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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Down came the rain


My mum-in-law taught this nursery rhyme (amongst many others) to our boys when they were little:

Insy winsy spider, climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain
And insy winsy spider climbed up the spout again!

She showed them how to do the climbing action with their fingers; they LOVED this rhyme.

Today, many years later the same words came up in my mind when we woke up to a violent electrical storm and a downpour during the night. After many months of draught, at last the rain has come down. And down. And down...

As you can imagine, in a farming community, rain in its season is so necessary and welcome when it arrives. The farmers are very pleased and thankful because it has almost become to late to plant their crops this summer. Now there will be a flurry of activity, with young farmers dashing into town in their pickups on errands for their fathers or for themselves if they've already taken over the farm. There will be groups of townies and farmers standing in the streets, in the cafe and of course, congregating in the Co-op, which is the farmer's second home, and talking about the rain.

As I type this post (on Tuesday evening) the rain has started to fall again. There was a little break between the frightning hailstorm (Angie and Eddy crept under the workbench in Grant's garage where he was working, while Megan lay under the kitchen table. I'd brought her in because she is really very afraid of storms) and nightfall, after which the rains came down again. And again. And again...

If the sun is up today as this post is aired, I will be outside with my gardeners (Simon also comes today) and we'll be weeding, eradicating perenials and planting more bulbines and tulbaghias that have been lifted and seperated.

Praise God for His great gift of rain. It is a reminder of the many blessings He showers upon us.
After a hefty thunder and rainstorm during the night, which measured 45mm/2 in this morning, we woke up to this sky. It wasn't over yet
The driveway and garden was soon covered in hailstones

Hail, hail everywhere

Small hailstones covered our whole property. I don't think there is damage. In fact, hail supplies nitrogen to the soil and plants so the growth should be phenomenal after this!
...and the rain came down...
The patio was strewn with mulberry leaves (from a tree at the corner of our house) and other debri
The area around my compost heap near the vegetable garden is a quagmire.The vegetables are under water but look reasonably strong and should survive the extreme wheather we're experiencing. I turned around to take photos but while I stood ankle deep in icy water, a bolt of lightning struck somewhere too close for comfort, whereafter I flew around and hoofed it back to the house, Angie hot on my heels! I decided everyone would have to take my word on this.

10 comments:

  1. I hope your vegetables stayed underground like they have been doing and don't come up until the danger of more hail has passed. Seedlings and hail don't mix, do they?
    Lindy is terrified of thunder storms, too, and so was my last dog. Mom and Dad had a dog who didn't mind thunder but hated fireworks.
    I hope the rain is indeed a blessing and not a problem.
    Hugs to Shadow, and one for you, too.
    Luv, K

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  2. Me again. I remember that as "itsy bitsy spider" but otherwise it's the same rhyme. Now I can't stop thinking about it. LOL
    -- K

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  3. Whoohooo that was a humdinger storm. We have been warned that we are in for a lot of them this summer. It is great after drought though. We are not in drought now as we are experiencing the La Nina weather pattern which brings us more rain than usual but I prefer it to drought. Hope your garden survives.

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  4. I so remember that rhyme, and the hand movements.

    So when it rains it not only pours there but hails so hard it looks like snow. Sure hope the vegies survive.

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  5. Hi Jo,its Incy Wincy Spider here too and I still say it to my Grandchildren!You are really experiencing extreme weather, hailstones are not what I would associate with SA. Taking the camera out in an electrical storm?!I hope your veg plants recover from the storm too.
    I can imagine the excitement of the farmers when the long awaited rains do come to get on with planting their crops.

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  6. Thunderstorms are so beneficial to the soil and the hail the soil soak up more moisture as it melts rather than have the water flow away with a great downpour.
    Yes, rain truly is a great blessing.
    I am hoping for some too this weekend.

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  7. Oh My Goodness.... You really had a big storm, didn't you????? With hail also???? We have had such a dry summer and fall here ---and desperately need rain... Every time we get a little rain, I thank God for it.... I guess we take it for granted until it gets really dry and we need it so badly....

    Hope the hail didn't do any damage... The rain will just make your beautiful garden grow.... That --as you know--is a good thing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. Now THAT'S a Rain storm!!! WoW!!!
    We've had hailstorms like that here too, but not in a long time!
    Glad that you got the rains though!!
    Love the header photo!
    hughugs

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  9. Great photos!! Dit was omtrent 'n skrikwekkende storm! (Ek pos môre daaroor.) x

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  10. That looks like quite a storm, but it sounds as if the farmers needed a good rain.

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