Short Storm.

We had a sudden sharp storm late this afternoon. I wanted to get pics of the ominous build-up of great black clouds. After reaching 28 degrees, around 3pm, the temperatures suddenly dropped, as the clouds continued to roll over from the West. This is the aftermath pic, facing West. There is dire need of rain in the west, or the crops wont grow, & we are told to brace for a lousy Spring crop & very expensive vegetables. I have a feeling none of the heavy rain landed in the west, & it was not here for long either.

Though it was nice & heavy, & cooling, it quickly moved out to sea, with thunder & lightning. And Leo, the woos crept onto my knee, then behind the sofa. He hates the thunder.

At the time of the clouds building, the Carpet man came to fix a couple of minor glitches, & so I missed my photo opportunity. Dogs had to be shut out, so Gom stayed out with them.

Once the rain & clouds had passed, I watched as the skies cleared, & the ghastly Koel bird began terrorising Mr & Mrs Black & White! I tried my best to get photos of it taking place, & these are the best I could do.

My camera doesnt have digital zoom, so I have to use the somewhat inadequate optical zoom. I know they are not very clear, but you can see how large the bird is, & see by it's positioning, it is a menace to the other birds.

It is a shame they are such long shots, becase I could also see Mr or Mrs Black & White trying to defend itself.

I wonder if there will be any Black & White little ones hatched out this season?

After the downpour, the air smelt so fresh & clear, but because there had been such heat during the day, there is now a steamy humidity... a forewarning of Summer.

****

Finally the question of hair began to play large on my mind. Very untidy, & not grown enough for me to really want to risk another cut.

Some good news, in fact. I went to Salon, where I have once before been, & the owner is an Italian Gentleman. Gianni didn't actually cut my hair, but his lovely bubbly little assistant did, & she made a very good job. Trained by Gianni. I am sure he would never let a client walk out his door, with a bad haircut. It is only a little shorter than I had hoped, but as she explained it is nicely shaped to grow some more.

We watched a sad tableau unfold out in the streets. A clearly disturbed man, who was accompanied by a small extremely worried looking little dog, was being herded, literally, along the footpath, by a burly man dressed in a costume labelled Security. He was accompanied by a huge bob tailed Rottweiler.

The Disturbed Man, with red rimmed eyes that looked as if he might have been crying, was shouting. "Don't call me 'Rubbish'! Don't make me feel any worse than I already do! If you want to really F**K me up, keep hounding me!!"

"Back off! Just f**king leave me alone!"

Security snarled "Just keep walking. I don't want to talk to you!"

I felt so sorry for DM, he looked so haunted, & his little dog appeared frightened too, his little legs going so fast to try to keep up. DM reminded me of a shipwreck somehow. So desolate, & lonely.

I really would have loved to give him a hug. But I probably would have been slapped for my trouble. I am almost certain he was not a druggie. What ever his problem was or is, he seemed to me to be in pain.

As we rounded the corner, we saw 2 other Security men running after DM. Then the one with the Rotti broke into a run too. I think they hunted him to a standstill further up the street, where there were a lot less people.

I hope he gets some help. I hope he gets some ease for his 'grief'.

Travis, Sing