'The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature' Joseph Campbell

It's Sunday and, at last, I have a moment to sit and reflect on the past few weeks! 

A few weeks ago (at the beginning of May) we experienced the most unbelievable rain : over 50 mm and we were ill prepared 😄

It came rolling in very gently

Filling up our water containers from the overflowing 
JoJo tanks

And it continued to rain....

And it continued to rain, flooding our courtyard 
yet again....

Our front door was not excluded!

And then we had to get down to work and build trenches

It was nerve wracking and cold but it worked.
No water in our home!

45mm measured(but we are told we are not accurate!)

And then we waited for the river to flow .... surely with all the rain that was experienced it would flow again? .... 

and in true Karoo style we learnt, yet again, the meaning of that special word PATIENCE💓💓💓

Because after a couple of days the miracle we had been waiting for arrived: slowly...

gracefully......

rejoicefully 💓

When we heard last night that more rain was expected we were beyond thrilled but also a little anxious as we wondered whether the trenches, which we had now formalised, would stand up to the deluge .... and it did 🏆🏆🏆  

And thus, we awoke this morning to the fresh smell of a veld that had been washed by the 22mm of rain. The smell lured us to change our furniture around to our now 'winter' arrangement as it is so chilly in the mornings that our usual perches are no longer good! 

Coffee and a new perspective 😂

                                          

The 22mm of beautiful rain last night not only refilled our JoJo tanks full to overflowing but gave the veld a brand new awakening. On our walk this morning, we could feel it rejoicing in it's colours and saying a BIG 'thank you' to the wonders of the universe.

An unexpected field of Nerine

                              

Forgive me if I have harped on about the beauty of the rain but when it is in scarce supply, when it rains and rivers flow again, it is time to celebrate. One is reminded that without rain there is no life - a harsh reality that one tends to forget. No more will we take water forgranted - it is a treasured gift.

We have had visitors and have loved every minute of the interactions with both the Bremners and the Richters 💓💓💓💓 Each person who comes to visit us brings with them their own special uniqueness and perspective and Michael and I just cherise these times of fun, laughter, DMC (deep meaninful conversations!) and it goes without saying; all the food and wine of course!

Meagz always trying to take the perfect shot!

Cousins together

A helping hand at every turn here in the Karoo💓

Claudette so happy to spend time with family and especially Karen

A double rainbow to welcome Lee and Gunter

The three gnomes!

And beautiful gifts for Mother's Day

Being so close to PE makes visiting my mum so easy, so I nipped down for two nights and we had such a special 'mum/daughter' time. 💓💓💓 There is something always warm and soothing about being home and the peace and tranquility of Redhouse always makes my soul sing. Mum and I drank wine, chatted about all sorts of things and just loved being together. Wonderful memories indeed 💓

I decided that as June was a very busy month, I would treat Michael to an early Father's Day surprise trip! We had not camped since we had left Durban so I thought,before it got too cold, it would be something fun to try! I had booked at Grootvaderbos Nature Reserve but had never been there before so Google maps was going to be my best friend. The first snag we hit was the day before when we tried to find our tent in amongst all the boxes which still needed to be unpacked. After hours of searching, tempers beginning to fray and a slight sense of panic, I eventually found it packed in a box with Josh's toys. "Why?", you may well ask, "was it packed there?" No-one knows - perhaps there was just space in that box !😀. We headed off and as we reached Heidelberg we had a choice - and so those of you who know us will not be surprised - we took the road less traveled ..........

We met sheep .....

We unhooked farm gates.....

We had fun ......

We laughed 

But the whole way, Micheal kept asking me if we needed a 4x4 to get to where we were going as the road was a hectic, narrow, potholed farm road. I just kept nodding my head trusting implicidly in my app: Google maps. We eventually reached a gate that said something like " As jy deur die hek gaan, sal ons jou skiet!" We decided then that we were on the wrong road. So much for modern technology 😂😂😂 

When we arrived it was without doubt one of the most special places I have ever been too.  Our souls were restored and we left with peace and love in our hearts and a belief that nature is a work of art. Perfect in every way. Imagine how much we as human beings could learn from nature if we just took the time and energy to do so. My teaching brain was on steriods - imagine doing a maths lesson using fungi as a basis for the investigation of various concepts ? Perhaps I'll give it a try with my Grade 2's soon!

One of the other things I have found really amusing (and those of you who swipe your cards at the gym without doing a session may enjoy this) is that there is a way to 'swipe your card' Karoo style .........

1. Own a landrover

2. Own a fitbit watch.

3. Drive on a bumpy road to fetch - in my case eggs -

Guess what ....... the fitbit watch thinks that I have just done an 'outdoor bike ride' and gives me points 😂😂😂😂 so clearly technology hasnt kept up with life in the Karoo!

It has indeed been a wonderful Sunday. Cold but sunny, restful but productive, simple but creative.  So blessed 💓

From me in the Karoo 💓💓💓