Rain

It was indeed a moment of jubilation the day the rain began to fall at the end of last february. Two months of hot and dry weather and not a single drop of rain inevitably scorched the grasses, turning them brown, making them scarce and unpalatable for the skinny cattles to graze.
The 200-odd limau madu trees which were planted three and a half years ago on a 2.5 acres piece of land at Tengkorak Batu Bukit Selambau, naturally produced smaller leaves and furled their leaves upward during the dry spell in their bid to conserve water and reduced transpiration.
But for the 20 durian trees planted 15 years ago in that same piece of land, the flower initiation was in fact began during the dry period and alhamdulillah almost all the branches in all the trees are abundantly covered with flowers. It is very interesting to note how the kampung folks rightly describe the development of the durian flower based on the size of the flower buds. The flower buds at their first stage are called 'Jari cicak', they are then called 'mata ketam' as they grow slightly bigger, and finally 'terung belanda', the size just before the buds bloom into flower. Surprisingly drought seems to have little effect on the 40-odd longan trees there. They keep on producing shoots even during the dry period.
Showered by rain, the land is beaming with life again. The scorched grasses turn flush green much to the delight of the four cattles which we rear for the sole purpose of biologically controlling the grasses. The durian flower buds burst and bloom into beautiful yellowish-white blossoms. The canopy of the limau trees are of light green, dense with thousands of magnificient tiny white flowers. What a sight to behold!
Inshaallah the durians, longan, rambutan and limau will be ready for harvesting in September or October. The children are always reluctant to follow me to the orchard when asked to simply because of the mosquito bites and many other reasons only known to them.
Dah besa jadi orang pekan, besa senang, ajak masuk semak sikit dah tak mau.
I know Fuad (pity him) hate durians because of their pungent aroma. Fikri, when he wants to see somebody, refrains himself from eating them (You can always use colgate total or other oral wash to clear off the durian smell from your breath) . My wife, Syima, Fadhli, Sayang, pantang tengok durians, they obsessively love them. Ulaq sawa lalu pun depa dah tak nampak.
Hopefully this time around all of them are willing to go to the orchard, braving out the mosquitoes, picking and tasting the fruits where they are grown.
See you all in six months time, in the orchard!