It is planting season on the farm which means rain is first and foremost on our minds. There has been very little rain which is disconcerting. Late rain not only prevents the newly planted seedlings to settle and thrive but also results in the seedlings still at the nurseries becoming too established to successfully replant when the rain finally comes.
In Afrikaans we say, ‘n Boer maak ‘n plan! (a farmer always has a plan) and so we have adapted machinery to water the new plants but that water can also only go so far and does not replace much needed rain.
While we impatiently wait for rain, existing fields are kept clean of invader plants, new fields are being nurtured for a next season’s planting, and so the cycle of nature continues. Sometimes she is abundantly generous. At other times she pulls in the reigns rather harshly, but somehow, we always get through sufficiently. That is life.