Rain at last

Rains got under way day before yesterday and they have been relatively heavy ones, making up for the several weeks of extended drought in this immediate region. The last significant rain at Bosque Santa Lúcia was on November 14th and we had already had a few weeks of dry weather prior to that. Weather patterns are very unpredictable here but it seems to me that the dry season gets longer every year. We get approximately 2,000mm of rain a year and most of it falls between February and July. September and October have traditionally been bone-dry months. December and January are always very erratic. Don't count on anything. Some soy and rice farmers take their chances of planting early after a rain, like the one on November 14th last year. On December 24th I saw some of these fields near Belterra. A total loss! The mud hole in the image is on the Bosque property. It is referred to as a "baixada", lowland. I've seen as much as 1.5 meters of water accumulated here, certainly enough to bring all traffic to a stop.