It's our turn! We've finally got the bad stormy weather which has hit other parts of the world. Currently winds in excess of 60mph are causing havoc outside. A metal shed door bangs. Torrential rain bounces of the metal roof above my head. Auckland is being subjected to a torrent of water. Further north and there is a state of emergency been declared. Rivers have burst their banks ... it makes for familiar viewing on the news here. We are located in the centre of the North Island and are so far very fortunate. High winds swirl around the house and it is a noisy presence.
Having seen the effects in the UK, Australia, America and elsewhere in the world, it makes for a sombre wake up call. We do not know what to expect when we wake up in the morning. We've had several 'tasters' over the weeks. But nothing of any concern. It is here now though for sure after seeing wooden frame houses wrecked already (and this is only day one) at the top of the island.
At the bottom of our property boundary is a run off ditch. Over the last few weeks it has risen slightly. Because of this, we had Roland Rat visiting us a number of times. It is not a pleasant sight to see a rather large grey water rat wandering around the room as you type. Or to hear it scratching and scraping in the wall cavities at night. Or to discover its exploration hole at the back of the dish washer, or to find the dish washer not working because Roland has chewed through the cable! That was last week. At the weekend we purchased some blocks of rat poison and noted the day after we put them down, they'd been chewed upon. There's been silence ever since. Perhaps now I can remove the barricade I'd built in front of the door to the store underneath the house. Mind you should the torrential rain persist, and the ditch rise any further I guess we will be visited by Roland's cousins too.
And still the rain and the banging door. And the wind blowing around house. I suppose it was obvious we would get a dose of the storms of 2007 with Australia so relatively close.
