Il Pleut

Would someone please tell Mother Nature that it is only mid-September? She has been pouring down rain upon Nairobi consistently for the last several days. So much so, in fact, that the leak in my living room has made another appearance.

The season known in Kenya as “the short rains” usually begins in mid-October – a solid month from now. The short rains normally end about a month later in November. The past year or so; however, has proven otherwise.

When Hubby and I first visited Kenya, it was in the midst of a drought that we kindly ended as it never stopped raining the entire weekend we were here. Ever since that initial visit, the rains seem to have taken up permanent residence and show no signs of taking a vacation any time soon.

The first sign of this seemingly endless rain was last December when it rained constantly through the Christmas season. Several people I know even got stuck in the mud at the Mara due to this. From that point on, it continued to rain at least once a week or so through to the “long rains.” (You’ll recognize that term from the last time I complained about the rain and blogged about the dreadful moisture here.)

The last week or so has proven that unlike India, where the monsoon season rarely changes its habits or calendar, the rains in Kenya are less easily pinned down. The muddy, potholed roads that follow any rainy day in Nairobi are a reminder that Man holds no sway or power over Mother Nature. Even if she is having a bad day and insists on soaking us all from dawn through to noon the next day.