Sunshine and water

It’s so hot you’d think everything under the baking sun would be wilting and dying.

Yet, summer is the season in which many trees and plants begin to sprout fresh green leaves. In astonishment, and some envy, I watch them flourishing in my little garden. The leaves are so tender and sweet. What is their secret?

All they need is water and the hot sun, and they're happy.

Life should be so simple.

Yet sometimes I do believe it is.

When I moved out of the city, one of the things I missed most was eating whole-wheat bread. So I learnt to bake my own, as I learnt to do many other things living in a village. And I realised that like the plants bread needs very little: heat and water, and of course some flour and a little fresh yeast. Why then does a loaf of whole-wheat bread cost so much in the city? Why do plants?

It’s hot in the village. But at least there is all this fresh green in the garden to soothe the eyes.

I never had plants when I lived in the city. There was only the heat.