my youth; clouds gray and hanging low with rain falling all day. To receive this gift of water just before the ground freezes and the snow flies means our wells will be filled for the coming winter. Our streams on the property are swelled and gushing with small waterfalls along the path, the song sounding, at times, like children's laughter as the water tumbles over rocks and dead trees. It's glorious.
Recently we spent a few weeks in California. The wedding of the oldest boy called us out there. The event was filled with family, laughter and love and these two amazing humans created a ceremony that was beautiful and loving. It was up in the mountains outside of LA at a year round resort called Big Bear lake. The lake, like most of the lakes in CA, was a reservoir created by a large damn. This lake is surrounded by vacation homes with docks and boats no longer at the waters edge. You must walk by the dock, now sitting in mud with vegetation growing up all around it, and continue for several more yards before reaching what is now the water line.
This was a theme throughout all of California where beautiful reservoirs had receded 100's of yards away from their original water line. What was once a big "lake" now looked more like a sorry bathtub, brown and murky waters, complete with a ring around the edge.
The west is drying up. We felt the intense heat of the days, witnessed the brown, dead leaves on the prickly plants. Hiked through the dust of a parched land. The orchards and farms are drying up. They put water into this dead soil to nourish plants vs people. And the people put water into their lawns.
Do they understand how low the water line of their reservoir is?
Are they aware that their water is running out?
That fires are consuming the forests and smoke is choking the air?
This world is changing fast. Drastically fast.
And we are not changing our use of water along with it.
In Maine, it’s raining. We have water. But those of us living in the north must face the fact that at some point we will no longer have peaches, oranges and plums all year. The produce aisle is going to be shrinking with its offerings. We will need to eat according to our seasons. We will need to grow our own food. For the severe drought in the West affects all of us
The sun is bursting through the clouds spreading a promise of drying up the rain soaked land. I will take a walk on our trails where the fallen leaves of Oaks and Beech trees have thickly covered the path with their brown coloring that shines in the morning light turning the path into a trail laid with copper. The Birches and Poplar trees throw down their bright yellow, round leaves and look like gold coins strewn on top of the copper. We are rich with the colors of the season.
We are rich with the rains that fill our wells, bloat our streams and raise the level of our lakes.
I will take a walk and stroll along one of our stream trails and be serenaded by its' bubbling song so like the joyous laughter of children.
Be well everyone,
Mary
