Seasons of my Daze

I tried to take a photo graph from the same window each month of my 12 month stay in Bhutan. 

Enjoy.

March 2014. The end of winter and beginning of Spring

April 2014
Spring has arrived!

May 2014
The rain starts to appear

June. Summer has set in. The rain has nourished the earth and she is green!

July. THe monsoon rain is still coming and going mainly in the afternoon.

 

August. A time teh crops are nearly fully grown. People will harvest their fruits and vegetables throughout this green time.

 

September the skies start to clear and the sun is making more of a comeback. Mount Jomolhari can be seen more and more.

 

October. The rains have mostly gone, the harvest are finishing and the earth is starting to dry up.

November: Clear days are here and the temperature is dropping. People are frying their chillis on the roof as there is no more rain. Snow is seen on the mountain tops and sometimes comes close, but no on the ground.
THis photo taken 0.5 kms up the valley. Sorry I didn’t get a nov pic from home.

 

December. It is cold. Thermals are worn under Ghos and Kiras. Kids are on holidays till February so many families move south to the lowlands to get the warmer weather.

January. The village didn’t have many people left as it’s cold. Your lips are always cracking fingernails splitting. Humidity is the air is almost zero.

The snow came to the village just after the kids had returned to school. It is still deadly cold but the snow doesn’t stay for long. IT’s gone by the end of the day.

 

I loved looking through this window, where almost all the photos were taken. The energy this magical valley had was euphoric. I would stare out at Mount Jomolari when the skies were clear and watch as the storm clouds came in during the monsoon.

Looking out I could see my work, the gardens of villagers and the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong a few kilometers along the way towards Giwisawa.

This window was one I would always direct visitors too as soon as they arrived at my house. It definitely was my favourite part of the house.  My last night in Drukgyel I poured myself a glass of wine and sat as the full moon sailed down the valley. I shed a few tears as I had come a full circle of the seasons.

Every day was different and the seasons changed slowly, but as you can see from the photos the changes were quite dramatic. From the dry earth of winder to the lush green of summer.

People tell me that the weather has changed over the last 30 years. Apparently when my Bhutanese friends were kids there use to be snow covering the ground for an extended period of time. During y time there it only snowed properly once and the snow was melted by afternoon. They tell me it use to come up to their knees and sometimes hips in extreme times.  Ahh climate change, something that is passionately argued about. I just wish the skeptics would come and hear some of the stories about how the seasons are changing.

I was thankful for my year cycle of the seasons. I learnt how to live in such a cold dry environment and watched how the people lived with the cycles. I loved seeing the monsoon coming and the rice fields boom. I even laughed at mother natures tricky surprise of the marijuana growing wild on the side of the roads.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of the Bhutanese season.