December rain arrived late this year – but oh how glad we were to see it. And feel its effect! It’s just not a festive season without rain.

This is especially true in our part of the world, being as we are, part of a sprawling agricultural community. For some people this rain came too late to save tobacco seedlings and they were forced to chase around the area, trying to find more from anyone who had some left over after planting.  For the farmers who planted  maize in preparation for rain, there will be a huge sense of relief now that it has arrived.  As for me, I do love summer rain.

All around me,  I see the effect almost immediately. Not only is the air damp, but the surrounding bushveld takes on a positively therapeutic cool, green glow. In the depths of this green abundance the Giant Eagle Owl we always hear in December, gives his low booming call in the early morning and at night. Once again my efforts to locate him are in vain but I suspect he is watching me as I stumble about in the thickets, cursing to myself when I get stabbed by thorns here and there. Mostly here. On my big toe. While I try to find him, I am also hunting for a Christmas tree – a branch that I can use. Picking my way through the bush and listening out for the owl, I am following the line where the trees were cleared beneath the power line. Some of them are almost perfect for my purpose but this one is too big and this one is too small. This one is too – wincing – thorny – and this one is too crooked. This one – throwing it away with great vigour – is covered in fire ants! Ah well, no matter – once again there are plenty of Sisal that pushed out their stately flowers a few months ago. Dried, they do nicely for a Christmas tree. I give up my search for a bush tree. And for the owl, since he has fallen silent. And let’s face it, there is no silence like the one an owl can create when one is trying to find him; mostly because he has probably already flown away. Silently.  

I pause to admire the early morning December sun shining on the seed heads of the grass. A small clutch of toadstools have appeared in the night and a spider has already made a web beside them.

In my garden, the day lilies look like orange stars. Nearby, those winsome waxbills, fire finches and manikins arrive to feast on the bird seed we put out for them. The millipedes arrive too to feast on the fruit we have left there. I am less delighted to see them but they are part of the season.  I read recently that they are the food of certain baby owls. Well all I can say is we could sustain quite a number of baby owls going on the number of millipedes we’ve had this season so far!  Several spotted beetles and an assortment of creepy crawlies have joined the millipedes to munch on the bits of old watermelon we left out, but no fruit-eating birds. I think the fruit would have to be wedged into a tree to entice them. Still I don’t mind that the little seed eaters have the food table to themselves because bigger birds might chase them away.

Inside the house, there are definitely signs that Christmas is almost here. Stockings have been hung in the hopes that the Christmas elf will oblige. And she will of course. She loves December! She’s been gathering various whatnots and geegaws for months.  A recent lunch with some special friends necessitated decorating the veranda which is now festooned with tinsel and bows, as well as the resident bats which are not bothered by our hustle and bustle.  

The house has been in rather an upheaval due to my preparations for the recent Christmas market, but at last I can turn my attention to it and put things away. No, not in that drawer. This one! Can I confess that I quite like to tidy up? I’m not saying my house is pristine – far from it – but there is something supremely satisfying in putting things back into their right place. Besides, Christmas baubles don’t look the same if they are fighting for space with a pile of receipts or a mountain of washing. Seasonal decor is everywhere, from verandah to kitchen to bathroom. The rule in December in my house is, don’t stand still too long, you might just get bedecked with baubles.

This will be my last blog this year. I hope to return in 2024. Merry Christmas to you all and all the very best for the year ahead.

An old favourite of mine, Once Upon a Christmas, sung by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Happy Christmas one and all!