Re: OT-CHAT: A Storm by Any Other Name

From: "Jan Clark" <janclarx@hotmail.com>

Jeff wrote;
>The term "cyclone" is used in North America, but not with reference to the 
>type of storm that has caught the attention of folks along the East Coast - 
>it is the once preferred, but now nearly obsolete, synonym for "tornado".
>Allusion to large tropical storms of maritime origin that approach either 
>coast of North America will best be understood by the local population when 
>they are referred to as "hurricanes".

Thanks for correcting me Jeff. Hurricane is probably more commonly used 
here. We get pretty mild weather here, despite being rated as a "Cyclone" 
area. We get funny little dust storms called "Willy Willy's" which are just 
a funnel of dirt. The most wierd experience I had was hearing the train 
approaching at our old farm house years ago, and thinking -uh oh! no trains 
around here. A quick look outside revealed a large black mass approaching at 
some speed. Just enough time to close all the windows up tight, while 
husband ran to pacify the horses. This "Thing" passed over very noisily and 
wildly in a matter of minutes, but didn't even manage to remove clothes from 
the washing line. I'm not sure what you would call that. A mini tornado 
perhaps?

>BTW, quite a few of us have been educated to refer to Koalas without adding 
>"Bear". (-:

Thank goodness for that! It seems a childish name to me, like saying puppy 
dog, or moo cow!
While I'm so far off topic, some of you might be amused by a mental image of 
several Japanese tourists standing around the Goanna enclosure at a wild 
life sanctuary here, cameras round their necks, complaining because the pen 
was empty. Right before their eyes, about 6 goannas were laying motionless, 
in full view.
A Goanna is a very large lizard with a rough grey/brown skin, which, when 
motionless, looks much like a dead log!
Cheers, Jan
OK, back to the irises
iris, iris, iris, iris, iris, iris, iris, iris
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