12 September 2009

It's going to be a long short rainy season

The short rainy season should be starting any minute now and I couldn't be happier. We had a terrific preview of it on Wednesday, with the wind blowing so hard it rained under the doors and windows into the house, and our terrace became a shallow pond. The filling that had been stuffed into many potholes washed away and a stream came rushing down the gully behind our house. It was quite a storm. 

And everyone hoped it meant that the rainy season had officially begun. But instead, impossibly it seems like the last few days have been even hotter than the rest of the dry season. Humid, too, which is cruel if it's not going to go ahead and rain. 

The electricity is certainly acting as if the rainy season is here; it's been fluctuating like crazy for the last week. 

Do you remember that Sesame Street clip where it's hot and still and everyone's waiting for the rain with great anticipation? That's what it's been like here for the last few days.

We are among some of the lucky people here who have air conditioners. I hate using it during the day unless it's absolutely necessary (for the most part the heat is bearable with a fan on; plus I like all the animal noises from outside). The last few days it's been absolutely necessary, but because of the wonky electricity I've been trying to turn on as few appliances as possible.

Right now I see some ominous clouds forming behind the mountain. I hope they develop into rain some time between now and the next two hours, before we leave for an outdoor party.

The photo is from one of the first big rains last year. Wednesday's was like that, only during the daytime. 

2 comments:

Diane H K said...

That's some rain!

I'm sure the folks back home have told you about our rainy season this summer. Essentially two months straight of rain, some of it torrential. The whole northeast experienced serious crop loss, and a weird resurgence of the same blight that caused the Irish Potato Famine, an oomycete called Phytophthora infestans.

http://abebedorespgondufo.blogs.sapo.pt/ said...

Good blog.