This is not my usual crafty post, but something that I’ve been pondering on lately. We need rain. Cape Town is currently experiencing the worst drought that it has seen in several decades. The city has flashing signs counting down the number of days of potable water left. And every night on the news we hear how much water has been used each week. There is this air of doom and gloom and it’s quite scary if you start to dwell on it. Water is a finite resource and if it runs out…well then what? The city has imposed level 3B water restrictions, just one level short of having our water cut daily in an effort to stem use. I think this is the first time that Cape Townians will actually welcome our cold and (hopefully!) wet winter!
It’s been quite something seeing what the pressures of water restrictions do to a person. You have some communities who are rallying together and supporting each other with their water saving efforts, while others are turning on each other, naming and shaming and looking for any opportunity to point out when someone is transgressing.
The most devastating (although probably not that important in the grand scheme of things) is the demise of our beautiful garden. We once had a lovely English country style garden which bloomed all year round, but it has been reduced to a ‘lawn’ that is mostly straw and a few straggly plants that cling to life with the dribbles of grey water that we are able to harvest for them. A far cry from the lush garden we had a few years ago. It’s depressing every time I look out on a place that was once a source of joy and is now something of a wasteland. (I’m probably being a bit dramatic with that description, but it’s still disheartening!).
I’ve been feeling really despondent about our garden, but, when I looked into our courtyard this morning I saw that some of my gerberas are in bloom! Bright pink, glorious bloom. So to those of you going through a rough patch, or a drought (metaphorical or otherwise), this tiny patch of pink is a perfect reminder to not give up hope. Seek out your patch of pink and I can assure you that your day will be vastly improved.
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