I've been lost in the wilds of the Namib reading The Sheltering Desert by Henno Martin. My son loaned me his copy, which was a gift from friends from South Africa and Namibia. Its the true story of two young German men in the late 1930s who decided to skip the war by disappearing into the desert. It is a fascinating book that immerses you in the heat and sand with the gemsbok and a constant search for water and the meaning in life.

Contrasted with life outside my front door this exceptionally long cool season which used to be spring but should now feel more like summer. The runner beans have scooped up the tomato plants, with a most gentle and tender twining. Daisies are blooming through bean leaves. Carrots, beets, chard, fennel, and several kinds of flowers are thriving. The land around here is damp and banging green. Figs will ripen in a few weeks. Milk is flowing.