Spring Time In Australia File

But spring in Australia also has a temper. One afternoon, the air went still. The cockatoos fell silent, then screamed and flew in a panicked white cloud towards the mountains. The sky turned the colour of a bad bruise. A southerly buster roared up from the Snowy Mountains, bringing a hailstorm that sounded like someone was throwing handfuls of gravel at the corrugated iron roof. Lila hid under the kitchen table, but Maggie just poured herself another tea.

The first sign wasn’t a date on the calendar. For Maggie, who had lived through fifty Australian springs on her farm in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, it was a scent. One morning in late August, she stepped onto her veranda with a cup of black tea, and the air had changed. The sharp, eucalyptus bite of winter was softening, replaced by something sweet and hopeful—the first tiny blossoms of the wattle. spring time in australia

“Nanna, there are bees everywhere!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide. But spring in Australia also has a temper

“Right then,” she said to her old kelpie, Blue. “Time to wake up.” The sky turned the colour of a bad bruise

Later, as dusk settled—a long, golden dusk that didn’t belong to any other season—Maggie and Lila sat on the veranda. The last of the kangaroos were hopping back into the bush, their joeys’ heads poking out of pouches. The air was cool again, but not cold. It was the cool of a perfect, forgiving evening.

“It smells like flowers and dirt and rain,” Lila said quietly, hugging her knees.