Wednesday 23 September 2009

Why I don't vacuum


Well actually I have no excuse other than laziness and disinclination to do housework when there are so many more interesting and compelling things to do. But if I was a better housekeeper, today's dust would be driving me to panic. As far as I can tell from the news the dust storm spreads across all of NSW, the ACT and southern Queensland. The dust that is coating us today comes from South Australia. At 11am we had lights on in the house and the windows glowed an eerie orange.


According to reports, air particle levels of 200 or higher are dangerous. The ABC says that in north-west Sydney levels are 919, south-west 1,718 and in Bathurst, 2,665. Asthmatics are urged to stay inside and keep medication and a telephone close.


Our mouths taste dusty, our hair is coated, the smell of dust hangs in the air. The wind makes the animals and children restless. Horses stand in the fields in clumps, rumps to the wind. It is not a day to extoll the glories of Queensland weather.


However, all is not lost when such as this exists to cheer up my day.

3 comments:

Vivi said...

I imagine it would be a little worrisome, if not just irritating. But at least it makes for beautiful, atmospheric photos.

Are sand storms such as these common? Are they growing more common due to global warming?

Anonymous said...

Great link!

And while I'm glad I don't have to deal with sandstorms in NYC (as if there ain't enough to worry about here. . .), the photos are beautiful.

More photos! More photos!

Blithe said...

No storms like this are not common. This was claimed to be a "once in 70 year storm." We've had one mild dust storm in the last 6 years here and tonight we are having storm #2 of the week. It's not as bad as the earlier one but all you can see out the windows tonight is blankness with not a light in sight. It's eerie.