A little rain can soothe the soul...

and so can a lot of rain.  After a 32C day yesterday a thunderstorm broke in the early evening and it has been raining all through the night and so far all morning.  I love it.  Rain like this, when the temperature is a tepid  mild, and the humidity is bearable, is the most soothing thing imaginable.  The constrant thrum of it on the tin veranda roof, the sound of it drumming inside the drainpipes, the sound of it pocking against the window panes.... there is nothing more comforting.

It has another advantage, apart from refreshing the earth and filling my rainwater tank.  It also means I don't feel compelled to do much today other than sit here and read or write or do some craft.

Two days ago I had one of those frenzied days where I vacuumed, cooked a fancy dinner AND divided my huge overgrown orchid into about 4 pieces.

It used to look like this--->

I put a chair beside it to give some perspective as to its size.  It has been standing exactly as is in the garden for at least 15 years - no pot, no soil, just standing by itself on its root ball.








After the first hour it looked like this --->



By the end of 2 exhausting hours I had a whole bunch of plants and was not done yet as some of the clumps need to be futher divided.  But I was tired.

Yesterday with the abrupt heat I felt compelled to rescue the orchid plants I had divided and which were lying on the veranda under a tarp while I awaited further instructions from Richard Lindbergh who is an orchidist and has a great blog about orchids and their propagation.  Richard has been helping me with guidance on dividing the orchid plant.

But while Richard and all of the USA were sleeping the heat kept rising here and I panicked.  So I spent an hour arraying the divisions against the fence and backfilling them with bark and potting mix to sustain them till I hear from Richard.  Funnily though as I look out my window now I can see them getting a wonderful shower in the luscious rain and I wonder if I should just leave them where they are.

a row on freshly divided orchids

and the smaller ones in pots

After all, this plant has survived 15 years, that I know of as it was here when I moved in, in the exact same position with no fancy pots or care.





Like all life on this planet it adapted and survived.

Here is what its flowers looked like earlier this year:

So as I sit here resting and recuperating from my recent exertions I can see the orchids doing the same thing outside.  And though I have not blogged for a week I feel as though I have still been productive in other areas of my life.  Today, as the rest of the household sleeps well into the late morning I am at peace and looking forward to winter and a whole raft of newly flowering orchids.

I feel very happy today.