There is a pitter patter on the veranda roof and a few raindrops in the air.  This is only a gentle sprinkle though and won’t be enough to break the drought, the driest spell in New Zealand over 70 years.  I sat overlooking the beach at Napier yesterday after running a half day workshop and was struck by:

  1. how hot it was in Hawkes Bay (nudging 26 degrees)
  2. how big the sky and ocean looks, especially as there is no land for thousands of miles out from this horizon
  3. how much we take rain for granted and how fragile life feels without it.
Talking to the vendors at the farmers market in Napier there wasn’t anyone who wasn’t seriously worried about the lack of rain. It didn’t put me off buying rather too many new varieties of herbs and salads for the kitchen garden though.  Just hope it rains enough as forecast to get them planted out this week.

Napier 040