Let it rain

It's been a grey, grey day. Grey clouds cover the sky, hanging low over the mountains and obscuring them from view as they dump copious amounts of rain to be soaked up and stored  in these spongy marvels. Streams and waterfalls are tumbling down craggy cliffs along eons old water courses, replenishing dams, ponds, rivers and wetlands that have been parched for years. It is 6 years since the catchment area of Jonkershoek had anything near this August rainfall.
The well at the bottom of the garden is rising. Last year it fell to the lowest level  in 40 years, exposing the sandy bottom for the first time since we dug it. Although only 8ft deep, there have been years when the water table has reached to within 1ft of ground level, but the years of drought took their toll and many shrubs and trees were lost. It is now 70cm deep, a vast improvement that will ensure a well-watered garden this summer (pardon the pun).
The garden has been relandscaped from grass to daisy lawn, roses to aloes, annuals to succulents and there has been a resurgence in birdlife with many new species coming to visit. Indigenous gardens are the way to go for stress-free gardening and wildlife abundance. A few scattered mielies in the evenings over many years has brought a healthy pigeon population which in turn attracts raptors from a nearby breeding site. Today's strong winds have done little to deter the birds from frenzied feeding at the suet ball, and pairs of birds have been perching and pecking for days. It looks as though there will be a good breeding season for all, from the showy malachite sunbirds to the cheerful Cape white eyes. The Cape robin-chats are busy, as are the Southern boubous, both of which have been consistently successful in rearing chicks here.
So let it rain, let it rain, let it rain. For tomorrow it may be sunny! This is Cape Town, after all.