An October to forget

It's somewhat inexplicable but our rains have commenced quite a bit early this year. The evening before Independance Day (Oct 24th), we had a shower that finally broke the back of the crazy heat that dominated most of the prior two weeks. We've had a few showers come through; enough to green up the garden noticeably and induce the weeds to start poking their evil heads above the sand.

I'm of two minds about rain like this; on one hand, it wakes farmers early out of the stupor due in no small part to the heat that characterizes late August through (usually) mid-to-late November. This will get farmers "on-the-jump" prepping their fields; on great downfall of most Zambian agriculture is late preparation that turns into late planting which is agronomically a big hit to maize yields.An early rain also helps us greatly; our system of minimum tillage (where we dig small basins in rows at regular intervals to microdose inputs, and into which we later plant seed) becomes that much easier when the sand wets up a bit. Otherwise, digging basins in dry sand is a bit of a Sisyphean task.

On the other hand, the early rains serve as a reminder as to how far behind our project is; we were forever getting a confirmation of monies, hiring new staff, procuring transport (motorcycles), sensitizing communities, selecting seed growers, etc., etc., etc. (Let's just say we'll not dwell on the hell of October or September). It's work; it's usual. You just try to roll with the punches.

Would give anything to shake the dry hack that afflicts the heads and tails of the day; not sure if it's the drop in the temps (to which I would gladly suffer much greater ills) or the profusion of plants that have blossomed in the past week. Or to shake the blues; having trouble with what I believe is familiarity and what I'm sure is loneliness. Some of the perks of the adventurous overseas life ...