Tropical Storm: Part Two

Second night in a row and there is a storm overhead. Tonight it did not even wait for darkness and there was no build up, but it rumbles on with even more intensity than it did last night. A night like this and I am tempted to slope of to bed early with a good book. I say a good book, but is there such a thing as a bad book? We read to be entertained and to educate ourselves. A book that interests and excites one person will not another.

I have been read to or read since I was a little girl. Books were always important in our house, and as one of four children I used to cherise time alone with a book, away from the noise of brothers and sisters. I enjoy reading as much as I do writing, but do not have much time to read a book nowadays. Whereas books, magazines and newspapers were the only sources of reading before the internet, we now have many others. In the last two years I have spent most of my reading time following blogs and articles on the internet. These new reading materials have not only educated me but created friendships with people I have never met, and may never meet. I enjoy these interactions, but I think for tonight I will log off, go find a book of the paper form and enjoy turning the pages.

Tropical Storm

As I am writing a load crack of thunder echoes through the air and a flash of lightning lights up the dark sky. The computer should really be switched off and unplugged from the socket, but the storm outside has inspired me to write. It has been brewing for a few hours now, after a sunny, hot day the change in weather is no suprise. I live on an island where the sun shines about 3/4 of the year, but despite so much heat the island is green and the flowers colourful, this is because it also rains, a lot. Summer is here and the days hot, the nights too, at this time of year it rains mostly at night. It has not rained in weeks, but falls heavily now, a dense and warm rain. I have seen many thunderstorm in my life, I have always enjoyed watching, but I have never seen storms so fierce as I do here in Brazil.

The sky clouds up and the lightening starts first, it is best to watch it from the beach. Sat on the warm sand the rays illuminate every cloud on the horizon and the sea turns silver with each strike. Every once in a while a fork of lightening breaks out from the clouds, splitting many times as it makes it way down to the ground. In the distance the thunder starts to quietly rumble, time to get inside. As the thunder approaches it gets louder and echoes for longer. There are two types of thunder, the rumble, and the clap which snaps like someone banging two heavy blocks of wood together. The clap of thunder so loud it is enough to frighten most animals into hiding but my small dog doesn't even flinch, he is used to these storms. We both go onto the balcony to await the rain, the ligthening still brightening the sky, the gaps between each rumble of thunder shortening. The wind begins to blow and as the storm moves overhead the rain starts to fall heavy, soaking the ground in seconds. There is no gap between the thunder and lightening now, it is one after the other, the sky looks beautiful. A deafening snap of thunder and nearby a small baby awakes from it sleep and cries.

The rain still falls, but the thunder again echoes in the distance and the lightening flashes less frequently. The storm has moved away for now, but without doubt will be back in full force later.

Time to start writing again

I have been away, both from Brazil and my blog having spent 6 weeks in England with friends and family. But now I am back and it is time to start writing again or at least time to start posting some of the scribbles in my notebook that span back to september. The plan as always is to put up at least one post per day but it never happens, always something else to do. I will however try to be more regular in my posts this year to keep those of you that read it happy.

Back in the heat

I am back in Brazil after spending the christmas holidays in cold England. On our first morning we (me and the dog) woke early for our morning walk. It was 6 in the morning and still dark, the sky a midnight blue, the moon shining brightly to the east. As we stepped outside there was no escape from the heat that had interrupted our sleep all night. The air was suffocating and heavy from the heat, it weighed down on my shoulders, and my feet felt heavy as I lifted them. The only lightness in the atmosphere was the soft song of many a bird as they greeted the new day. The tide in on the beach we hit the streets, still empty, the day not yet started for most. The breeze was warm as were the pavements beneath my feet.

As we return from our walk the blue of the sky starts to lighten and clouds that were before hidden by the darkness appear. The sun begins to rise in the sky, turning it all shades of pink, orange, yellow and red, illuminating each cloud. As it makes its climbs, the clouds evaporate and disappear and for a brief time the sun is full and exposed, while to the east the moon still shines, less bright now. Sun and moon in the same clear blue sky, but not for long as a blanket of cloud passes and hides them both once again.