rain

The rains have returned to Kenya.  The fog has settled in, thick and foreboding, and makes everything dreary.  But the rain is so welcomed, for it brings relief and new life to Kenya.  It is truly amazing how a few days of rain transform the dusty landscape into a sea of green.  The weather people are predicting low rainfall for the year, so any rain received is received with joy and thanksgiving.  Shambas (small farms) will flourish now, and families will have food to eat and to sell.  I don't like the cold rawness of it, but it is hard to begrudge it! Plus, after two years in Al Ain, where temps are reaching 120+ every day, I can really enjoy it! I like to sip tea by a fire, not sweat from just thinking about going outside.

Here are a few updated photos of our own garden.  I wish I could take credit for it, but alas, I can not.  Our gardener Daniel is always bringing in new flowers to our compound, adding color and life around the house.

But the rain also brings with it something else, something unwelcome (to me, anyway) and uninvited. Something that coats the ground and sometimes the floor around my door as they crawl under the doorway during the night: flying ants (or termites? I'm never really sure!)  Here's what our front door looks like this morning:

 a mountain of bugs.  yuck.

At least the birds are happy!

Of course, I have to leave you with a few photos of the boy, bundled up against the cold.  This sweater was hand made by my friend Nancy, for my friend Brooke's first child (I think!), and was worn by all three. I love that this is hand made and is passing through the community.