Summer

It is summer and the rains have begun. When it rains and is overcast the weather is nice in my opinion. The days when there is no rain and it is not overcast can be miserable. The temperature is between 30+ and 40+ degrees Celsius (90 to over 100 F) and it is humid.

The morning is definitely the nicest part of the day. People in the village rise very early. They get up and immediately begin working in their gardens and yards because as the day progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to do anything besides sit and sweat profusely. The water in my room becomes warm enough to make coffee or tea, which I definitely do not want to do. And my fan pushes hot air around but without it the air is stifling.  Although many people still wear long sleeves and sweaters when I am sweating.  Below is a picture of an older woman hoeing, notice she has a cap and sweater on.  I have never seen her without both of them on.  And it is not only older people.  In the schools many learners come to school with sweaters, jackets and, if overcast and pleasant to me, learners are likely to be wearing jackets and hats because they are cold. 

There is a big tree along the path from the school and water tap to home. It is a popular place and one I frequently stop at as the temperature under the tree is noticeably cooler. But anywhere there is shade is a welcome relief and where people sit during the day.

Some people still work during the hottest parts of the day. I was sitting in my room in front of the fan working on my computer when I noticed a constant noise outside. I went out and saw a man who was hired by my family to hoe the weeds from the yard so maize and peanuts could be planted. I asked him why he was working at this time of day and he said he needed to work so he could eat.

In my village corn is planted everywhere possible. Peoples whole yards are planted. 

Families and people of all ages work together to hoe, and continually hoe after planting to keep the weeds down so the corn can grow.

There are also a lot of mango trees with mangoes although some trees have less than the usual amount of mangoes because they were damaged by the big storm.

Because it rains and is humid there are now a lot of bugs. Here is a picture of Daphney scooping up the bugs she has swept into a pile from the cement around her house.

A couple of mornings this week I have noticed the air full of birds flying back and forth and all around. I am assuming that they are catching the bugs for breakfast.