January Sky

There is something about today's sky over at my eco-farm in Bintulu. The white lining on the right and the light red colours on the left kept me wondering when the rains will fall on my roof tonight. Truly the rainy monsoon season is extending itself to the month of January, much to the delight of textbook writers. In our primary school schooling we were told that the rainy season will start from November right till February. Well, this year the rainy season follows the textbook. Like last month it rains daily, if not in the day then the nights would very very cold with the rains pouring non-stop from midnight till dawn.

A Typical December

This year December is without doubt the wettest month of Bintulu. As I face the closing days of the year here I would like to post this picture of a view from my computer table of a typical December day. Sitting behind this huge window, I blog and get in touch with the wide wide world. Well, staying in a farm has its merits. The evergreen wash of colours over the fields is kind to the eyes.The abundance of oxygen that exudes the daily air from the tons of leaves are nature's gift to a healthy lung. The multitudes of wildlife become my companion and give much moral support to the projects that get stranded due to the heavy rains. We cannot push nature to the extremes and living in my eco-farm is like learning to live in harmony with nature. The song of the birds delights my senses as much as my spirit. The presence of wildlife jolts my soul to nature's joy of living. And the quietness of night gives me comfort after the bustle of daylight . Another day to celebrate with the rise of dawn.

Farm road wet as a river

The above scene is typical of Bintulu these days. Since my arrival here last Friday, it has been raining everyday, if not in the day it will surely rain at night. This morning while on the way out to fetch my worker I was met with heavy downpour that made the earth road slippery and negotiating up the steep hilly slope a tricky adventure. But I managed only because I used a 4x4 vehicle.

For Sarawak, the months of November to January are referred to as the 'Landas' season or the rainy monsoon season. The term monsoon was made popular by Arab traders who found that two monsoons a year come to tropical Asia bringing in solid downpour of rain in different places at different times. In Arabic 'musim' means season.  For example the North Easterly winds that blow through the months of November till January will result in torrentious rain for Sarawak, Borneo, Sumatra and Java. While the South westerly winds will wet the areas of India, Thailand and the western parts of Peninsular Malaysia.