Planting Winter Flowers and Heavy Rains

 Our landlord also showed up at our house unexpectedly again with her husband this week.  We had never met her husband previously.  They were very kind.  They came with a trunk full of plants to plant around the house.  There were odd things like garlic and onions, celery and parsley, lettuce and cabbage, morning glory and lots of tulips.  Our first thought was “more things to weed around!” and the weeds grow fast.   It seems like a never-ending job keeping the jungle under control.  Then two days later we had an amazingly heavy rain.  We think we heard someone say that more rain fell in the matter of a few hours than has fallen in ten years.  We had water in our genkan / front door area and pools of water a few inches deep all around our yard and driveway.  One news report said it was, “The heaviest rainfall on record pounded the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu. Rainfall of 10.1 centimeters (about 4 inches) per hour was recorded in the southern region of Kagoshima.”  It was great for the new plants and cleared up very quickly the next day.  We are blessed to be safe in a house that doesn’t leak, in such a beautiful green area, and have good people around us.    

 

Some of the plants our landlord brought to plant around our house.

 

Our landlord planting on the side of the house.

 

A moment with our landlord's husband.

 

Swimming in our genkan anyone? 

 

This doesn't do it justice, but the rain was like a wall of water with very little wind.

 

Yet another view of the volcano.