A 90th birthday celebration

Feeling in need of a bolstering of the spirit today, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to join old family friends at the celebration of a 90th birthday. It was like having an outing with Mom and Dad again, as it was at their mutually favourite place, Kirstenbosch, in the company of friends I was at school with, and it was an absolutely delightful day.
As usual in Cape Town, the weather is very local, and it poured with rain over Kirstenbosch, catching many unawares as they strolled in the gardens, and soon the tea room/restaurant was filled with damp patrons drying off under the welcoming heaters! Of course, after the rain had cleared, the mountains were magical, with mist drifting among the ravines and waterfalls cascading groundwards. The streams running through the gardens babbled as they rushed over the rocks and under the bridges, a sound so welcome to the ears of drought-stricken bucket luggers. The earthy scents of wet undergrowth brought a sense of calm and quiet over this normally busy botanical garden and it was lovely to stand alone at the family bench for a while, undisturbed by chatter.
More rain is expected tomorrow, but this time accompanied by near gale-force winds at times, and so the gentle calm of today will be replaced by traditional winter weather. Gratitude for today and tomorrow.