Category: subtropical weather

Australia · clouds · family · grandchildren · in my garden · kitchen renovation · Mount Warning · subtropical weather · summer · Tweed Valley

More from Saturday …

Joanne4 Comments

… but first, here is the valley today – more rain, more clouds, another photo of a partially hidden mountain.

One huge bonus is the cooler weather we are enjoying lately. 🙂

On Saturday, my son and daughter-in-law invited a few friends around for a bar-be-que. Their back yard is quite small, so we are happy to share ours with our family and their friends.

All my grandchildren were here too, and I took a couple of photos of Braxton and Aurora that I rather like.

Aurora’s balloon escaped and ended up in the pool, so Poppy took her into the pool area to help her rescue it.

Aurora met puppy Summer for the first time too, and they discovered they were just the right size for one another. ❤ Aurora wasn’t about to let go of that balloon either.

Braxton didn’t realise how patient I could be when I planned on taking his photo. Hiding behind his hand wouldn’t deter me. 😉

Gotcha! 😛

Today I had the final detailed measure of my new kitchen, which will begin installation in the second week of February. Exciting times! 🙂

Australia · blessings · Changes · clouds · colours · Mount Warning · rain · seasons · subtropical weather · summer · sunset · Tweed Valley

On a hot summer’s day.

Joanne10 Comments

It really felt like summer weather today.

I awoke to a bright sunny day and a clear mountain, so took my first photo at 7:12am. You never know how long the mountain will remain clear on a subtropical summer’s day.

By 11:18am the valley was at its magical best. No clouds hampered the clarity of Mount Warning or the ranges, so it was time to take another photo.

While we were eating lunch, my husband noticed a change in the weather, so checked the Bureau of Meterology website. He discovered that there were three storms heading our way, although he thought that perhaps we would only feel the tail-end effects of the combined storms.

Thunder rolled in the distance, light rain began to fall, and within half an hour the ‘storm’ was over. All that remained was the intensity of summer humidity, leaving the air so heavy you felt you could reach out and touch it. The heat this afternoon was the kind that makes me dread summer, every year. I loathe breathing in hot air and feeling as if there are a thousand spiders crawling across my skin!

The striking changes in the valley after the storm had passed soon took my mind off the heat. I took the photo above at 6:00pm. The mono tone is the actual colour of the valley at that time. The next photo shows the changes in the valley and the sky just half an hour later …

The swirl of misty clouds in the valley were replaced by a brilliant sunlit sky.

Beyond the yellow and orange, a patch of blue and cloudy sky continued down to the horizon.

This is how I cope with summer! Summer is the only season when the weather can change the appearance of the mountain and valley so drastically.

What an absolute blessing of contrasts nature provides. ❤

Australia · Changes · clouds · colours · Mount Warning · rain · subtropical weather · summer · sunset · Tweed Valley

Patchy Blue Sky Amid Patchy Rain

Joanne9 Comments

Between the unexpected rain showers we are having each day, occasionally we will see patches of blue sky. I will have to get used to this strange weather we are having. It is apparently due to the current La Niña weather pattern, which is far too complex for my un-scientific brain to understand, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Today, once again, I hardly saw Mount Warning. There were some interesting cloud pattern and colours though, and even a few patches of blue sky, so I took a few photos while the mountain wasn’t completely hidden.

Twenty minutes later, this was the resulting change the sunset made …

Who would think that during just twenty minutes, there would be so much difference to the sky? 😮

 

Australia · challenges · clouds · garden flowers · in my garden · Mount Warning · native Australian birds · new beginnings · new year · rain · subtropical weather · summer · Tweed Valley

The first challenge for 2021 …

Joanne13 Comments

Happy New Year!

That much I know I have right – it’s New Year’s Day, 2021. But what day of the week is it again?

Never mind, it’s holiday time, so I won’t concern myself too much with remembering what day it is right now. When the usual rhythm of everyday life begins again, I’m sure the days of the week will all fall back into place as well. 😉

We have had more rain today, along with long spells of, well, not sunshine, but it hasn’t rained all day either. The valley cleared to some extent, although Mount Warning decided to hide for the day. I’m sure there are plenty of people, regardless of Covid rstrictions, who may have over-indulged last night and wanted to hide away for the day, just as Mount Warning did.

Little Hoppy, my Butcher Bird friend with the gammy leg, visited today with one of the babies. I’m never sure who the actual parents of these baby birds are, but this little one seemed to follow Hoppy everywhere.

Later, I had a baby Butcher Bird perched on the top of the trampolene, singing at the top of its voice. They sing such a pretty song, filled with an extensive range of vocal notes, once they get into their song.

Not to be outdone, later in the day I had Baby Magpie in the front garden, extending his vocal chords to full extent as well. 🙂

While I was in the front garden with my camera, I had a look at a few plants. Some of them have taken a battering this summer, what with all the rain and gusty wind. These lovely white Mandevilla flowers broke into bloom only a few days ago though, and so far haven’t succumbed to the blustering wind. It’s a fairly new plant, I only planted it last summer, but it seems happy in the place I chose for it.

The only place I can grow Fuchsias is in a large pot on my front veranda, where the plant is protected from the harsh sun and wind. This plant is three years old now, and this flowering season it has already been in bloom for several months. I have to water the plant every day as it is quite a thirsty plant, and stresses quickly in the heat if the soil is left to dry out.

How did everyone celebrate New Year? I imagine quietly, like I did. Husband and I stayed up to watch the televised fireworks display on Sydney Harbour, welcomed the New Year in with a glass of sparkling wine, then off to bed (which is where I’m heading now!) 🙂