Before the Storm

What a day!  I was up before 7 am and was surprised to find that the sun had beaten me to it.  It was a glorious morning. The mountains were gleaming in their snowy splendour, but the light nor'wester that blew down from them was warm.  By 3.40pm it was so dark that the street lights came on!  The temperature plummeted by more than 10º in as many minutes.

I decided to go to one of my favourite places in the Malvern Hills quite early. It was beautiful up there. The wind was cold on the top of the hill, but I was prepared for that. I stayed for over an hour and the only sounds were the roar of the wind in the great pines, and birdsong. The only other vehicle I saw was a truck that came along as I arrived back at my car.

Some time after 3 pm I looked out and saw the southerly front coming over the hills.  There was time to gather in my dry washing and take photos.  When it hit it was so wild and exciting- the power of the wind, the roaring, and the sudden darkening. I looked up to the mountains. They were shining brightly in the afternoon sun, but the dark grey cloud bore down on them with breathtaking speed.  For a moment I could see the white sparkle behind the fringe of cloud and then they were gone.

Before the rain took hold I dashed out in my warm weather clothes to see to a gate that was swinging.  When I looked out I was shocked to see rather large branches from my big firs spread out over the road causing a traffic hazard. I felt very exposed as I grabbed and dragged them off the road. Thunder boomed, blocking out all other sounds. It vibrated in my chest. Raindrops shot through my clothing to my skin.  What fun!

The Torlesse Range was magnificent this morning and I took a lot of photos of it, but I liked the contrasts in this one of Big Ben- the stiff flax in the rounded landscape, the spring green hillside and the blue and white mountain.