Wet wood

One of the big differences I notice living in the township is that bad weather is not very noticeable.  I guess it is the protection provided by neighbouring houses and trees.  The weather is the same but it feels very different here - milder.  

There was a heavy rain warning out for today, there has been a fair bit of gentle rain, maybe the heavy stuff fell elsewhere.  My fence is one of the indicators I have of how much rain there has been.

The fence before heavy rain

The first sign this morning that the rain had started overnight

A huge collection of pallets was dropped off in the paddock on the other side of the house.  It had me puzzled for a while until I remembered there is to be a fireworks display tomorrow night for Guy Fawkes night, I guess that will be the bonfire.  I associate a bonfire with old fallen trees pushed to a reasonably accessible spot, maybe a few offcuts of timber and the odd piece of unwanted furniture.  The townie version looks quite different but I daresay it will all look the same once it is burning.  I hope the sun comes out to dry the stack out tomorrow or the local volunteer fire brigade who are putting on the fireworks display will have to show us a few tricks.

I do realize there's no logic in having a celebration to commemorate a bloke who tried to blow up the British parliament in the umpteenth century, there never was but that didn't stop us from loving bonfire night when we were kids, although we never had a bonfire as lighting big fires in November in Queensland would have been asking for trouble.   

A box of matches did the trick for us and a few boy scout type kids would light a small fire, not too big and not too many because we had a healthy respect for Mr Rafter, known to all as the boss of our venue.  And it was the venue that was the major attraction.  All the kids gathered on the wide expanse of lawn in the front of the local cemetery and the reflections of the fireworks on the headstones were spectacular.  I'm so thankful I was a child when I was and where I was.

(The date was moved to avoid bushfire season to May, Queen Victoria's birthday and was known by different names, then it sort of fizzled out in Queensland.)  The fizzle is a bit slower here, but they are becoming a thing of the past.  Only one major city in New Zealand is having a free public fireworks display this year.

I know one day fireworks will more than likely be banned as there are too many idiots torturing animals and setting fire to things (the world needs more Mr Rafters) and sadly, I agree that is what should happen.  

I feel sad that the times I grew up in are long gone when, generally, people (even children) could be trusted not to be total morons when it came to consideration of others.  For me it was always about getting together with my brothers and sisters and our mates for a bit of fun and learning a bit about fire safety along the way.  It was a big deal when we graduated from our own back yard with Mum and Dad to the cemetery.  We knew not to burn up too much of the lawn, and to pick up what we could find of the burnt out crackers or we wouldn't be allowed back the next year.  Consequences.