Talk about the weather

drought-stricken; oranges left to rot

I have never thought about the weather so much as when I moved to Australia. Now I even talk about it. A lot. And no, it is not as mundane a topic as it would be back home where the weather is predictable and more or less stable all year long. Back home, you know when the wet months are and when they stop. Even during the wet months, you can expect the rains to start at late afternoon and end at sunrise. Over here in Victoria, particularly Mildura, weather is not as predictable and is a major topic of discussion. Understandable because it's a largely agricultural area. Fortunes are made or lost at a drastic shift of the mercury. Ten years we had the drought. Supply of water was restricted everywhere. The farmers really suffered, with the smaller ones having to sell out for a sum much less than what they started with. Water being so precious, it is treated as a commodity. Unbundled with the land, it renders waterless land worthless. You can understand why depression can get rife in these parts. We had to stop watering our lawns for a spell until they realised our trees were dying. They then allowed us to keep the trees alive, watering them only at certain days and only for a few hours.

red earth spraying in the bush

Never mind washing our cars. I used to fret if I had to drive around Manila in an unwashed car. Now I wash my car rarely. Heck, dirty mud-caked 4WDs are in vogue in the big cities, some even put mud spray to make their 4WDs look like they've seen some offroad action. Ha! You gotta love the macho appeal the country presents to city slickers. No one minds. Mud, bird poop, even the remains of some wildlife caught while driving--usually a ubiquitous magpie. All come with the package of country living.

backyard billabong back to life

The rains unexpectedly came late last year and continued intermittently till recently. Bucketfulls. Wild weather indeed. So much so that the once dried up billabong in our backyard has come back to life again. Lovely. It's now home to countless specie of beautiful birds, frogs, snakes (I'm sure), and the very annoying mozzies! Arrgh. I've never felt so many attacking me at all times of the day, not just at dusk. Nor have I ever seen so many types of mosquito repellants: citronella candles, torches, sprays, creams, electric zappers, tried them all but guess what I found to be the most effective---the humble mosquito coil, the katol. Despite all the fancy, new-fangled inventions, it's back to the basics. I must try the citronella scented katol. I'm sure it's more pleasant than the orig.

 we used a boat to access our property!

We've been quite fortunate that that's the extent of the damage the heavy rains wrought us. Elsewhere in Victoria, whole towns have been inundated with the avalanche of water from the sky. To add to the distress, the mighty Murray threatened to overflow its banks. But that's not half the trouble folks from northern Queensland had to bear. Monster cyclone Yasi wrought so much damage and mayhem the country's ever seen. Much like super typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines but with a much larger area of destruction and a much smaller population affected. With water inundating the north and south, bit ironic that bush fires would erupt in the west! But through all this wild weather, order was quickly restored.

Yasi flattened entire towns

Adversity brings out the true character of a people. This time of natural calamity---any time, come to think of it---certainly brought out the best in the Aussies. I marvelled at the speed in which armies of trained and untrained volunteers came from everywhere to lend a helping hand. The community spirit was awe-inspiring. Much like our bayanihan spirit. This one's bayanihan to the nth degree. Sandbagging, cleaning, building, cooking, whatever was needed. Not to mention the donations. Millions were raised virtually overnight. The outpouring of support restores one's faith in humankind. In this land of plenty, the plentiful also give plentifully. How wonderful. Yes, I feel so fortunate to be living here. God's lucky country indeed. 

You gotta love the Aussie sense of humour too. On the eve of the onslaught of the worst disaster in Australian living memory, towns that didn't have to evacuate but were still under threat were making the most of the wait by having a "Kiss my Yasi" barbie. Surrounded by mates, quaffing their favourite ale what could be better? Ha! Acceptance mixed with irreverence. Again, much like Pinoy humour but without the self-deprecation. The changes in weather patterns are quite extreme in the southern hemisphere I guess particularly this time due to the La Nina effect. I hear later this year, La Nina will switch to El Nino. Come what may, I am confident I am in the best hands. Yes, I reckon I will take up the offer of citizenship this year (don't worry, it's dual---not relinquishing my Filipinohood, nevah!). I will be proud to be one of them. Bloody oath.