rain
St James in the rain and sun
Here are two pictures of St James beach. The first when the air was completely still, and the second just before the rain.
In the sun
In the rain
Welcome relief
This mornings rain was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat of the last couple of weeks. The garden loved the extra water, which was especially good for my chilli plants. The plant in the photo is a peppadew, which is a uniquely South African hybrid between a chilli and a baby tomato. While it is spicy, it should be mild enough for most people. I love just chomping on them, or adding them to sandwiches or salad.
You are welcome to pop over and try some, otherwise most South African shops will have them (and certainly most shops in South Africa).
After the storm
While we had a really windy night and over 12 inches of rain, we still got off very lightly, with no damage to the house, and one very brief power cut. I am looking at the footage on CNN, and there is still a lot of flooding in New York and Long Island, and lots of cleanup will no doubt be happening in the next few days. The wind is still howling, but we are clearly over the worst of the storm.
If you look at the picture above it does not look too bad, but look at the debris on the top right that was washed down the river in the night. The stream would have risen by at least 6 feet last night. You can compare with the “before” picture below.
And the rain begins
It has started to rain quite hard, and the wind is picking up, but nothing too alarming. In all probability we will loose power, but that should be the worst for us. However the coastal areas are being hard hit with very rough waves and storms.
St Mark’s Square, Venice
It poured with rain for our first day in Venice, but we were determined to get out and about and explore the city. This shot is of St Mark’s Square, just in front of St Mark’s Basilica. If you look across the square, you will notice a line of people walking on trestle tables. This is because with a high tide and torrential rain, the square was flooded.
But that was not a problem for the resourceful Venetian’s. Almost every road (well pedestrian walkway), had piles of these tables which were simply spread out whenever a region was flooded. As soon as the water subsides, the tables are re-stacked and life goes back to normal.