The rice-planting season in Thailand usually starts in May. Around this time, showers signal the approaching end of the dry season, and farmers once more prepare for rice planting as one annual cycle ends and another begins. Since most Thai farmers have to wait for seasonal rain to plant their annual rice crop, they are at times faced with difficulties from drought, so there might not be enough rainfall for crop growing. Farmers solve this problem by digging canals to channel water into their rice fields. At the same time, they perform some rain-making rites and other ceremonies to pray for fertility of the land. The rocket festivals around Gecko Villa towards the Thai New Year are typical of such rites.