Spring has come to an end, and the figures are out. The wettest in Melbourne for almost twenty years, and in parts of regional Victoria for decades longer. The unfamiliar sound of driving rain through the night. The unfamiliar sight not only of full dams but - even more startling, because it sneaks up on you - watery sheets lying low or peeping through the bush or garden. The look of rippling expanse as rain hits the dam, roughing up its surface. The feel of soft, sticky, yeilding ground underfoot. The surprise of muddy boots and wet, trouser legs clinging round the ankle. The never before imagined reality not just of a trickle of water between the dams, but a cascade, noisy, frothy and exuberant. The powerful swell of water forcing its way.
