Autumn

Summer is truly over for this year with the first of the autumnal storms last night. We had 102ml of rain at 10pm and another heavy burst overnight, which definitely broke the drought that we've been suffering on the island since the end of January. Good for our rainwater tank, garden and fishpond. Ewen knows all about the rainfall because he has a rain gauge in the garden.
The storm has not been as bad for us islanders as it has been for Northlanders, but the ferry trip home last night was pretty hair-raising. The stiff nor'easterly storm tossed around many passengers on the Quickcat, many of whom got a good soaking, and a few looked as if they were silently praying they wouldn't bring up their lunch before they got to Waiheke. I've never been seasick in my life, thank Poseidon, but I have been scared on the ferry, especially when its hull starts creaking when it shudders into a bow wave. We got safely ashore, but it hasn't been as bad as this for a long time.