ooo summer rain (29)

i have had belinda carlisle's 'summer rain' in my head for weeks now, thanks mainly to the lead-up to and then post-concert last weekend, but also because it has rained so much here in canberra over the past few months. it has been a wet steamy spring and summer. it has rained so much that all the dams are overflowing. for the first time since i moved here over a decade ago, the dams are full and there are no water restrictions. the greenery throughout the city is something new and wonderful to behold, not to mention the amazing growth spurts observed in our plants in our courtyards. there are mostly camellias which were here when we bought the place. now i know they're hardy plants but between the ongoing drought and the fact that both mands and i are rubbish when it comes to gardening, they've been lucky to survive - in fact only one out of about ten has died. however the difference in them now is amazing! i would say that they have grown as much over the last 6 months as they did in the entire 5 years preceding that. that's how much rain we've had. mands doesn't like the camellias (not sure why) but i have a soft spot for them. my sisters and i used to use their leaves for 'money' when we played shops on our bmxes in the driveway when we were growing up. they're a sentimental plant for me, not to mention i admire their resilience.