Joys and Pains of the Rainy Season

By Sara:

Finally the rains have come to our area of Kenya!  Along with the farmers, I am rejoicing for the benefits the rain brings to my garden.  I've got a video for you of our front yard in the rain.

 
And here are a few of the nice things I have growing:
Cabbage, beets, parsley (Hamburg rooted parsley - you can eat the root too)

Onions, carrots, chard

Peas, sweet potato, scarlet runner bean

And a fine crop of avocados!

But with the rain, come some new challenges/changes to everyday life.  Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what our life is like these days.

First of all, during the rainy season, our power goes off more often.  Sometimes I wonder if there's a person sitting in a room somewhere who flips a switch to turn off the electricity off when it starts to rain.  But, who can know why it goes off when it does?  Anyway, you might think that this is a terrible thing - what can you do without electricity?!

Are we sitting around in the darkness when there's no electricity at night?  Why, no - we've got candles, solar lights, and solar flashlights.  And there's our little generator if we need to power up the fridge for a while or charge our computers.

And hey, we wash our clothes by hand and cook using gas.

Okay, the internet is kind of a problem because first of all, being a satellite connection, it often goes out when there's a rainstorm.  And it runs on electricity... but that's where the smart phones fill in.
(It's a strange internet plant growing in my garden):

Now with the rainy season, comes "cold" weather.  All you people in Minnesota and Michigan, I know that 50F outside is no big deal, but when it's below 60 in the house, that feels pretty darn chilly.  Especially when you need to sit on a cold toilet seat...or wash dishes in icy cold water...or take a shower when our "instant shower" (an attachment that heats water as it comes out the shower head) goes off since it's powered by electricity.

But who needs heat when you've got warm clothes, rugs and slippers, and heavy blankets to huddle under in bed?

We can also drink lots of hot tea and eat warm soup and freshly baked bread!

You might wonder how our animals are faring in this kind of weather.  Well, the rabbits are enjoying feasting on the green things that have started growing again.  The chickens really don't seem to mind wandering around and getting wet.  And Caleb has taken over our outdoor couch.  Apparently it's warmer and cushier than sleeping on cold concrete.

Oh, and then there are the white ants (the termites that come out to mate - those have wings).  They usually come out near the first big rain of the season.  Caleb had a great time catching them since they were attracted to our porch light.