In desperate need of rain!

It is so hot here and has been for what seems like forever!  I feel like I’m melting each day and feeling more tired than I already am considering Matteo is also still waking a few times each night!  Each day I have serious intentions to write a new post for my blog but come 9pm, I’m exhausted and not capable of putting intelligent sentences together.   Ok, maybe a little exaggeration but one thing is a fact and that is that we seriously need some rain here.  We are now talking drought and water restrictions, something that I am used to after having lived in Melbourne during their drought and severe water restrictions.   I feel like offering my Italian friends advice on how to save water.  How to have a two-minute shower, turning the tap off while brushing teeth and only turning it on when rinsing.  And recycling any bath or washing up water – grey water as we call it in Australia.  In Italian – ‘Acqua Grigia‘, which almost sounds quite exotic or a new perfume maybe?

On a serious note, Tuscany’s water supply is dangerously low and if it doesn’t rain soon, the damage caused to the agricultural sector through the shortage of water needed to irrigate crops will be extensive.

The Arno river has a yucky green algae spreading across its surface as the shallow water lies stagnant.

The following is taken from an article in The Florentine from the 29th March and the situation since then has not improved ;

With precipitation in Tuscany at half of what it was last year at this time, the region’s drought has become much more than a temporary emergency.

The water levels of rivers, lakes and reservoirs have significantly decreased over the last year, and many rivers have run dry. Of particular concern are the Arno and the Ombrone, both of which are dramatically and visibly reduced.

The areas most affected are Prato and Pistoia, where rainfall this year has dropped 70 percent since 2010. The lake of Bilancino, essential to the water supply of the entire region, will not provide enough water in upcoming months, and severe water-saving regulations are likely to be enforced by regional officials.

It will be interesting to see how the drought is affecting the grapes and how the vendemmia will be for September.   In the meantime, I will keep checking the long-term forecast in the hope of seeing rain.

I probably shouldn’t complain about the heat though as I know my Aussie friends and family are whingeing about how cold their Winter is and would love a bit of the heat that we are suffering here.

It has been a real delight to take Matteo to the beach and pool.  He absolutely loves being in the water and I hope his enthusiasm continues as he gets older.  Considering his Australian genes, maybe he’ll be a natural fish in the water or even an Olympic hopeful one day.  Ok, exaggerating again maybe, but watching the Australian swimmer’s performance this week has got me a bit enthused and carried away!

Now it’s 11pm, still 27 degrees and I’m off to bed.  Thank goodness for air-conditioning!