"winding"

The rains have returned.

The other night on one of the first big rains, Rachel said, "mom, when will it stop winding" And the woman who has been helping with the kids, Edith, told me that when the rains come in her home area, they don't come with the same dramatic winds that come to Kampala area.  I'm guessing that has something to do with the geography, proximity to Lake Victoria, etc.  But the first rains after the dry season do come with very gusty winds, lots of dramatic blowing things (our inflatable swimming pool was flying around the yard), and then loud, hard rains.

When we first moved here it did feel like we were in "groundhog day" with very little detectable season change.  But I suppose the weather, like a thousand other things, becomes more nuanced the longer you stay in a place.  And I like noticing now what blooms when, what the air will feel like, what illnesses we'll get in which seasons, when the leaves will be a certain fullness and color, when the fruits and vegetables will be bountiful and cheap, when the monkeys will roam, the ants come looking for water or running from water (wait, maybe we always have ants!), when the air has a certain nostalgic quality that you can't quite describe.