Wednesday 20 July 2011

The Akubra hat and its control over rainfall

Many years ago, while on a visit to relations in Australia, my husband treated himself to an Akubra hat - the Rolls Royce of Australian headwear.  He thought that it would provide perfect protection against the sun in South Africa, which is where we lived at the time.  It has in fact been rarely worn, as each time it came out of the cupboard to be worn, the heavens opened and the rain poured down.  It became a joke that if we wanted it to rain, we just had to bring out the Akubra!!

Well, as we have had hardly any rain in our area of France since March, and the lawn is looking a bit like a fire has swept across it, we decided that it was time the hat made a trip to France. Nigel duly arrived at Limoges airport on 13 July (in a slight drizzle) and that night we had our first proper rain in months!! It has hardly stopped raining since and all the jobs that needed to be done outside are being well and truly delayed!
The magical rain hat!!

One of the jobs is to take the old wooden boundary fence down and dispose of it before the builders arrive to put up our new wall at the end of July.  As Nigel has a problem with his feet, he has to take care and can only work in short bursts.   

Looking at the weather forecast, this period of rain continues until the 25th (the day Nigel returns to the UK!) when the sun is due to come out once more!!  Spooky maybe, but it is very strange that the rain commenced when the hat arrived.  To date, we have had just over 30  mm (about 1.2 inches) in a week. Not a massive amount, but it certainly has made a huge difference.  The rain has not been heavy, which is good, as the ground is so dry it would have just run off the top. I now understand why farmers are never happy with the weather; if only it would rain all night and the sun shine all day. 

The results of the rainfall speak for themselves : -









Thanks Nigel, I will be wearing the hat after you leave and hope that it does the same for me.  I might add that it is a bit big for me and I cannot see where I am going, but if it rains what the heck :-) 

78 comments:

  1. Hello Diane:
    After weeks of very hot weather, today we are experiencing heavy downpours and thunder storms so perhaps the effect of the hat has spread itself into Eastern Europe! But, whatever you say about the dry conditions, your garden is looking lovely and full of bright and cheerful colour. As for the parched lawn, we imagine that already you are able to see the effects of the rain.

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  2. Diane, what a cute story about Nigel and his hat. You could say it was a rain charm.

    In the islands when our cisterns got dry, we had to buy water. I was very expensive because it came by boat on a barge and you had to buy the entire boat load of water - 1,000 gallons. Perhaps you should open a "Nigel hat franchise" in the out-islands of the Bahamas. I can almost guarantee your success.
    Sam

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  3. That's too funny about the hat but glad the rain came and your garden is wonderful.

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  4. Beautiful flowers and produce despite your lack of rain. I wish we could send some your way though personally I prefer some rain to excessive sun and heat. We're still getting lots of rain here with the odd sunny day. Not enough sun to grow my garden and the rivers are precariously high. By the way, that Akubra hat sounds like a Godsend. Do make sure you keep it around. BTW, years ago, I saw the movie, "The Man From Snowy River". The lead character wore the hat in the pouring rain so I always thought it was a rain hat, lol.

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  5. Hi Jane and Lance, hope that you also needed the rain if we are guilty of sending it to you :-) Re the parched lawn, it certainly has some colour in it now but I think it is weeds!! Diane

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  6. Sam, Nigel thinks that is a brilliant idea. He keeps saying what is he going to do to make some money when he retires, now you have answered the question :-)) Diane

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  7. Gaelyn it really is very odd, but so far it has worked almost every time it has been brought out!! It is such a pleasure not to have to water every night and it is certainly a lot cheaper! Diane

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  8. Joyful I think the Australians wear them come rain or shine. We just do not need rain every time it is brought out!! It is amazing how the flowers have suddenly come out after a few showers. Also of course the vegetables. Diane

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  9. Diane your story is so cute. "The hat that brought the rain" could be a good movie title also. Joke aside we are having a heat wave here in the US and even if it rains in the evening it brings more humidity the next day (ugh). I love your flowers

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  10. Marco Pasha, even when it is very hot here it is seldom very humid thank goodness. I love this weather after having had over 3 months with no rain, but it is inconvenient when we have work to do outside :-) Nigel's leave is so short! Diane

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  11. Great story about the hat. The pictures are beautiful!

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  12. Thanks Pam, take care and have a good day. Diane

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  13. I'd like to know where I can buy a rain hat like that one. We could use here. Recently we've had some good rains and the grounds welcomed it. And wow look at those blooms. Absolutely gorgeous Diane.

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  14. Just so long as you wear the hat every 4 days or so!

    The flowers look well on their dose of rain.

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  15. Becca I can hardly believe how the garden has changed in the last week, I hardly had a flower in bloom before Nigel arrived!! Amazing. Diane

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  16. GaynorB, don't worry I will not overdo, it I also love the sun:-) Diane

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  17. That's a good looking hat. what's the name of the pure yellow flower Diane? It's very pretty. I love your harvest, I am enjoying my harvest too.

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  18. That's great that you are getting some rain at last. It's amazing how quickly the garden recovers. You're flowers and produce look wonderful. Sorry Nigel but the rain is a necessary evil and his hat is heaven sent I think!

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  19. LOL! This story about Akubra hat is awesome! You have a very powerful tool in your hands:)
    Another thing I really like in your post is beautiful flowers and vegetables!

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  20. chubskulit, I think it is a Californian poppy. I had them last year. but thought that this year they had disappeared, the rain seems to have woken up many plants in the garden! Take care Diane

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  21. Well if only you had known it was going to work once more you would have sent for the Aukubra hat weeks ago.

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  22. Craig the hat was certainly brought here for a purpose, but we do need a couple of dry days to get the jobs done. We got soaked today taking a trip to the dechetterie!!! It makes my hair very curly ha ha. Diane

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  23. Olga it amazes me how the hat always seems to make it rain, just took a long time to think about it!! The garden has literally changed within a couple of days. Diane

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  24. Linda I could kick my self that I did not bring the hat back when I went over to the UK at the end of May, BUT it may only work for Nigel and not for me we will have to see what happens next!!! Diane

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  25. Love the hat, but where are the corks!

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  26. I'm voting with you for rain all night and sunny days! Your hat story is hilarious!

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  27. I will need to borrow Nigel's hat :-) Or maybe Nigel can come to Florida with his hat, and help us out. How very funny. Great post.

    Velva

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  28. I think Nigel must be here in Sydney too!!! It is bucketing!!! At least it brought the back for you!! Perhaps you could send the hat on "small" trips to various places that need the rain!!!!

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  29. Bonjour Diane

    Your story made me laugh - and that Akubra is very stylish - your flowers are ever so... pretty and as you said a result of good rainfall!

    Have a safe and enjoyable week
    xx

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  30. Lovely, lovely photos. And can you send the hat to the US, please? We could use a little rain magic!

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  31. Steve as we are not Australian think we are not allowed to have the corks as well Ha ha. Diane

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  32. Cuisine de Provence thanks for the comment, have a good day. Take care Diane

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  33. Thanks Marjie that would be almost a perfect world, well perfect weather anyway so far as I am concerned. Diane

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  34. Velva I will suggest to Nigel he comes over for a visit he has never been to the USA :-)) Diane

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  35. Cate the hat cam from Sydney so perhaps it has side effects with its home town :))) Diane

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  36. Nita thank you so much for your visit and kind comment. Hope to see you back soon. Take care. Diane

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  37. Thanks Dianne, it is a strange story, but oh so true, well to date anyway! The rain has made such a difference to the garden as you can see. Diane

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  38. Deb from WhatsInMyAttic, I think Nigel is going to be busy travelling with his hat, there is a sudden demand for it Haha. Diane

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  39. Lovely flowers Dianne. You should put that magical rain hat up for sale on E-Bay! You might get unholy rich through selling it to some drought stricken Texan farmer!

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  40. Diane - can he please take the hat back to UK with him. I have been telling my family in the UK what fantastic weather we have been having since February and they are due to arrive on Monday!! :)

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  41. Liesl if only we could make our fortune out of the hat, I am sure no one will believe it though and maybe it only works for Nigel!! Diane

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  42. softinthehead don't worry too much Nigel returns to the UK on Monday and I want some sun for a bit as they are coming to build our wall. I will shut the hat up in the wardrobe for a bit :-)) How ever it may not work for me anyway! Diane

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  43. This hat could be very valuable. Maybe you could send it to Southern California for 2 weeks?
    Your flowers and vegetables are just beautiful.

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  44. Nadege, Nigel says he remembers the song by Albert Hammond, 'It never rains in Southern California', obviously things have not changed much!! Diane

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  45. Heureusement qu'il y a ce chapeau pour sauver l'agriculture cette année.
    J'aime beaucoup cette histoire.
    A très bientôt.

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  46. Lovely story about your husband and his hat!! Beautiful pictures as always -
    Mary x

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  47. You should really patent that hat. There are many places in the US who would die for that magic right now. Garden looks just gorgeous!

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  48. Nadji, Ha ha, Merci pour votre visite et commentaire. A bientôt. Diane

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  49. Mary Mum's Kitchen, thanks I cannot believe how the garden has woken up!! Diane

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  50. lostpastremembered perhaps you have a point there, I will look into the patent rules tomorrow Ha ha. Diane

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  51. What a cute story about the hat! The flowers look gorgeous =)

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  52. Thanks Peggy, hope you have a good weekend. Diane

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  53. This Akubra hat is so wonderful and the post is so interesting to read! The pictures of those colourful fowers are awesome! Loved the freshness!
    Great...Shall be looking forward to your next post now!! And I am following you now.
    http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com

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  54. Same here; it hasn't stopped raining for days! Make sure that hat never comes back to France anymore :)

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  55. Purabi Naha thanks for following. That hat is just amazing but I am sure it is just fluke!!! Take care Diane

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  56. Avalon Cat Cartoons sorry it will be staying in France but I will shut it away until the garden dries out again :-)))) Diane

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  57. Good story, Diane! It sounds like to me you guys are on to a good thing and need to mass produce those hats! We are still repairing from the storm a week ago. The fence is rebuilt, tree limbs hauled away and new chimney will be done soon. It stormed this morning and power is out again in the neighboring town. Now, it is sunny and hot and will be through next week. We had no spring and summer has been strange.

    All your flower photos are gorgeous!!!! Is the second one, the lavender one a Rose of Sharon? Here's hoping you have a good weekend and can enjoy being outside!!!

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  58. I can just picture you in that hat Diane, but like you said as long as it's raining! We are getting some afternoon showers, but no where near what we usually get. Of course it is still sporadic, I was talking to my friend and it was raining hard at her house and still sunny at mine.

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  59. Pam it sounds like your storms are not much fun!!! I think this year the weather is odd all over!.
    The flower is a hibiscus. Rose of Sharon seems to cover several species so I am not sure exactly what it is! Diane

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  60. Lyndsey our rain is also sporadic, people just up the road will get a shower and we have nothing. Very odd weather this year! Take care. Diane

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  61. Nita Obrigado pelo seu comentário. Tenha um ótimo dia. Diane

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  62. It is very hot and dry here. The great Air Show is underway at the Dayton International Airport. I suspect there will be more than one heat stroke victim.

    Your garden is quite beautiful.

    Mine is wilted and some shrubs are dying or dropping leaves. My wife and I will try to put water on the worse cases when it cools off a little. At the moment it is 92° F.

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  63. It is raining a lot in London too. I loved the story about the Akubra, do you think there is a hat which also stops the rain? The vegetables from your garden look fantastic too. Fifi

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  64. Abe I would have been happy with your temperatures a couple of weeks ago when went to 100.4F (38C) in the shade!! Thankfully this rain has cooled it down a lot. We have lost a large cedar tree and I hope nothing else is going to die! Diane

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  65. Fifi B You have a point there, if we had a hat that would stop rain as well, life could be just perfect!!! Diane

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  66. Your flowers are lovely and will stay beautiful with all that rain. I must admit, I'd love to see a photo of you in that hat. Have a wonderful day.Blessings...Mary

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  67. Mary you would not see me in the hat as Nigel has a big head! I disappear behind the brim :-) Diane

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  68. Beautiful flower shots and the hat is so cool. The bottom shot made me think of 'Michelangelo in the Kitchen'. I'm sure you know why. :-)

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  69. Thanks JM, it will be interesting to see how good the hat is without Nigel! I wish I could compete with Michelangelo his work is brilliant. Diane

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  70. LOL very good Diane! But if you and Nigel ever pay me a visit in Cork please don't bring the magic hat with you! We have enough rain as it is! X

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  71. Dolly we would never dream of taking it to the green land of Ireland. You certainly get more than your share over there :-) Diane xx

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  72. You should keep the hat in France and rent it out in dry spells !!
    The rain was not too welcome on our holiday but we were glad that it came really - everywhere looks so much better for it.

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  73. Jean, Nigel was also not that happy as it rained every day while he was here!! Never-the-less we desperately needed the rain and he did have to agree with that!! It is the first time I have seen green in our lawn for 3 months. Not motorbike weather though me thinks! Diane

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  74. Diane, I do believe the hat will helps in a way! And thanks so much for sharing those beautiful pictures. I missed the gardening job, there's no extra land for me to do so. :o(
    Enjoy your day!
    Kristy

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  75. Kristy, the hat is so strange, but it only seems to work for Nigel. He has returned to the UK now and the sun is shining!!! We only have a paved area in the UK and I missed the garden there, France is like a different world :-) Diane

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