Editorial: Mother nature the saboteur

Mother nature has rained on a few parades this summer, writes Mark Story.

So, is the rain gauge half empty or half full?

'Tis hard to know which school to subscribe to given the ghastly timing of precipitation in the past few weeks.

Earlier this month we saw rain force the cruel abandonment of the Black Caps' first Chappell Hadlee ODI against Australia at McLean Park.

And not only were we robbed of that match, we were stripped of the next ODI fixture against South Africa, originally scheduled for Napier, due to fears the McLean Park sponge would spark another wash-out.

There's some painful irony in that the fear of rain has prompted a change of venue from a bone-dry East Coast to the pluvially blessed Waikato, where the grass looks more like spinach.

Considering the lead-up to all this consisted of months of rainless angst, mother nature has not ingratiated herself to the region at all this year. Rather than unleashing a natural monsoon to mitigate last week's Waimarama fires, she decided it would be more fitting to let loose a deluge for the first two of the three-day Tremains Art Deco Festival.

In a further twisting of the knife, one can assume the Hamilton match will be rained out, while Napier will turn on a stunner.

No doubt she'll stand by the philosophical adage that while some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. But for many, she's hell-bent on inflicting summer sabotage.

The take home message for the Dixie Chicks in April? Bring your umbrellas.