It
has been raining nearly constantly for two weeks and the weather forecast is
for another week of it. These are not gentle April showers but heavy downpours
and the ground is sodden, fit for rice paddies. Local folk attest that this is a fluke – as much as last
year’s dry weather and drought.
The water is good for the farmers but the rain is a bit wearying and even
irritating for us. So much work has been stalled, especially in the
garden and lawn. By now we should have planted our wildflower meadow and grass in the courtyard – although had we done so at the end of March, as
planned, the rain would probably have washed the seeds away or made them rot in
the earth.
We
were also in the midst of further repairs to the roof and this necessarily has
been delayed, leaving a huge red cherry-picker stranded in our backyard that
was supposed to lift the roof workers to the top of the terra cotta tiles to
re-cement the ridge line. Despite the falling rain, this father and son duo
doggedly appear every morning to re-commence work – but they have been forced
into daily retreat by driving rain, at times even sleet and hail.
Thankfully
the déluge did not deter the visit of
our friend Denise who stopped en route to one of her ubiquitous stays in Italy.
She couldn’t do much in the way of sightseeing but didn’t seem to mind sitting
by the woodstove, leafing through magazines and books, with Arcadio curled up
nearby. And in between downpours, Denise was able to help weed here and there,
to trim up some of our roses and plants, and assist Francesco & me in
yanking off old upholstery on two antique sofas we recently bought and plan to
redo.
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