there and closed them up. Next
time we see a dark cloud I will close everything straight away. Steve had to
run back with a bucket over his head as he was getting pelted that hard. A big
clap of thunder came overhead then the storm headed away from us.
Well
I can say I almost had a white Christmas!!
A
lot of water in a short time makes it look like we are living in a river bed.
Luckily we had put some tyres on either side of the big tank to stop it from
rolling away.
The
track in looks a more like a creek now.
As
the storm headed south east the sun came out in the west and created a
beautiful rainbow.
I
had taken the cover off the ‘pool’ as the hail hit and with the water from the
cottage roof it didn’t take long for the pool to fill up. Should be nice and cold
with all those hail stones in it.
I
walked out further – sliding on the muddy ground to try and get all the rainbow.
Looks
like there is pot of gold in the distance that we need to go and find. That
rain should fill up the well again so we can fill up the water tank.
Checked
the rain gauge inside this cylinder. Full up which is over 25ml and it has
overflowed into the drum. I should have measured that too Steve said, after I
tipped it out. I reckon there was probably another 5ml. That’s a good bit of
rain to fall in half an hour.
The
sun is shining now and the birds and frogs are very happy. Heard some cows moan
– bet they didn’t think it was very nice. I got out the rake to clean off the
broken branches and seeds from the tree beside us and pulled back our mat as the
ground is just a pool under the awning. Will have to put some gravel down there
tomorrow.
More
black clouds coming from the north so we got everything tidied up ready for the
next storm. The generator went off in the rain so Steve sorted it out. I had
unplugged the wifi, laptop etc just in case. The phone was still working so
sent texts to Kym and Rob to let them know about the storm. Will send them some
photos tomorrow.
The
black clouds came over about 7pm and brought light drizzly rain which was nice.
There was a lovely cool breeze too after the rain stopped. Will check the rain
gauge tomorrow. Played cards tonight – had to finish the 3 to Kings game we
started in Sandstone – Steve was winning half way through it. In the end he
lost by 2 points. He won the next game so that was good.
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