Glad spring's in sight for you, wagga. What are your first spring flowers that come up? As for me, I'm greatly anticipating autumn.

*drools at the succulent sausage descriptions

The first flowers that show winter is about finished are golden wattle blooms However, we don't see them as much as we should in the city since these are bush flowers and don't always go comfortably into people's front gardens. Wattle blooms are of course Australia's national flower, and in August we have even been known to mark Wattle Day, as noted in the article I linked you to. In August there is also Arbour day, and at school we'd sing or recite a poem starting with "I think that I will never see, a poem lovely as a tree". I don't know whether National Wattle Day is the same thing or not, especially as in true Aussie fashion, it was eventually decided Wattle Day should be celebrated on 1st September, the official first day of spring, and so is memorably forgotten about.

Each state has its own floral emblem. New South Wales has the waratah, Victoria has pink heath, Western Australia has kangaroo paw, and so on. But the wattle is outstanding in its August blooming.

Your post made me chuckle, wagga. Even as I was typing up my comment about grilling brats I couldn't help wondering how it might be interpreted. As fantasia noted, brats are indeed bratwurst (and we do occasionally hear about cops 'grilling' suspects here as well).

I doubt I've ever tried bratwurst even though I have seen them hanging up in traditional delicatessens, along with liverwurst etc. I didn't know about the difference in pronunciation, though really I should have thought about it, since Wagga (my name here) is not pronounced here the way it must look. Wagga (the town) comes from the Wiradjura word Waugga, something to do with crows, and so is pronounced like sausages. That is to say, sossages not sawsages, just as brot is a German word for the bread we wrap our sausages in at a sausage sizzle.

Yes, "brats" are short for "bratwurst." Just like around here everybody says "kiwi" in reference to the food, and then coracle has to come around and correct us that it's "kiwifruit", which we know, but nobody ever calls it "kiwifruit" in this part of the USA.

On the whole, we do have to be careful about what we call different products, eg wine, due to EU regulations, copyright etc. But it doesn't stop there. Kiwifruit used to be called Chinese gooseberries at one time, until kiwifruit became a regular adornment on pavlovas. Whilst Kiwis, outside of New Zealand, are remarkable birds that have to be treated with tender, loving care, preferably in a suitable zoo facility. By the way, our police are nice, civilized, people, whose suspects are only "invited" into the police station to "help police with their enquiries", and who would never barbecue "brats" even at a community sausage sizzle.

You can also tell spring is nearly here when the magpies, currawongs, Australian ravens and crows start getting a little bit aggressive to passers by. Also when the footy finals are about to start, when we are worried about the NZ team doing well in the NRL competition, and when people can't stop sneezing because of the pollen count. Otherwise, plants of European origin just adapt to the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere, according to how they would behave in Europe or Great Britain. Aboriginal lore suggests that when koalas fight amongst themselves is a good weather predictor of a really hot summer.

We got over 2" of rain in the past 24 hours. It is hot (though not as much as is typical for this time of year). It is humid (which is very unusual for this time of year). I don't want to go outside (typical for this time of year).
But the plants and grass around here, my goodness! I stepped outside VERY briefly this morning and not only is it starting to look like a rainforest around here, the increase in insect life is making it sound like a rainforest.
Yesterday I drove by a field of soybeans that HAD to be genetically modified, and they were almost as tall as the corn usually is around here... 3-4 feet. What???? But the rain is definitely a factor in the unusual size of this years' produce. Everything is so GREEN. Normally about this time it's brown.

Everything is green here as well, thanks to occasional rain showers. We've alternated between very pleasant weather and the hot or rainy kind. Officially we have had only 2 days over the 90F/32C mark, though predictions are that this upcoming weekend may be the hottest of the year so far.

I've been watching the reports from Houston, which is close to breaking its all-time record for consecutive days over 95F/34C. Yesterday's air temperature there was a record for the date, 106F/41C. And it's often humid there, so I have trouble even imagining what that must feel like. (I doubt we've had 41 days over 95F in the last 20 years here ).

Gren is still the dominant color here as well, though I have noticed some brown creeping in at some of the spots where the sun hits most yet is sheltered form rain. Sounds strange, but there are such places. We have one poor garden flower that is situated inside a corner between two walls facing the SW, so it's like a reflector.

The humidity just cannot remain stable here. One day sticky, other day not. One consistant is the wall of humidity that seems to precede every storm. Right now it's getting that way, and the heat is building up for the next few days. The forecast for the next few days is in the 90'sF.
There is hope though. They tell us that the 70's will follow by Monday.

Nice to see that the brown of approaching autumn has been put back for a little while up there in North America. Meanwhile, the icy morning and evening conditions continue. This week, electric blankets were sold out in outer Sydney, the neighbour working in Moss Vale, on the Southern Highlands, complained of freezing in snow as well as frost, and it has snowed down in Canberra as well as at Oberon, Orange and, of course, Katoomba, famous for the Three Sisters rock formation. Our snowfields in the Snowy Mountains have never had it so good.

A lady I met today, who says she has been house sitting in the locality, told me that compared to Oberon, near Jenolan Caves, our part of Sydney is like a summer holiday. She also told me that last season's apples were particularly crisp and delicious, foretelling a particularly cold winter. Is the state of the apple crop a true indicator of the severity of the forthcoming winter, by the way?

The misbehaving child 'brat' rhymes with 'rat.' The sausage rhymes with 'rot.'

I did not know (or remember) that about the sausage pronunciation, cool! Still chuckling at the brat comments.

Interesting about that koala Aboriginal lore, wagga. I haven't heard either way about the apple crop being an indicator of the coming winter. Hmm, now I'm curious. Apparently, the more cones an evergreen produces, the more severe the winter. Has anyone come across that one before?

Amazing, fantasia, about you 'rainforest' feel and sounds! And re the height of the soybeans. I was walking by a field this morning where some were near to 3', which is tall, indeed, but most soy fields here are hovering just over the regular 2'. Because of all the rain this summer (aside from those 2 dry weeks awhile back), the mid-July corn looked like it usually does in mid-August! And as with many of you, everything's so green here too; it's really lovely.

And it's often humid there, so I have trouble even imagining what that must feel like. (I doubt we've had 41 days over 95F in the last 20 years here ).

Ditto!

Oh my, I can imagine that one poor flower is sure getting beat by that reflective heat, friend Wiggle. May I ask what type it is?

One consistant is the wall of humidity that seems to precede every storm. Right now it's getting that way, and the heat is building up for the next few days. The forecast for the next few days is in the 90'sF.
There is hope though. They tell us that the 70's will follow by Monday.

Hurrah for cooler weather hope! We're right with you in the humidity now, though, friend Wiggle. And, as usual *nods*, this precedes severe rain/thunderstorms, which should arrive here later on Monday. There is a heat advisory out for the next two days. Hibernation time for me! But this being mid-August, it can't last too long.

I'd not heard about the apple crop nor pine trees predicting the severity of upcoming winters (though I live in an area with both). I had heard that oaks make a lot of acorns before a hard winter.

But poking around the internet, in addition to those who accept the acorn prediction is an explanation I'm inclined to agree with - that the number of acorns (and apples and pine cones, I suspect) are more a reflection of past conditions, not predictors of future ones (it's always a big deal around here if a late frost or a drought or hail storm affect the apple crop). Acorns, in particular, take a while for trees to make and thus reflect past conditions.

Today was another sauna day, though slightly cooler than yesterday, when our high of 94F/34C came very close to the record for the day. The heat index was a toasty 100F/38C. Big storms are expected over the next day or so with the passage of a cold front; by midweek our highs may only be around 68F/20C. Can't wait to step outside without hitting a wall of hot steamy air.

A few days make such a difference! It rained all day yesterday in advance of a cold front, and today is blustery with low dark clouds and temperatures around 60F/15C...and even a hint of wind chill makes it feel like about 50F/10C. I think it's a lovely breath of fresh air but I've heard others lament that it feels like autumn. Since I love that time of year that makes me happy.

The pace of the days' shortening is really picking up. It's barely 8pm and it's hinting at darkness (due mainly to the low clouds but the sunset is about an hour earlier now than it was at the solstice).

We had the hottest winter day in 17 years in perth on Saturday. It reached 26C, I thought I must have fallen asleep for a few months. I actually wrong the 15/11/2015 on a document at work, so the weather put me in a confused state of mind. It has gone back to normal winter weather now.

Your days are shortening ours are becoming longer. That is something I do like about summer, I don't have to trip over stuff on my way in from work/uni (our door is somewhat "deep" into the property). This summer I will finally have a ca, so more dreaded strolling to places in 38C heat.

I had heard that oaks make a lot of acorns before a hard winter.

Yes, that's heard around here, as well, 'though I'd forgotten about it. And interesting about the past conditions ...

Our sauna ended here around noon yesterday (yippy!), as torrential rain fell in the morning, ushering in much cooler, drier air (yippy!). Today was so lovely, in the low 70s (yippy!) with a widely varied sky of sun and cloud. The weekend is forecast to be mostly sunny with fluffy clouds, but a bit warmer, yet not nearly so humid as earlier this week. The nights are beautiful now, in the early 50s (yippy!). Our next rain may be on Monday, then dropping even cooler mid week (yippy!).

I think it's a lovely breath of fresh air but I've heard others lament that it feels like autumn. Since I love that time of year that makes me happy.

Ditto! And with that, of course, comes an earlier night sky.

26C in the winter, IlF, wowser! And you're getting a car this summer? With A/C?

I echo jo's comment: 26C in winter? I whine if it's that warm in the spring or fall.

(Now -26C in the winter is another story!)

Our skies are that milky white again thanks to smoke from the Canadian forest fires to the northwest.

A huge cold front is on its way, bringing that rain and cooler weather jo mentioned. Since I'm west of her we'll be getting it earlier - severe storms (with baseball-sized hail) are possible here later today and much cooler weather (15-20C) for tomorrow and the next few days.

26C in the winter, IlF, wowser! And you're getting a car this summer? With A/C?

No she isn't! We had a beautiful warm day yesterday easily as warm as what IlF reports for Perth. But being east of IlF by about 3 hours' worth of longitude, it was probably either her Western Australia weather catching up with us, or the advent of an early spring. In fact it does feel that way, despite the rain we are now getting and promise of another cold snap. But then seasons here don't exactly match the Northern Hemisphere mode.

Actually, that koala Aboriginal lore might be spot on. The article I linked to also mentioned that good predictions for a hotter than usual summer include the three sisters dancing in the heavens (3 planets, don't know which ones though stargazer might know) and the Aurora Australis being seen as far north as Sydney, itself. Well, as far north as Wollongong at any rate. And now the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM to everyone) has been predicting an El Nino effect this summer.

This summer I will finally have a ca, so more dreaded strolling to places in 38C heat.

Good going! Make sure both the car and the air conditioning actually work!

By the way, I know you Northern Hemisphere folk have been experiencing a long hot summer this year, but really, 38 C or 100 F is not unusual Down South in the middle of summer. And we usually have winters that are up to 5 degrees warmer than the -1 C minimums we have been getting up to last week. One late June I left my anorak behind when we departed for UK. Hubby said that we didn't need jackets as it would be the middle of summer when we arrived. But the weather in UK was distinctly cool, only warming up to something like summer three weeks later, in Mid July.

So I froze. I'll never go anywhere up north again without an anorak or some sort of overcoat. And I snigger a little when England, in particular, grizzles about experiencing nice warm 80F temperatures being too hot.

A potential of baseball-sized hail, stargazer? Yikes! But 15-20C sounds glorious! Yes, we shall be receiving those storms (though I don't think the hail) tonight and tomorrow, winging in lovely autumn-ish temps for the entire week, so they say and continuing very comfortable night-time air for sleeping.

include the three sisters dancing in the heavens (3 planets, don't know which ones though stargazer might know)

Oooh, I'd like to know more about that ... it sounds so poetic!

I know you Northern Hemisphere folk have been experiencing a long hot summer this year, but really, 38 C or 100 F is not unusual Down South in the middle of summer.

Actually, it's been kind of a standard summer this year, with a couple of very hot weeks in July (heat index around 40C/104F), but that is not unknown for this our hottest month. It did begin early but we had lovely temps (rather than 'mugly') throughout May and June. And we received a fair bit of rainfall then too, so the crops have thrived this summer.

One late June I left my anorak behind when we departed for UK. Hubby said that we didn't need jackets as it would be the middle of summer when we arrived. ... So I froze.

I have a few friends from the UK and they say never go there, even in the summer, without an extra layer. Live and learn, eh?

Today will be a warmer day (25C/77F, but feeling 'thicker' with some humidity), with those possible storms rolling in tonight. I'm excited because I'm getting my early morning walks in again, the air being around 11C/52F in the early hours (beautiful!)—sometimes a touch more; sometimes even less, such as the early morn I lay out watching the Perseid meteor shower and it was a glorious 9C/48F! But, back to walks, there is no way I can walk in those overnight heavy, soupy 20C/68F temperatures with extremely high humidity. I might as well take a stroll in an oven.

Our summer has also been close to average, by one of my favorite measures, count of days at or over 90F/32C - we're at 5 so far I think with prospects for a few more. (Hey, no laughing! We're known for cold, not hot).

Wagga, I'd be one of those whining that 80F is too hot. 50F/10C is much nicer!

We didn't get that huge hail Saturday night, though some areas north of here did get 4 inches/100mm of rain in a very short time. It did rain heavily here with lots of impressive lightning. Indeed, the NFL football game between the Vikings and Raiders was delayed about 90 minutes by rain and lightning (see this picture of lightning over stadium). The players and fans were evacuated to nearby buildings for shelter.

Behind that front it was blustery and cool. The sun is out again today and it is really very pleasant.

@Waggawagga all of us snigger when they say "Heat wave" and it is 28C or what ever, that is a spring day for us. I enjoy temperatures up to around 32 C than I hate it.

Haha it is my mums old car so both the aircon and the car work fine.

I did go to the Uk n the summer, I found the temperature to be nice. Like I wasn't dying of heatstroke or cold. Though I think the locals thought it was hot.

@Jo i think it was 25C here today aswell, same temperature but in opposite seasons.