The calm before the storm

     A small wren twitched its tail in quick motions as it flitted about the lower branches of a eucalypt. The tree looked half dead in places, but its leafy branches waved & bent with the breeze that blew across the park from a south westerly direction. The wren jumped around in a world of its own, unaware of the storm that brewed on the horizon. Dark blue-grey cumulus type clouds amassed, intermingled with thick white puffs of cotton-tipped layers, as the sun struggled to make its presence known in a vague easterly direction. The wren flew from one branch to another & was gone in a fluttering movement as quickly as it appeared, departing the loneliness of the tree's center.
     A single magpie flew low across the path of the incoming storm, landing on a chimney pot & warbled to whoever might be listening.
     Strengthening wind gusts played with the front of my hair & shivered my insides as I wrapped a scarf more firmly around my neck & walked on, glancing toward the ever thickening & darkening sky. This may not be a time to be out walking I thought, as a rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, warning of worse to come. The sun was completely obliterated by shifting low clouds, dark & foreboding. The air becoming colder & more intense as it whipped the low hanging branches of a willow tree on the edge of the park, swaying this way & that with a dance of doom.
     My thoughts drifted on....meeting the full fury of a storm head on would not be conducive to the enjoyment of fresh air wafting around head & body. The elements lashing their tempestuous nature is not high on my list of preferences to experience. I walked more swiftly with purpose toward home, the wind fingering through my clothes, head bent to the breeze a little. I hastened my steps.
    
     To the edge of the walking path, running alongside an already gushing creek between tall eucalypts & other Australian native shrubs, a golf course lay bare of participants, quiet in the knowledge of soaking rains & thunder consuming all in its path.
     An occasional tree still bearing its colour & clinging to autumn, rustled with the breeze under its leaves, shaken & tossed while the branches danced & moved with the wind, flames of reds, oranges & yellows were menaced by the increasing ferocity.
     Silver birch trees were almost empty of their autumnal adornment, but hung with soft catkin-like droplets shimmering above a few early daffodils poking through the earthiness below. This particular garden was a favourite of mine. Its front garden green & grassy with a border of daffodils flowering in the spring under several birch trees tipped with spring.  White standard roses lined the driveway from a double carport, leading to the green painted timbered front door with a lace-like trellis nearby, adorned with more white roses. The soft green around each long,English looking cottage window with pale off-white walls suited the garden perfectly.
     A flash of lightening followed by a thunderclap, became menacingly closer as the sky continued to darken, clouds were thickening even more - dark grey & black like a train rushing headlong through a tunnel.
     The already swollen creek bubbled brown & swirling toward the next bridge, twirling under the canopy of swaying eucalypts, the banks thick with weed & greener than grass in early spring.
     I glanced over to where an elm tree, still with soft yellows & greens on its thinning leaves, started to glisten with the first  raindrops cascading from a stormy sky. I fastened my coat more firmly around my neck as rain splashed my face with increasing intensity. Tree trunks were already dark with the rain that fell during the previous night. Mushrooms, fresh & button-like had sprung up in odd places & on the grassy verges of gardens as I made for home. Trudging along the bark-littered path beside a park, rain intensified splashing in amongst the fallen leaves & twiggy branches forming small puddles, that became larger by the minute. They reflected the height of the eucalypts swaying briskly above, deeply & with darkened storm clouds, shimmering & rippling with each droplet.
     Green & brown lichen, white tipped & curly, clung to a tree trunk feeling the pelting early winter rain, cold & wet, soaking into its boughs, turning them dark brown & glossy. Bright green moss appeared delicate & pretty amongst a few cracks in the concrete path.
     Hurrying around a corner I passed a large white rose still daring to flower & I quickly took in its perfume, my nose becoming wet with splashes of rain. It smelled of hot summer days & warm perfume-filled nights, heady with the season that has now long gone & only a memory. I could almost feel my toes walking on warm golden sand while the waves of a gentle sea washed up on an empty beach, shimmering warmth with the sun's rays, the sea endlessly rising & falling,  splashing the soft warm sand, the sun beating down when summer was at its peak.
     By now the storm was intense, furious & meddlesome. Rain was sheeting in a slant, dipping into lengthening puddles, deepening with every moment. Rooftops were gushing with water, falling into gutters & shiny with the storm. Another flash of lightning was followed soon after by a thunderclap that felt directly overhead. The storm had encroached a lot more quickly than I had imagined, threatening & unpleasant. I shivered from its presence.
     It was no time to stop & smell the roses I thought, quickening my steps even further. Clothing now seemed inadequate to keep the storm at bay. My face was covered in rain. Droplets, cold & uncomfortable were penetrating down my back. Shoes were soaked, the leather unable to resist the storm & feeling cold I broke into a run for the last remaining uncomfortable section of what I first thought was an early morning stroll at the start of winter.
     Splashing water from collected puddles, I arrived home unpleasantly wet from drenching rain. Pulling a resigned face as I looked down, shaking rain from clothing, I grimaced with the sight that met my eyes, as pale clouds pink & apricot appeared in a softened sky. The darkness was being replaced with a hint of the sun's presence, but the storm had left its mark. It slowly moved across the sky, disappearing toward a mountain range, settling with ghostly drifts over the tips. nestling in amongst ferns & tall eucalypt forests. Winter had only just begun.