Expect the Unexpected

I think that was a title of a TV show once upon a time. Or was it the title of a Roald Dahl short story or collection of stories, or maybe both?

An hour or so ago at about 5am I was in bed listening to the rain on the roof when the familiar sound of water overflowing the spouting and hitting the ground started outside our bedroom window. I lay listening to this for some minutes before deciding it was too much an irritation for me to bear.

So I got dressed and donned a raincoat and gumboots and with ladder and torch in hand walked along the path back of the house sloshing through water. Immediately I became aware that I needed a new pair of gumboots as water seeped into both boots and socks. I cleared the downpipe outside our bedroom of leaves, surprised at how cold the water was. This was not summer type warm rain. I went back along the house and did the downpipe at the other end near the front door, and the one on the car port.

I checked the deck on the front side of the house, those downpipes were working OK. I have gutter guard in the spouting along here which prevents the passage of leaves to the down pipe to block it. This is because water overflowing here is more serious as there's a fridge and freezer on the deck against the house and could be damaged. But it makes it a bugger of a job when it has to be cleaned out quite regularly as all the gutter guard has to be removed to get the build up up gunk out, and the gap is narrow because the roof from the deck also runs water into that spout. And it's job you have to do on a cool day or you cook on the iron roof, and a dry day or you slip over. And I have to kneel to do it and usually end up with the skin worn off my kneecaps and a few days discomfort.

The rain has stopped now, my clothes got a little wet but not enough to change, except for the socks. I just checked the rain gauge, there was 55-60ml. It started raining yesterday, lightly and intermittent. I had thought we were going to miss out this time as the showers were forecast for Saturday but didn't come. I'd seen the black cockies Friday and Saturday and heard them earlier and on Saturday I said to myself maybe they'r wrong this time. Well they were right.

I also checked the thermometer on the deck. 9 degrees Celsius. No wonder I'm cold. I refuse to turn on a heater in February, although Lib and Gord had them on yesterday. But cold or no, I'll take the rain in preference to 40C plus we could be having, and the fear of bushfires.

Surely this kills the fire season for this summer. But a heatwave might be just around the corner and March can be scorching hot and bone dry, so I guess we have to expect anything..

I'm hungry, a good cooked breakfast is a good idea, and it'll warm me up.