Dear Zak,

It finally rained today after more than six weeks of increasingly dry weather and temperatures hovering at 33⁰C. It was not a lot of rain, 24mm to be exact, but very welcome and the grass will start growing again. There is supposed to be more around but this being and el Nino season unreliability and drought are the two most used words to describe the weather.

After tea we took a walk around the garden to see what needs doing. It’s been so dry that even the aloes have lost their vigour and have gone back to dry appearance – their leaves dull and curled. As we walked past the fish ponds I looked down at the graves; yours, Kharma’s, Roxy’s and Molly’s. So many stories.

Poor Molly, I let her down so badly and she was just starting to fit in too. One morning she jumped up on the bed and snuggled in behind me. Themba was instantly jealous and tried to muscle in on the affection.

Now of course we have Greeta, the SPCA office dog who liked to greet everyone. She has fitted in really well but is quite a bit older than what we were led to believe and hasn’t ended up being the play companion for Themba that we’d hoped she would be be. We do have to be careful not to leave food close to the side of the counter though. She does have some big scars from the past – who knows what stories she could tell? She bears no grudges and is a pleasant soul.

Until next time,

Love you.