Rain…..the word evokes such mixed
emotions. Ask a Melburnian what they
think of the rain and they will wrinkle their noses in discomfort or disgust.
But in the country, especially with a
climate where hot dry spells are more protracted, the sound and smell of rain
is superb.
We can smell rain approaching, a phenomenon
that is due to downdrafts of the ozone and the rain falling on dry
surfaces, releasing smells from plants and soil.
The term Petrichor is given to the earthy
scent released by rain after dry spells.
In Australia the smell is especially
cleansing and refreshing due the release of eucalyptus oils from the gum
trees. But in the city, we mostly smell the
odours of asphalt and dust.
Recovery after the rain here is
astounding. The dry bushland is
glistening with moisture and with a renewed food supply, the local wallabies
and marauding deer have stopped jumping the fence to ravage the garden.
In the exhausted garden, the recent rain
has brought about immediate regeneration.
The brown patches of so-called
‘lawn’ are now bright green.
The deciduous trees that had dropped many
of their leaves in order to survive, now display an intense Autumn colour.
With the rain, the trees and blooming
perennials have brought a dry, tired garden back to life.
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| Dry dam - before yesterday's rain |
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| Yesterday's rain |
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| Gorgeous autumn colours |
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| Nearly bare Manuchurian pear |
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| Weeping mulberry and chrysanthemum |
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| Pink chrysanthemum |
