FOUR SEASONS IN ONE DAY*

* Four Seasons in One Day

Well, perhaps it was a weekend and really, maybe only two seasons but the weekend just gone was memorable.
On Friday, out West in Auckland there was an amazing thunderstorm in the afternoon.  In new Zealand we are used to 'sheet' lightning. This was 'forked' lightning that seemed to strike the ground. maybe it did because at work we had 4 power outages in an hour. Obviously the storm had upset something.
Driving up North that evening we struck intermittent rain flurries and, just over the Brynderwyns the rain was so heavy that travelling at 100Km plus was not just silly nor dangerous it was just impossible. We slowed and slowed and then, when a crack of thunder and a flash above us convinced me that Second's mate upstairs was intervening we pulled over to the side of the road to wait it out. Dozens of cars behind us followed suit including a police car. It was interesting watching the 'gung-ho' jokers barrelling past the line until they saw the police car and then they pulled over. Idiots. When we  gauged it safe we pulled out and went on our way. I said to the Old Girl that this was just like the storm of exactly a year ago see Here:

http://grumpyoldmanreturnsnz.blogspot.co.nz/2011/01/stranded-in-paradise.html

when Whangarei Heads was isolated. Sure enough when driving around the 'Heads' water was coursing off the hills and the drains were overflowing.
The house was secure though and although we had a bit of rain during the night the weather was settled the next day. Settled? It had positively decided it wanted to live there. The sunlight was marvellous, wind was minimal and the water was still as a millpond. We went swimming. That evening the mist came down in the afternoon and then miraculously lifted. Mount Manaia, the striking mount to the East of our house was blood red. I'd never seen it like that before. The red sunset out west has shone on it before but never like this. It must have been something to do with the mist and the strange atmospherics - spectacular cumulus clouds and weird forms in the sky.
On Saturday night we had more thunderstorms and rain so we thought that Sunday would be a washout. We were wrong. Sunday was magnificent. Late morning we headed off to the surf beach, Ocean Beach. There was a surf tournament on there and boy did they pick the right day. The surf was big and extremely frequent with waves coming in one after the other hardly giving you a chance to regain your feet. The Old Girl boogie boarded and I body surfed. I got dumped repeatedly and nearly lost my clothes. I emerged from the sea like a Kraken, scaring little children with my streaming eyes and nose not to mention that my 'rashie' shirt had ridden up way above my midriff and my shorts had come down dangerously below my hips.

Back home, after lunch I mowed the lawns and weeded the garden. Having gotten all hot and bothered again we went for another swim in our bay. Magic. all too soon it was time to head off back to bloody Auckland and work on Monday.