
The first thunderstorm for the new wet season came yesterday, 16thOctober. That's early. It is a spectacular sight to see the thunderheads rising 1000's of metres, to hear the rumbling of 'Wolma', to feel the cool relief that blows in and the refreshing rains. Somehow life is instantly revitalised from the energy-sapping humidity. My house was instantly filled underneath by wet bodies seeking protection from the lightning as they raced home from Mission Beach where they had been cooling off in the shallow waters. Out in the garden the wooly-butt Eucalypts turn an amazing green on their freshly exposed torso where the bark has stripped off..