It’s been a long time since we’ve had any decent rain, and yes, that’s 38 mm (1.4 inches) in my rain gauge.
We had a smidge over 117 mm (a little more than 4½ inches) back in March, and very little since. So to see the storm clouds rolling in late yesterday afternoon was a most welcome sight indeed.
Don’t be fooled by the title of my post.
Rain is always a welcome sight, and even more so when we have been experiencing a drought. Our farmers out west are really suffering, and we have towns running out of drinking water, so I would never think, or believe for one moment, that rain is anything other than a wonderful thing.
The trouble was, yesterday afternoon, those storm clouds were filled with ice and that can be very destructive.
(I don’t know why my videos appear upside down. They do right themselves when you hit the play button.)
It was gentle at first, just a few hailstones
– ⋅ o ♥ o ⋅ –
And then it really started to come down. I couldn’t stay out the back, the rain was coming in (almost) horizontal, ice was bouncing everywhere, and I was starting to get rather wet. I relocated to the front door and by then the wind had picked up, and the road was mini torrent.
– ⋅ o ♥ o ⋅ –
It was all over and done with in 20 minutes, but by then, my plants had taken the full brunt of the mini onslaught.
Flowers were beaten, some had their petals ripped off.
Ice was everywhere, but at least the storm passed over quickly.
And I raced out the front to ensure my little pineapples were ok. And of course, they were.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to say the same thing for my succulents.
I’m yet to venture outside this morning to assess the damage they’ve no doubt sustained. For all their hardiness – their ability to endure difficult conditions – being pummeled by solid water isn’t one of them, and I’m sure they will all be showing the signs of being battered and bruised.
CLARE'S COSMOS 
