Leaves turned brown, falling down. It is autumn in Cape Town or fall as you call it in your part of the world. The sun tries to peek through the clouds as rains gently fall like mist through the trees. Squirrels hop from tree to tree and dash across the road, narrowly missing cars. They are so quick, drivers hardly see them.
When the rain stops, clouds part to let the sun smile broadly to warm the stoep -porch in your language. The washing won’t dry unless we leave heaters on for the next twenty-four hours but the landlord may not approve. So we hang washing inside over the drying rack near the window where the sun’s rays will reach it. It will take about a week or two to dry properly, unless we have a freaky hot day in between the rain days. Sometimes, we get these surprises. That is the best thing about Cape Town. We get weather to suit every taste.
Some like it hot. Some like it cold. Some like it wet and others like it dry but no-one likes the wind, especially when the south easterly comes to whirl up dirt and dust, leaving us to rub our dusty eyes and watch papers stick to fences. The dogs hide and cats find shelter indoors. It is not as bad as the Sirocco but still, we think it’s pretty bad for a region that enjoys a mild climate. The south easterly seems violent in comparison to every other kind of weather we experience here.
Birds drop by to peck at the fallen guavas and even squirrels are know to enjoy them, scuttling along the wires, over rooftops and down poles, before the cats can get to them. There is a constant battle between squirrels and cats but the squirrels win every time. The four little dogs on the property are on constant alert, guarding against squirrels stealing guavas and will make a huge racket as soon as they spot one but the squirrels are relentless and the dogs are too small to get to them. So the squirrels always win. Love them. They are so resilient preparing for the winter months, June through August.
Wish I could stay home through winter to avoid those dark, cold and wet mornings, but alas, I am still in full-time employment. I also have to visit head office once a week, each Wednesday to hook up with the team leader and the rest of the team who live in the vicinity of head office. I live twenty kilometres away, so I have the privilege of working from the closest office which is within spitting distance – less than a hundred paces away. The only thing separating me from the office block is a busy road where I sometimes wait up to ten minutes to cross. I should really petition for a pedestrian crossing here but it is too close to a bridge, so it may not work. I should try anyway.
Sometimes luck is on my side when a hiatus in the traffic allows me to cross quickly, but that means leaving the house very early, before seven am.
The last few years have been extremely good and I count myself lucky in that I have learnt to practice the law of attraction for a regular income, comfortable living quarters and a pet-friendly property. Oh, and I forgot to mention a vehicle I can afford, in exactly the colour I wanted.
Now to work on bigger things.
earthmission 