End of the Season

Depending who you talk to, the Rainy Season is over and we are now in the Harmattan, or, there is still rain to come……”2 storms” according to our cleaner! There hasn’t been any rain since mid September, by the way. I think this is wishful thinking on behalf of the millet farmers who haven’t had enough and are panicking that there will be a shortage of millet to make “TZ”.

Everywhere is very dry and you feel that in your skin already. It pines for cocoa butter to soften it. My sheets dry in under 20 minutes on the line and my lips are so dry I now need Chapstick. The strong winds from the Sahara that signal the Harmattan season are not so obvious yet. However, there is a thin layer of dust over anything you leave untouched for a few hours. Apparently, there will be red mist everywhere when it really gets going and the days don’t seem bright enough.

The temperature should fall, particularly at night and I may need a blanket! Gracious, that will feel strange. I haven’t needed any covering at night since I arrived.

I am reliably informed that the red dust hangs in your hair and tastes gritty in your teeth. It gets everywhere too. I was sneezing and blowing my nose this morning and was informed by a colleague that this is not the beginning of a cold but the direct result of the Harmattan and all volunteers get it. How predictable am I! Thank heavens I shall miss a few weeks of it while I am home in England. By the end of January it will be over.

The animals are largely free to roam now and so the goats begin to call their mislaid kids incessantly and the pigs are back wallowing in the drainage water. Goodness knows what they will make of our new moat. Their haunches will never fit between the holding walls and if they do they will be wedged in tightly and permanently. I wonder if we can call the Fire Service to release them?

The discarded corn husks and remains of the farming is being razed to the ground and the long grass has these beautiful pink heads covering wide areas. It won’t be long until I have experienced all the weather and seasons that Ghana has to offer. Quite a variety! I shall pass through it all again before I leave.