A strong contender for the Mango Madness Award of 2023 must surely be the following yarn from Darwin . It involves a considerate resident who has been taking rain readings for decades , a friendly green tree frog and two rain gauges .
The gauges are fastened to a sturdy pole , the contents checked and recorded at 9am after rain , which can be often during the Wet .
A frog has developed the habit of hopping into the older, open top , triangular gauge. It hangs on as an attempt is made to tip it out in the laundry.
An aggregate of the two gauges is made, taking into account any possible body fluids or other matter from the frog . The frog keeps on coming back , but cannot access the later model gauge which has a round funnel inlet top .
When not swimming about like Esther Williams in the gauge , it frolics and croaks in nearby Happy Plants or Palms .
The veteran recorder said there is a Bureau of Meteorology electronic recording device about 2km up the road , which can get more or less readings ,
When Cyclone Helen went past some years ago, more than 150mm were recorded by him in one spell, some 60mm more than BOM .
