October Rains Bring Spring Flowers

 

In the dry, hot Northeast region of Brazil where we live, we get very little rain except for the months of November, December, and January.  During those months we usually see about five good rainy days with a few sprinkles in between.  

Last week it rained for about an hour on two different nights in Sobradinho, but other nearby interior communities got much more.  In Lage dos Negros it rained on three consecutive days.  One of the rains last almost the whole night.

Rain for the interior farmer means run out and plant hoping to reap the rewards if another rain comes before too long.  It also means that all the plants and trees that looked brown and dead come to life overnight.  It's a Northeast Brazilian version of Spring!  From one day to the next trees bloom, green leaves sprout, and grass that you never even knew about pops out all over like a carpet of green on the khaki-colored sand.

Trees that looked like old dried-up thorn bushes were boasting fresh green leaves on our run to Lage yesterday and these beautiful pink blossoms.  Life in the desert is rough and hard.  These little flowers might all be gone by next week, but for the time being, they speak of the beauty of Creation.