Jane's Delicious Garden Blog

The jacaranda is in full bloom. One day after I started planning a purple rain dance underneath it, we had our first rains. Just a drizzle but the earth sighed with relief. I sat on the verandah last night and breathed it in. The first storm of the season is so thrilling. The initial roll of thunder made Tilu prick her ears up and think about being nervous, until she remembered she had heard it before, and it was nothing to be worried about. She sat with me, both of us sniffing the rain filled air, while the storm flickered in the distance, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Crash. Nine miles away. And it’s miles – not kilometers. It was something I learned from my grandfather, to count the seconds between the lighting and the thunder, and he measured in miles.
Maybe I will still have a purple rain dance. Just to make sure the next storm is closer.