woohooo it's raining

A huge clap of thunder in the night brought a tiny bit of rain, not enough to wet under the trees but enough to dampen the concrete and change the smell in the air from smoke to that "dirt after the first rain" scent.

But now, at 9am, IT IS RAINING!!! I will probably lose my internet connection, it happens with odd weather, but let's celebrate! The rain doesn't look as though it is here to stay but it should be enough to stop the spreading fires if not put out the hotspots. It might even save my stressed trees.

But the fires were a worry. As my friend down in the valley wrote late last evening, on seeing three more glowing sites below the church on the hill, if you compare the size of the flames with the size of the helicopters, it was huge! Towards evening the wind came up, probably fanning it all anew. It's no wonder the helicopter monsoon buckets and foam plane weren't coping.

But, right now, although it is easing off a little, IT'S RAINING!

Today I am grateful for rain and cooler temperatures.