SkyWatch - A walloping storm

Last Saturday at the Angaston Farmers' Market

a great storm arose

do enlarge for a fuller effect

the light changed

and multi-coloured clouds with pink and green in them 

gathered in the space of a few minutes

they darkened and started turning into horizontal ropes

then a mixture of rain and hail bucketed down

as lightning flashed vertically and 

horizontally at the same time

driving was a bit hair-raising and at a snail's pace

but we got home safely none the less.

Linking with

SkyWatch 

OUR WORLD - "Stormy weather . . ."

After a wild and wooly night where the hail drumming on his 

kennel had the dog flee his post as guard dog for the chickens 

and flee to the safety of the verandah where he could be 

close to me.

In a brief brake in the weather I braved the foot deep slush 

in the dip of our newly graded road.

The council, in it's wisdom, has a habit of grading our dirt 

road just before big rains are expected.

All the disturbed dirt washes down into the dip in the road

creating a real driving hazard.

Stopped at the chemist's,

view in front of my car

and looking the other way.

Half a car length behind me there was a tiny spot where I could 

cross to the footpath without filling my shoes.

I really appreciate the bounty from the sky,

it is just a bit difficult to keep warm enough.

Linking with 

OUR WORLD

SkyWatch - Surprise from Heaven

Light through scattered clouds

well, with just a little bit more cloud

resolving into nothing much

when, half inch hailstones smashed into the tulips 

and lilac at it's best

that's spring for you, when something is perfect, boom

half an hour later, they were fluffy and innocent

like a fluffy monster swimming on a lake of clear water

or a pink iceberg.

Ah, the vagaries of weather!

TODAY'S FLOWERS , I Heart Macro & Weekend Flowers - Flowers in a Mid-Winter Garden

Mid-winter and the garden has suddenly come alive!

This is nowhere near what my garden has to offer between rain, 

hail and windstorms.

Click on any photo to enjoy the slideshow.

First of the hyacinths, now I have a whole bunch up and flowering

Three pots of these Zygopetalum Orchids are going strong.

Cattleya Orchid still holding on

and the Wallflower I grew from a cutting a few months back

is already in bloom.

The Crabapple, Malus floribunda, has been flowering since the 

first autumn rains!

Violets are flowering everywhere as is this rather precious

double, beautifully scented one I keep in a pot.

First of the almond blossom

and roses galore. Due to the cold, the colours are much 

more intense

above and below is 'Apricot Nectar'

Below is 'Charles Austin', one of a number of

 David Austin roses I cherish.

Intense colour on this summertime pale pink rose

even my Passionfruit is flowering!

 plenty of drowned Jonquils

and even my Blueberry!!!

Linking with 

TODAY'S FLOWERS

I Heart Macro

Weekend Flowers

SkyWatch - Just a Little Weather

Late today, we were hit by the biggest electrical storm of the year.

A little bit of this

and a little bit of that,

resulted in a new out-door shower!

The storm, with pelting rain and hail, hit directly above us.
Within minutes, not only the power was out but our daughter's
house took a direct hit to the chimney.

Massive bolts of lightning are frightening at any time but
being locked in a Faraday cage can be just as unnerving.
Water being an excellent conductor, the electricity from the
lightning is conducted into the ground down the wet walls.
Although one is safe inside and thank goodness the cats
and dogs were as well, the sensation is to say the least,
eerie.

Luckily, the power was restored after 5 hours but too late
for a hot meal. A sandwich by candlelight was all we managed
to rustle up.

Hope you are all keeping safe!

SkyWatch ~ 51 Stormy Weather

I'm back on line again in our half-way house motel
in Horsham which does have internet..hooray!!



The drive of over 250 miles from Melbourne to
here was rather a strain with pouring rain, wind
gusts so you could not open a door against them
and intermittent hail for good measure.



Cars were kicking up spray that made it even worse,
especially when passing huge trucks when you had to
trust your luck and instinct to stay on the road.



Part of the way was dual carriage-way, here is the
spray of the on coming traffic.



Another hazard was the threat of aquaplaning on
the water filled ruts left by heavy pan-technicons
when the tarmac had softened in the summer heat.



It looks like tomorrow will be similar, but at least
it is the last leg home.

Thank you all for your good wishes, I am certain they

helped to keep us safe. I have 1,200 photos from this trip,

so be prepared to be blinded by the beauties of Australia

for quite a while.