Summer Rains
The Rainy season here in Zimbabwe has just about always started in the first or second week of November. This year the weather has been true to form with a couple of heavy showers already having us check our rain gauges. No sign of any climate change in these parts! It’s a time, like last night when there is a steady fall of soft rain gently happening throughout the night. Such a beautiful sound and feeling that calms one down on a couple of occasions when you wake from those quickly forgotten dreams. The rain was still in progress as I dived into the pool early this morning to clear out the weekend cobwebs readying my mind and soul for the week ahead.
Flamboyant Trees. (Royal Poinsiana) November is that time of the year when the exotic Flamboyant tree comes into flower with their resplendent red leaves making our drives into work a little more pleasant. I’ve said it before but the cleverest bit of advertising in Harare is surely shown in this photo advertising Dulux Paints. Dulux regularly paint the outer walls of this garden in Borrowdale using a paint colour that, very ably, compliments those of the Flamboyant Trees standing tall alongside it.
Bowls Competition
Given my family’s long-standing link with the gentlemanly sport of Lawn Bowls, I am very pleased with the current resurgence in bowls with folks of all ages suddenly starting to join in. Playing in any kind of sports naturally brings out our competitive traits but it soon becomes apparent that, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you win or lose. Just enjoy the moment and share a drink or two afterwards with like minded people.
Yesterday morning we had the first ever Avondale Challenge match against some feisty Players from Dandaro with yours truly representing Avondale. We played 18 ends of three wood trips with our team winning a very competitive match by a whisker on the last end. A good turnout of just under 30 players with lots more for lunch. Great fun.
The grand final of the Highlands Thursday night “Rocking Rollers” bowling league with be played at Highlands Sports Club in the morning of Saturday 30th November. Spectators and supporters are most welcome at this “Super Saturday”
National Tree Day
A recent advert for our National Tree Day quotes: “Experts say trees should be considered urban infrastructure, every bit as important and useful as sewage, drinking water and transportation systems. They are an important tool for cities to reduce urban heat island effects.. ”. This year the event will be held on Saturday 7th December. Last Saturday I popped in to check out the massive Tree Sale that had been set up in the grounds of the Presbyterian church in Highlands – so good to hear the passion for trees expounded by the many resellers in attendance. I naturally drove away from there with a good few saplings that will be suitably placed around my home.
With my newly formed interest in trees starting to bear fruit, I’m becoming increasingly aware of a whole new world. I was, for instance, reminded that the Shona word, Muti, refers to both trees and health and of how many Shona parables talk of the healing properties of certain tree by-products. Eg Kigelia cream for sun repair was created using extracts from the Sausage Tree (Kigelia Africana)
Make sure you are ready to plant your own tree(s) on 7th Dec and help educate others about the benefits of growing trees. Ciao Mike Garden
