Waiting for the Rain

Last year, due to the excessive evaporation of the water from our swimming pool we got it covered during the winter and now we are waiting patiently for the rains to come so that we can uncover and enjoy our pool again. But 20 drops of rain does not count as the summer rains. They say the rains come when the purple jacarandas are in full bloom  but see they already are and still no rain. There is another saying that rain before Paul Kruger's birthday will mean a dry season but rain afterwards brings good news, and his birthday was the 10 October, 2 days ago, so bring on the rain, please, I want to swim.

Splash of Purple

The Jacarandas are in full bloom in the Highveld, bringing a splash of purple in a sea of green. The Joburg Photowalkers are making full use of these magnificent trees and their purple colours in and around the older suburbs of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

I haven’t been on many photowalks this year due to been simply too busy. Okay one can never be too busy, it is more trying to find time to fit a photowalk or two into a year that has been always pushed back due to priorities. We actually never too busy, lately it seems that our days are filled to the brim of meaningless stuff.

Walking in the gardens around my office, my eye caught the glimpse of purple, slashing colour back into my heart. What has happened to all my creativity and inspiration in all my busyness?

Jacaranda Avenue

The Jacaranda trees in Johannesburg and Pretoria are in full bloom giving the suburbs a blush purple swathe. Here is a photograph of one of the avenues in Houghton where I work. With the summer afternoon thunderstorms, the purple flowers are knocked to the ground layering the ground like snow, purple snow. Pleasing to the eye.

Jacarandas

As I walked out of my office after a busy day at work, into a beautiful summer’s afternoon, I thought to myself what a stunning afternoon to let go to waste. So I mounted my Vespa, and did a photo ride looking for Jacarandas down into Forest Town and beyond. I stopped every now and then, taking in the sweat purple smells of Jacarandas mixed with the busyness of life on going. Such as this maid wearing pink shoes, walking the dogs along a Jacaranda lined street in Killarney.

After a number of violent hail storms damaged the purple buds of the Jacaranda trees, the full blooms have been sparse and it is rare to find but some I did. Eventually, I found myself back home with a glass of red wine watching another awesome sunset. From purple to burnt orange, this has been a good afternoon.

Jacaranda mimosifolia

This past month saw the Westcliff Heritage Trust, the Johannesburg Photowalkers and the Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap do walks under the majestic purple flowers of the Jacaranda trees. Sadly I missed the walks this year but to make it up, this is the view just outside my office in Forest Town. After a rainstorm, the fallen flowers make the roads look like they covered in purple snow.

The Jacaranda mimosifolia are not native to South Africa but where introduced when seeds were brought over from Argentina in 1888. There are now estimated more than 70,000 Jacarandas in Pretoria alone which explains why it is also known as the Jakarandastad. It is said that there are now more Jacarandas in Johannesburg than Pretoria and the Joburg Photowalkers will tell you they are much more beautiful than the ones in Pretoria.

Sadly the Jacaranda have become too numerous and are said to be endangering the local plants. They have been listed as a Category 3 alien invasive plant which means that no more Jacarandas are permitted to be planted and only trees planted before 2001 are allowed to exist provided that are not within 30m of a river or dam. My grand children would still see these wonderful purple flowers but would their children see the purple snow.