It's time to go home

Yeehah. It’s been raining in Northland for 4 days. At first we celebrated, excited that we’d have water in the tanks, that our garden’s would grow and the grass would grow for our farmers and their stock. It’s been a gentle rain, just what we asked for but this afternoon there’s a wee break, the sun is trying to push through the clouds at the end of the day, a hint of what might be a fine day tomorrow.

And in this break in the weather the children are out, running, walking, on bikes and with balls. A group pass with a large dog, almost as tall as they are. I heard them coming well before I saw them, giggling and shrieking. They carry sticks and hit seedpods back into the gardens from which they have fallen. They scuff their feet through the thick autumn leaves and kick them ahead. The dog is intrigued by new smells and pulls them into the trees. There’s a man on a bike so they step back and gaze at his “high viz” top. There’s a black bird signing off for the day. And it’s time to go home!

Odette