La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
IT’S NOT APRIL, WHEN SHOWERS are supposed to “come your way” in song. But then April isn’t the month of showers on the Costa del Sol. We’ve been waiting all winter (our rainy season) for a good, long soaking here in Fuengirola and we’re finally getting it. It might even rain all week.
It’s coming down so steadily that I decided to forego the gym today. I could drive there, but I could then spend a half hour looking for a parking place. I wish I had waterproof pants. I have a great hooded rain jacket and Gore-tex sneakers (trainers, tennis shoes, tennies, and whatever else you might call them where you’re from; where I’m from, we called them sneakers).
So, instead of wetting my pants, I’ve put together photos of some of what’s blooming around our house. Maybe I’ll go for a walk on the beach this afternoon — in the rain.
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NO ES ABRIL, CUANDO SE supone que las lluvias “vienen a tu manera” en la canción. Pero claro, abril no es el mes de las lluvias en la Costa del Sol. Hemos estado esperando todo el invierno (nuestra temporada de lluvias) por un buen remojo aquí en Fuengirola y finalmente lo estamos consiguiendo. Incluso podría llover toda la semana.
Está bajando tan constantemente que decidí renunciar al gimnasio hoy. Podría conducir hasta allí, pero luego podría pasar media hora buscando un lugar para estacionar. Ojalá tuviera pantalones impermeables. Tengo un gran chubasquero con capucha y zapatillas Gore-tex (zapatillas deportivas, zapatillas de tenis, tennies y como quieras llamarlas de donde eres; de donde soy, las llamamos zapatillas).
Así que, en lugar de mojarme los pantalones, he reunido fotos de algunas de las flores que están floreciendo alrededor de nuestra casa. Tal vez vaya a dar un paseo por la playa esta tarde, bajo la lluvia.
• En la terraza un día soleado la semana pasada.
• Aloe vera en el pasillo anoche.
• Una de nuestras orquídeas incluso ha decidido bendecirnos con otra ronda de flores.
• Mantengo la esperanza de la rosa del desierto en capullo.
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If it is warm, live la vida loca, https://youtu.be/p47fEXGabaY
David:
It’s 53 but feels like 49. Arctic! So, no dancing in the rain… although I might make an exception for Ricky Martin.
We get plenty of rain here. It would be very difficult to get around without good/effective rain pants. You must get some. Then you could go outside whenever you wish…….think of the photos you could get.
I LOVE the Aloe Vera with all its blooms.
Jim:
Definitely should have a pair of lightweight rain pants for days like this. Last time I walked in the rain, even my underwear was soaked.
Poor Pedro wore garbage bags over his sneakers when he biked to waterproof shoes!!! I’ve gotta look into that!
Kathleen:
That must have been classy (and mortifying). We did that in Sevilla to protect our shoes from crushed, sticky, hard candies during the Three Kings Parade.
They warned us of heavy rains and high winds and tornado threats on Saturday and we got some rain and then … the sun came out. Oh, it got cold again, but the severe weather never came through. I’m glad about that but it makes me loathe weather forecasters.
Enough of that … I love the orchids and the desert rose to bloom!
Bob:
Our weather forecasts here aren’t any more reliable and we have on average of 320 days of sun per year. We’ve had forecasts of 100% chance of rain, like today, with no rain at all (unlike today).
No need to have wet pants – just don’t wear any!
sillygirl:
Of course. What was I thinking?
Your plants always looks so nice and green and healthy! As someone with a brown thumb, I salute you! (That sounds a little weird and/or kinky, doesn’t it, but oh well.)
Debra:
Ew. That DOES sound kinky… and not in a good way. I’ll have to work to get the image out of my mind.
Sneakers, baby, sneakers!
Isn’t the growth of plants an amazing thing?
Judy C:
Wow. You call them sneakers in Missouri? I love the surprises on the terrace and in the hall from one day to the next, especially after a feeding.
I looked at the weather app on my iPhone this morning. It said “Light drizzle, ending in 6 minutes.” I looked outside and all was perfectly dry.
Frank:
At 1 this morning, there was a 100% chance of rain beginning around 6 a.m. At 9 this morning there was a 63% chance of rain… beginning at 1 p.m. A half hour later it’s down to a 33% chance. I’ll just look out the window.
That IS rainy, but I enjoy seeing your indoor flowers. Come on, desert rose!
Steve:
The desert rose looks like the buds might survive. I kill bugs. I feed. I water. It does what it wants.
We’re supposed to get rain tomorrow. I’m not holding my breath. I’m going to plant a few geraniums in my outdoor pots. I haven’t killed a geranium yet, so wish me luck!
Deedles:
I love geraniums. One of our neighbors had huge pots at either end of their terrace. They were so perfect all the time, we actually thought they were fake.
Call me strange, but I have always enjoyed a good rainy day once in a while. But Im not ready for the likes of London or Seattle. I would get depressed me thinks. Loved all the photos of your plant finery. You have maybe inspired me to try my hand at an orchid again.
Unless I’m on their “do not sell to” list. I’ve murdered several.
Mistress Borghese:
SG lived in Seattle for about 7 years. He loved it but the gray and drizzle got to him. We wanted to move to Bergen, Norway. Seattle gets 37 inches of precipitation a year. Bergen gets 87! We changed our minds. Seattlites don’t tan, they rust. Since the early ´90s we’ve lived either in deserts or Mediterranean climates. I welcome rain. It’s a novelty. Málaga gets 320 days of sunshine each year.
I was awakened in the early morning hours by the lovely sound of rain. I was pleased to see that we got about 2/3rds of an inch. Our rainy season has wound down and we will be lucky to get one or two inches a month through the end of June.
Your hallway is gorgeous with the aloe vera flower spikes standing guard! I think that is the orchid blossom that I thought (and still think) mirrors the gown of the lady next to it.
Wilma:
The orchid does precisely match La Menina. That’s what drew me to it. The other (oh how I wish it would bloom again) matches the flames in the photo on the wall.
Apparently there are 5 metre high waves in Fuerteventura.
Meanwhile back in Spain, we once had the opportunity of a ‘free’ (huh!) holiday in Spain and it snowed on us in april.
lizhinds:
Snow in April? We’ve had holidays like that. 50 degrees in Key West in March. Where were you in Spain? Clearly not down here.
Oh, I am so glad we didn’t get that kind of weather when were were there! It has happened to us before, of course, and left us cursing that our much-needed “sunshine break” consisted mainly of cowering inside shops and bars…
Adore all those plants – our 26-year-old Cymbidium orchid decided to have a “bit of a rest” from flowering this Spring, so this summer I am going to have to tackle the unenviable task of splitting it up and repotting it! Jx
Jon:
We’re lucky now to not have to escape our weather for something better. We used to take those winter holidays from the northeastern US only to hit bad weather where we escaped to. It looks like we’re in for a lot more rain and gray for the next week, although the timing is a moving target. Friends of ours arrive from Geneva today… for the week. Poor things. A 26-year-old orchid. Amazing. I’ve never had any long enough to split them up.
Your photos of the plants are wonderful. Whatever you are doing and the place they are in must be perfect !
cheers
Parsnip:
I try to give the plants good attention, but their locations are key.
My home is where houseplants come to die, so I envy greatly your green thumbs! That orchid is breathtaking!
Tundra Bunny:
SG bought his mother a large plant for her living room. It took about 6 months to die. So, the next year when we visited, he bought her another one. That became the routine for a while. My mother was amazing with plants. Neighbors gave her their plants to nurse them back to health. She always did and then kept them because the neighbors said they’d kill them if they took them back. Her apartment looked like a garden center.
The Velvet Fog!
Walt the Fourth:
Even his name was velvet. What a voice… and style.
I grew up with the term “tennis shoes”, even if most of the time while wearing them, you were playing some other sport, or no sport at all. Somewhere along the way they became athletic shoes, which is more all-inclusive, but also more of a mouthful.
Kirk:
I forgot about “athletic shoes.” It doesn’t flow off the tongue, but it does make more sense.