Two little swallows sit on the wall and watch me through the kitchen window, as I wash dishes and wait for my freshly-baked muffins to bake. Their black-streaked chests framed by red-edged back wings are too small to be magnificent. Their beady-eyed faces looking worried. They have just returned in the last few days from wherever it is they spend their Northern Hemisphere summers to nest under the roof outside the front door.

One swallow may not necessarily mean summer but these two have brought it with them. How different it all looks now. Just a month ago, everything was grey-brown and dry. The lawn was dusty sand with dry stalks of grass poking out of it. Now tufts of green are stretching and reaching to join up and hide completely the dry, dusty yard. Plants have green leaves, too. Looking out towards the mountain, it’s hard to believe how recently this lush, green world did not exist.

It even smelt like summer this morning. That touch of heat in the air, mingled with the scent of freshly cut grass and something else – a summer smell I’ve never been able to identify. It’s hot, too. Not every day has the full summer heat – although some are scorchers – but each crisp morning has the promise of heat to come. I love the warmth of summer. I stand in the sunshine and feel my whole body relaxing. Summer means holidays and freedom and, recently, travel to interesting places. It means Christmas and New Years and watermelon, and friends and family you don’t see very often. It means long, hot, sunny days and Highveld storms and warm evenings perfect for chilled Chardonnay, sitting outdoors and long, rambling conversations.

This year, I’m hoping to spend at least a few of those summer days in Namibia. I’ll be heading up to Windhoek in early December (all things being equal) for an event and a few days exploring. I’m quite excited. It’s a place I know little about and have never visited. Namibia has long ties to South Africa. It was even a mini-colony for a while, called South West Africa (we’re really creative with the names). These days it is a functional, independent state, although still linked to the much larger South African economy. The trip, the planning, the anticipation adds just another reason to breathe deeply that heat-tingled air and look forward to a long, hot, wonder-filled summer.