Rainy season

Our backyard.

I love a good rainy and dry season comparison photo. This years rainy season was predicted to have an above average rainfall influenced by El Nino. This last occurred here in 2024, which was quite a doozy for sure. This years rains have not been very significant in Iringa region but a recent surge in January has the landscape bursting with green. It's been so consistently wet that there has been a surge in fungi not typically seen in such number and diversity. 

The rainy season not only provides a lush backdrop with trees full of leaves and grasses spring up from everywhere, but also a total change in the aural experience. The birds are full of songs of migrants and breeding calls and insects fill the background both day and night. All the insects are incredibly impressive, it seems like you just need to look closely and you'll discover every single shrub is occupied by a myriad of insects. Unfortunately this means there are mosquitos, a critical insect that is happily absent in the dry season. 

I really enjoy the rainy season for the richness of life and cool overcast days. It's difficult to manage the mud in our work environment and laundry is tough to dry, but it provides a welcome change of seasons from the longer and harsher dry season.