Needed Rain Arriving plus Skywatch Friday

Hi and Welcome,
     Summer in Australia has been a very dry Season.  Most of Australia has been declared In Drought.  Farmers are struggling and in need of assistance, whether in Agriculture, Dairy, Wool or Cattle for Meat.
     Dams have little water, with those depending on tank water for their everyday life needing to buy water.  Overall, drought, like other extreme weather conditions becomes costly, both with loss of income as well as outlay.
     The Southern States along Eastern Australia have had repeated Bush Fires during their very hot dry Summer heat.

Sharing with 'Skywatch Friday'

April 3, 2014 Edition

Hosted by Yogi, Silvia and Sandy 

        Where I am in Gympie South East Queensland Australia, everywhere I look is dry.  The ground is parched and brown, or dirt instead of green pastures and lawns.  Foliage is either not present or the leaves have curled into themselves.  Wildlife is hungry.
        Winter of 2013.. June through to August.. was mild in Gympie.  A few showers now and then, but not very cold at all.  Then came Spring.. September to November.. and again the Season gave little rain, plus there were some very hot days to cope with.  Finally Summer arrives.. December to February.. and except for one nice dose of rain during January 2014 - 36.6millimetres (about 1.4inches) on the 7th  - there were just mostly hot humid days, and sometimes even at night the temperature didn't drop far at all.
        One of the nice parts about living in South East Queensland I have experienced is the cooler nights after long hot days.  They are pure relief during Spring and Summer, exhausting when doesn't happen.

        So the joy I felt when leaving town on an overcast Tuesday on  the 25th of March with drizzles of rain having occurred all morning felt wonderful to feel as I witnessed a dark cloud mass travelling from the North towards Gympie... I knew rain was going to happen.
        What made witnessing that cloud mass arriving extra special was being where I was along the roadway in Missy Car.  I knew along that road I sometimes travel back to where I rent is a lone Eucalyptus Tree, standing tall on a rise seeing all across a grazing field.  So getting there became the exact direction I chose to head for.  I knew that cloud mass would be the lone Eucalypt's back-drop.  I just needed to arrive before rain started...

        I did... and in my eagerness forgot to lower the ISO setting in Nikl camera's Normal Mode, which means the resulting image is very full of noise, but to me the photo is still dramatic...

         Another noise-filled view taking in more of Lone Eucalypt's surroundings and other companions...

        The bit of road visible is The Mary Valley Highway, which naturally leads to the Mary Valley itself and other Townships along the way.  Very scenic journey it is to travel.


        The remaining images are in Landscape Mode, where I can only alter Exposure.  For better of for worse, Nikl decides the rest of the settings.
        I have found Nikl does better in that Scene Mode Selection when I'm asking for a broader view to be recorded, but also when in that Mode, Nikl doesn't believe a Landscape should be viewed vertically so the screen blacks-out.
        Therefore I use Normal Mode when I want Vertical Landscape Moments.  Of course, if I forget to change the ISO, like I did this time... well I just groan, keep the moment if worthwhile, because I'd rather not lose a moment that is now gone just because of the excessive noise.  Nikl does noise in nearly all photos anyway, just not as dramatically as when I mess-up.
        In Nikl's Normal Mode, I keep the ISO set to 400, found it works best for Birds, but is way too high for Landscapes.

        With this next scene I'm facing more North, more towards the direction I travelled from and the oncoming dark cloud mass...

        Where the darker gathering of Trees are on the left along the back with a scattering of buildings sort of visible.. well in amid that area flows The Mary River.  A significant river, which I'll leave for another time.
        On the other side of those Trees and Buildings is the main Bruce Highway travelling through Gympie.  From where we are looking, by turning right onto the Highway would take one to Brisbane, passing The Sunshine Coast areas along the way.  If the choice is to turn left, the Highway would carry one all the way to say Rockhampton in far North Queensland, passing all the various Townships of the Wide-Bay-Burnett area along the way.

        I'd walked across the roadway for the previous scene, so am now standing on the same side as the Property is and have simply moved a little right in the next photo...

        May seem no reason to have included the photo, but with the next photo I've zoomed in onto a portion of the above scene, thus giving one a view of the bigger scene as well as a pocket of that area...

        And the next photo is just of that Tree on the right at back...

        Then I've turned further right..

        There's a home in among those Trees at the back on the right.  Would be wonderful to look across the vista I have been portraying through its various moods everyday.  Even when that same vista is under water during sufficient rainfall and The Mary does one of her big floods.  Dear Gympie does struggle during those times.
        Thankfully the area in my photos is vast enough during those times that the Cattle grazing the land can be safely and easily moved to flood-free higher ground.

        The last photo is of the Tree at the back, in the centre, and standing alone in the previous scene...

        And the rain steadily began just as I had stopped photographing.  My timing in being late to town that day worked out perfect.  Due to being late I turned in the direction I did instead of the opposite way, which I had almost planned on still doing.  So glad I didn't.
        I fulfilled the other direction during the evening and found myself needing to leave early due to the rain having begun to fall in earnest.  Driving through heavy rain with living outside the town area means little to no street lighting.  Always a relief when times like that happen and I make it back okay.

        Before I conclude, I'll mention that whenever I go to town I do have the opportunity to experience that wonderful scene in the photos.
        I have two ways to choose for the experience.  My favourite is via the road I turn onto which is like driving up a short hill to then reach the crest and have the first scenic impact happen.
        The experience continues expanding as I drive down the incline, it is only a short road to reach The Mary Valley Highway.
        I need to stop and check for vehicles, but also have the whole scenic view to breathe in at the same time.  Travelling to and from town via that route is always a new and beautiful experience, even when seems the same as last time.  It is also the spot I did those photos from.
        I feel very fortunate to have the privilege and the opportunity to photograph those exceptional moments, and to experience those scenes as part of my everyday life.
        When the big floods happen The Mary Valley Highway is inaccessible.  No way to reach town until The Mary subsides.  Thankfully a small shopping centre has opened on my side of Gympie town.  It has made a huge difference to the quality of everyday life for folk, especially when there's no access to town.

All photos are mine and achieved with Nikl, my Nikon L120 camera.
Any editing has been done with FastStone

Thank you for stopping by and giving time to reach this far.

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful night.

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