Father's Day

Father's Day started cold and with the usual surprises before hopping from bed. I must admit, having my children expressing their loving feelings for me in such an open and generous manner was quite a start to the day, but not something unusual for them, or confined to this one day of the year.

It was to have been a lazy day, with infrequent activity and lots of rest and it certainly started that way. A lunch time weather forecast soon changed this lethargy, with strong winds and rain being expected for the following two days. Our position under a large horizontal limb of a eucalypt did not fill me with confidence regarding our safety under such circumstances; especially when similar trees had signs posted saying "Falling Limbs". Reluctantly, but out of undying love and trust for their father and mate, the family responded magnificently and two hours after lunch, we were resettled in a new spot They were fantastic.

The large tarpaulin was erected over the back end of the tent to give added protection from the rain and extra warmth at night and with this done, we continued on our lazy way, with an occasional eye cast toward the western sky.

Late in the afternoon, the clouds started rolling over, driven by the strengthening westerly wind and a few minutes after the sun left us, the rain arrived.

With all systems checked for their security, I did an unusual thing for me ... I slept whilst the rain fell
steadily right through the night! Perhaps the cloud cover had something to do with it, because we were at least five degrees warmer than our previous nights, owing to the glasshouse effect of late afternoon sunshine and evening cloud cover.