It may seem strange to be talking about the lack of water, as it is absolutely throwing it down outside right now. February on Gozo often brings with it cooler, cloudy weather, accompanied by high winds, storms and (thankfully) some much needed rain.
So far, we have received a fraction of the expected annual rain, and the headlines in a recent edition of the Times of Malta* make for worrying reading – basically the Maltese Islands are on course for their driest year EVER and are predicted to become a ‘desert’. See https://timesofmalta.com/article/desert-malta-course-see-driest-year-ever.1083015
The little rain that has fallen on Gozo has temporarily transformed the countryside into a green landscape, with many different wild plants seizing the opportunity to grow and bloom. The almond trees and lemon trees are flowering, though the strong winds are spreading nature’s confetti over our fields, as the white and pink blossoms are blown around in the gusting North Easterly winds. Self-sown bitter almond trees are also busy popping up in between the potatoes and onions growing in our raised beds, and last year’s self-seeded Tree Mallows are coming into bloom, with their dark purple blooms already proving popular with our bees.
