As Hanrahan might have said: ‘It’s dry all right’. A quick check of the map below will confirm what common observation has already registered: February was dry, and March so far hasn’t been much better. The 27 mls of welcome rain which fell this weekend hasn’t done much to change this picture.
And yet, there are signs of life. Many eucalypt species have been flowering through the dry, and currently it’s the turn of Long-leaved Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx). The photo below was taken in an intriguing grove of very old trees planted along Farran Street. This species has a pretty sprawling habit normally, so it’s a bit of a mystery why they were planted along this roadway–but we can enjoy them all the same.
Long-leaved Box blossom on Farran Street Castlemaine: it’s dry all right, but there are signs of life about the place.
And while we’re on the subject of dry weather, one of the more peculiar aspects of our culture is the habit of radio and TV reporters to say how awful it is when rain is forecast, and to suggest that weekends are ruined if they’re not sunny.
It may be time for radio and TV executives to call in their weather reporters, and tell them: ‘Look, when you’re giving a forecast, stop saying that rain will ruin the weekend. Instead, if it’s going to rain, say how great that is, and what a wonderful thing it will be to see that water soak in.’
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