Shepherd's Warning

It was 5.45am this morning, right on the appointed time, when I dropped Gord off in Glen Waverley at the house of one of his friends. They were taking a cab from there to the airport for a flight to New Zealand. Heading back home eastward the sky was lit by a beautiful red sunrise, and a radio announcer pronounced the old adage -

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight
Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning."

There was heavy rain forecast for the day, but when it would arrive was the question I was asking. I bought a long black at the Macdonald's 24 hour and fueled up and checked the tyres and oil in Lib's car. The announcer said as I drove through Emerald at about 6.30am that the temp was 24C, which was the forecast max, so all there was left to happen was the rain.

I got home and picked some variegated pitto that was ordered but is scarce at the farm at the moment and went inside to have some breakfast and take Lib hers in bed. She had the day off. I worked tidying up a Signpost article with some amendments that my subject had requested when I discussed my draft with her the previous evening.

I had to be at the farm at 10.00am to pick Elvie up and take her to the rheumatologist in Dandy. I didn't know what time I'd be back at farm but I knew I still had 10 bunches of green beech to get to complete an order. I had unpleasant visions of getting up a tree down the back in the afternoon in pouring rain. So I called in on a friend I knew in Emerald who had a green beech in her back yard, hoping I could cut some off quickly and throw it in the van and leave it when I picked up Elvie, for Jod or Meredith to bunch.

It worked perfectly in the 20 mins I had to spare and I drove to Dandenong with Elvie, into the rain building to heavy, grateful for my good thinking which meant I didn't have to get wet later. We were on time for the 10.45am appt but the parking was bedlam and in the end we waited more than an hour in the waiting room. Elvie's blood tests showed her inflammation had gone up again but specialist did not want her back on cortisone so there are more extensive blood tests scheduled for Feb and Mar and another appt in Mar. It's like going round and round the mulberry bush.

We got back to the farm and I had lunch. Oddly it was still dry there even though it had already rained quite heavily in Melbourne. I decided I'd go down the back and start cutting beech for the next day but as I was was preparing to do that the rain started so I went home instead. Lib had gone out to a funeral. Tragically the son of a lady who had worked with Lib for many years committed suicide last week, aged 34.

I lay down for a short kip and fell asleep for three hours. The rain has continued on and off but it has not been as heavy as forecast. I hope it's not too wet tomorrow, besides our normal wholesaler another customer has rung an order so i'll be busy. At least I can be sure tomorrow will not be hot.