There were no papers yesterday, or

so I thought. We get two. They usually land on the front lawn in the early hours of the morning.
Yesterday they were nowhere to be seen. What I could see was an awful mess.
It had blown a gale all the previous day and night. The wind was still blowing just as strongly. This was more than the usual "gully winds" we often get in the summer. These were wind gusts so strong it was a struggle to stay upright.
There were leaves and small branches all over the lawn and a bigger branch by the gate. I had to move that before I could open the gate and go out into the street.
I had to go out into the street because the wheelie bins had taken flight. I rescued ours and those of the neighbours on either side. A neighbour opposite came out and rescued those on his side of the street. I was not sure whether they would stay upright but I stuffed some more tree parts into those on our side of the street and hoped for the best.
The Senior Cat found something else to read at the breakfast table.
I put the little parcel we had for our Scottish visitors and headed off for the railway station. The plan was to pass it over and come home, leaving them to do whatever they had planned for the day.
At one point I thought I was not going to get as far as the station. The wind gust was so strong I could not pedal against. The boy ahead of me, who was pedalling to school, fell of his bike. Fortunately he was not hurt but he gave me a rueful grin and asked if I thought the wind was a good excuse for being late.
There were some big tree branches down. They all came from gum trees. Someone's car had sustained some damage from the branch down near the track into the railway station.
The ride into the city seemed unbelievably calm and, when I got there, it was quiet. There was nothing more than a light breeze. In the eastern suburbs in which I live there were thousands of houses without power - although we were fortunate in our area. The damage in some places was considerable but, just five kilometres away, all was quiet.
I spent the morning in the city - not something I had originally planned but thoroughly enjoyed as I was able to take the visitors to the Migration Museum. (And then we talked some more!)
And, arriving home, I found it was much quieter. I brought the bins in from the street - and found the papers. They had blown into the bushes at the side of the yard and were almost covered by the detritus which had built up as the wind shifted things around.
I wonder what else went missing yesterday. Will it be found again?