PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
From Hot and Dry to Wet and Cold
Week 155 of the photographic documentary of my daily life
While we experienced a very hot and dry summer since mid-May, the weather changed drastically in the last week. Temperatures dropped about 15 degrees (Celsius) and the long-awaited rain finally arrived.
The rain might be too late for the farmers, who in Germany grow their crops and other plants mostly without additional watering systems but only depend on the rain.
Nature, on the contrary, is very happy about the moisture, the grass is turning green again and flowers are blooming.
At the beginning of the season, we brought too many onions from my parent’s garden which we couldn’t eat in time. They started to grow leaves and instead of throwing them away, I planted some in the pots with the tomato plants.
Months later, here you can see what an onion flower looks like. This one is over a meter tall and its floral head has the size of a fist.
When a friend from Namibia came by surprisingly on Friday after work, we quickly decided to make a barbecue. All the other jumpers, colleagues and people who were at the airfield joined the party and threw their own meat onto our charcoal grill.
Yes, we do have a gas grill on-site, but David and I don’t count putting meat on a gas grill as 'grilling’ (German for ‘having a barbecue’). We prefer making a fire of wood. But since that isn’t easy in Germany, we settled on buying a charcoal 'barbecue’. It’s the closest we can get here to a good 'braai' (South African for barbecue).
After the rain today, I quickly jumped out to take a picture of the fresh leaves growing in the bushes next to our trailer. They first turn red before they become lush green.
The winds picked up on Sunday so much that we had to cancel work. Clouds moved in during the afternoon, but I didn't mind. I had set up my hammock in between the trees at the edge of the forest.
Some would say not the best place to be surrounded by trees during a storm, but I felt safe. Just had the umbrella opened up above me when a few raindrops were falling from the sky.
As usual, a deer came past to say hi, and countless birds were singing in the trees above my head while I was reading in the hammock.
And when we saw a gap in the weather today, we decided to go for a long walk across the fields and through the forest. On this meadow, you can see the old, brown grass that died during the weeks of drought, but the fresh grass is already coming. The rains have arrived.
As more days got canceled due to the weather forecast, I spontaneously jumped into the car to visit my parents. And when I stepped into the garden plot, I was stunned at the intense color of these blood-red snapdragons.
The next day, I drove back home again. The last regions in Germany began their school summer holidays, and the highway was packed. It took me some time and nerves to get home, and on the last stretch through the countryside, I drove through pouring rain with lightning that seemed to have struck my car. It was intense.
Arriving at the trailer park, I stayed in the car for a while, waiting for the rain to calm down. Only later that evening did I see some blue skies on the horizon.
This has been my week in photographs. 7 days. 7 photographs. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.
Dennett / Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne
And these are the previous weekly photo essays:
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