I love this time of year. The Jacaranda trees are in full bloom and when I see these majestic purple trees in town, it always reminds me of my birthday. When I see the first purple trees I know that my birthday is around the corner. They also smell divine and make a grand mess. Tip, if you ever visit Johannesburg, never park your car under a purple tree, you will regret it. They tend to rain ugly splotches, similar to bird poop, on your car. A mission to clean.

PS, I wrote this during November. Our internet connection has been down since then - the "perils" of living in Africa