The autumn has been much warmer and longer than usual, but winter arrived with a rush of cold air and a bitter wind in the last week of May. The wind had taken most of the colourful leaves from the Armidale streets before I took pictures, but I was in time to take one of my favourite trees. It is at TAFE.

Because of the drought, the countryside is rather bleak and farmers have been selling stock as there is no feed in the paddocks and many dams are dry. It is a stressful time for all people on the land. The water situation in NSW was the main story on the ABC news last night and people in Sydney too are urged to save water and cut down on time spent in showers. Some towns are already out of water and everyone must be super careful to save every drop. Hopefully, rain will come soon. Even frost will bring moisture and do some good to gardens. Surely spring will bring good rain again and renew the land.

Tags: climate, nature, stress