DUST CLOUDS AND MUD PUDDLES

There's an expression "It never rains but it storms!" And that has been so true this past weekend. Quite a paradoxical reality in our drought stricken valley. We've had a brief respite from years of living in dust to a few special hours of splashing in mud puddles.

Exactly a year ago we had 30mm of rain which we thought signified the end of the drought here in the Karoo. There have been threats of rain in the subsequent year but no actual rain until this weekend. And with the incredible 35mm downpour came larger than golf ball sized hail! It was terrifying.

When I was a small child I remember an equally terrifying hail storm. My dad @quailbreeder testifies to the size of the hail that effortlessly took out a massive kitchen window - it had run the full length of our kitchen! He also tells incredible stories of how the animals weathered the storm.

We had experienced gale force winds all day. But the storm hit with no warning. With the wind swirling around the house the hail pummeled the valley from every corner of the compass. My goats had protested earlier in the day and rather surprised at their demands, I had brought them home. There was no time to get to the fields to bring the sheep in when the hail hit. With both children in my arms I ran through the house slamming windows and ripping curtains closed. Farmer Buckaroo, with a helmet on his head ran outside slamming our big wooden Cape shutters closed.

Apart from severe pock marks on the outside walls and a few cracked windows. We were spared. My goats milk dairy lost three big windows and the huge glass sliding door. My parents-in-law were not home and they also lost 3 windows. The kitchen window exploding right across their open plan house and hitting the front door! Miraculously our sheep and their young lambs were unharmed!

And the life giving water that flooded the valley for the next 24 hours was wonderful! Following the storm all the neighbours were out, in 4x4, inspecting the water as well as each others damage. Within days the countryside has greened up. It is truly spectacular.