Saturday, June 5

This morning we went to the market, bought some fish, and then came back and continued mowing.

The grass has grown almost knee high in parts and our feet disappear into it. I keep expecting small animals and snakes to leap out. We started yesterday evening, but scarcely made any difference at all.

The sun beats down and I mow. Every fifteen minutes or so I go indoors and drink a big glass of water. BY about 4pm we have almost run out of water, and we drive back to Benita’s to fill the water canisters and pause for a beer and an egg sandwich.

When we return to the farm Irma decides to go swimming. I remain sceptical about the water temperature, but she proves correct. She has fifteen minutes of aquatic gymnastics that I don’t.

Later I will carry on mowing. Later still I will notice my hands have blisters. Even later I will notice the knob on the mower that allows you to raise its height to deal with long grass.

Today’s moral: always check the levers on your mower before mowing.