The wrath of El Nino – our 2015/16 summer in Parys

After a relatively short and mild winter season, fraught with regular load shedding, we welcomed 1 August 2015 in the hope that we would soon be able to sow and plant our spring gardens. We were in for a shock as it turned out to be the coldest day of winter – a freezing minus 7 degrees.
The days soon started getting warmer and the August winds seemed to bring us some welcome rain to prepare the soil. Parys had 31mm on 4 September and 22 mm on 5 September.
It was unfortunate for the biggest ever Bikers’ Rally in Parys from 4 to 6 September, with all-day rains for the entire weekend.
By 10 September, the temperatures had climbed to 12-28 degrees and everything was ready for a spring planting.
We had, what we thought, the start of regular spring rains – 13 mm on the 20th, 7 mm on the 21st and 6 mm on the 22nd. Little did we realise what was in store for us and that we ought to savour every drop, as there was very little rain in the coming months.
On 24 September the temperatures had already climbed to 16-31 degrees. It remained very hot until Mother Nature played a trick on us on 2 October when it was suddenly very cold, with only 6 degrees in the morning.
That little reprieve was short-lived as the  dreaded heat wave, at times accompanied by gale force winds, started.
Then followed never-ending sizzling days with temperatures touching the 33-degree mark. We were all impatient and exhausted and lived in the hope of a miracle for some rain to bring relief. We constantly watched the sky.
On 22 October, it looked so promising but, despite the thunder and lightning, there was not a drop for us! As a consolation, we got a drizzle of 5mm on the 24th and 11mm on the 26th.
I always believed there would be relief with the full moon on the 27th but, alas, we had more hot winds and unbearable days.
By 10 November, it was a dreadful 37 degrees.
We suffered – we became despondent, our gardens were virtually non-existent.
So, the long scorching days and sleep-deprived nights dragged on until 17 November when, at 18:30, the rains eventually fell, unfortunately, accompanied by very strong winds and hail. There was a mere 14 mm of rain, but a few treasured corners in the garden were also destroyed.
More rain on 19 November – 19 mm – but it served very little purpose, except to placate the trees.
Two cooler days followed, 11-26 degrees on 23 and 24 November. Alas! The temperatures were climbing steadily once more. Little drizzles of 3 and 5 mm at the start of December were soon forgotten.
By 6 December, it was a sizzling 18 to 36 degrees and almost unbearable! We were all so tired.
Our prayers were answered with 11 mm and 14 mm on 11 and 12 December respectively. Now we were hoping for cooler days, but it was still hot – 17 to 28 degrees most days. And so the endless, hot and windy days continued mercilessly – by 22 December we were back to an unbelievable 35 degrees.
Then, as if by a miracle, Christmas Day arrived…it was so lovely and cool. We could enjoy a blessed, wonderful day.
But, it was not to last. By the 28th, we were back to 34 degrees which seem to rise daily.
This lasted until 11 January 2016, when there was a violent storm, with 32 mm of lovely rain.
At least, we could now do some weeding as the weeds were thriving.
Slightly cooler days followed – and another blessing on 20 January with 37 mm of very welcome rain.
Again, with the full moon on the 24th, there was an all-day drizzle of 18 mm.
The temperatures remained at a steady 30 degrees and, much to our dismay climbed to 34 degrees again on 13 February.
On 14 February, a Valentine’s Day gift of 24 mm, on the 17th, 16 mm and, on the 18th, a whopping 38 mm.
At the time of writing, towards the last days of February, it is still very hot but, at least, it is more bearable now.
Despite the heat, the first signs of winter are already apparent and the leaves are starting to fall.
We, sadly, have to consider this a lost summer, (for us gardeners, at least).