1.4-now and Then

The dry season in Africa is like hell. Relentlessly the scorching sun beats down like waves of torture on any exposed skin. The pale brown barren ground stretches for miles around the village, the thick dust caking everything as if it were a blanket over a dead body. In the paddocks gaunt bony cows with their bells clanging roam the area searching for any remaining grass. The black ants desperately searching for water crawl inside our solar showers only to drown and clog the shower head with their bodies.

Effortlessly the local ladies carry heavy water buckets on their heads sometimes walking for miles to get the precious liquid to quench their families thirst. Sand storms blow through the village like a wall of orange cheese dust which results in harsh red sunsets. Small tornados of dust quietly pass by as if they were spinning tops picking up small leave and stray litter as they pass. Derelict trees look dead and broken with children climbing them trying to get away from the endless list of jobs and chores waiting for them back at home.

Now the wet season in Africa is a different story altogether, beautiful flashes of lightning like forks rip apart the stainless steel sky. Torrential rains make all the grass and bushes green, vibrant and alive. The once brown barren ground is now covered in luscious long green grass which although looks inviting is now ridden with snakes and scorpions. Torrential rain falling with the power of a  waterfall gushing from the heavy grey sky causing short lived giant lakes.

Jubilant  giant flying ants erupt from the sodden ground  like a crowd of exited childeren getting let out of slass for the holidays,Their wings blanketing the ground like a carpet of transparent skeletons after their short lived flight. Still the local ladies carry water on their heads with graceful ease, but now the children look longingly at the lush dark green trees which now are crawling with snakes and scorpions with their beautiful but deadly skin, oblivious to this danger, the cows gather to feast on the delicious nutrient rich grass.