Random Musings: Scent of Spring

I don’t know what spring has been like in your part of the world but it has been weird in mine. Much warmer and wetter than usual which has resulted in the most lush green look I’ve ever seen Canberra sport.

This last week has been a bit cooler with a lot of rain. Yesterday it truly poured down, areas around me were flooded and rooves caved in. But today the sun broke through the clouds to make for a warm, humid atmosphere, something we aren’t used to in the nation's capital.

I try to get out for a lunchtime work most days. Today was the first day I’d managed this week, but what a day to get out and about. The warm, humid air made the scent of nature around me truly profound. As I walked along I could smell the rich, dark earth, the fresh growing grass, the sweetness of honeysuckle.

We rely on our eyesight as our primary sense, sometimes to the detriment of the others. However, as I walked along today I was so aware of how the world smelt it was almost overwhelming. 

I paused for a moment, closing my eyes and drew in an even deeper breath to fill my head with the heady scent of spring. It was a small perfect moment in an otherwise unremarkable day. And sometimes that is all we need. One perfect moment to make a whole day a good one. 

A storm in sunshine

This morning I woke to the sound of rain absolutely pelting down on the roof, but was very confused by the sound as the sun was also streaming in through cracks in the blinds. It transpired that I had just been hit by the edge of a thunderstorm and soon the sky was dark and crisscrossed with massive bolts of lightening, but for those few moments I got the wonder that is rain falling through sunshine.

I just adore the combination of weather. The way the raindrops catch the sun turning golden, how much blacker the clouds look against a sunlight hill. There is something about the contrast that makes each of the parts just that little more beautiful.

The storms rolled around for a few hours before clearing to a fresh, blue sky day. The air still smells rich and moist from the rain, but the sun is warm. What a fantastic day!

Storms

Thunderbolts and lightening, very very frightening, me!

Not really, although the hail this morning did wake me up. I love a thunderstorm and they certainly have been rolling about the skies today. Dark threatening clouds, that particular smell of ozone, the sudden clash of thunder as the rain pours down only to clear to sunny blue skies minutes later. It just makes me feel that little bit more alive.

I have also developed a slightly unhealthy addiction to the Bureau of Meteorology's radar viewer. I don't know what it is about being able to see where the rain is but I love it.

Fingers crossed for a storm tonight. Sorry parents with small children or owners of nervous pets (I used to have one, but she is deaf and can't hear the thunder anymore) but a storm at night, the lightening tracing across the darkened sky, just fantastic entertainment!