Water is a powerful medicine for our people.
Water can cut through the thickest rock yet it is soft enough to run through our fingers.
Our entire world depends on water for survival.
Our bodies are mostly water, as are the bodies of the animals.
Water purifies, cleanses, and washes our bodies, our clothing, and our homes.
Where there is little water there is little life. Where there is much water there is abundant life.
Water speaks to us in streams, creeks, and the ocean, yet water, itself, is silent.
Water is magical and can take many forms, like ice, snow, and steam.
Water binds people together yet always remains separate itself.
Water has deep color when gathered but is without color in the hand.
Water carves out the beauty of the land for us to use and enjoy.
Water feeds our crops, flowers, and herbs, keeping us healthy and wise.
Water is a powerful medicine, one of the greatest of Grandfather’s gifts.
~Words of an American Native~
* There is much in the news, lately, about droughts, and water shortages around the country. According to the newspapers from down-home, they are already enforcing water restrictions in several towns and communities, and from what I read, it is that way in other places around the country, too. I don't know about you, but I know that I tend to take the priviliege of abundant water usage for granted. I, also, know that in all probability, that priviliege is going to come to a screeching halt at some point in the future.
Drought is the consequence of a natural reduction in the amount of precipitation expected over an extended period of time, usually a season or more in length. It is a period of abnormally dry weather, which persists long enough to produce a serious hydrologic imbalance. The severity of the drought depends upon the degree of moisture deficiency, the duration and the size of the affected area.
During severe droughts, agricultural crops do not mature, wildlife and livestock are undernourished, land values decline, and unemployment increases, causing serious impacts on the safety and economic wealth of the communities.
Some of the measures being taken in certain cities to assure adequate drinking water are rather extreme, already. Who knows what it will eventually come to?
16 comments:
Well at least we shouldn't have to worry about a ten year dust bowl again, even if we should fall to another serious drought like the one back in '29. Scientists say that crop rotation and proper agricultural care has eliminated that threat.
Personally I am far more concerned with biological viral mutations and the Yellowstone Caldera, than a drought in my neck of the woods.
See? Isn't this crazy? In our area we are having flooding... in fact, we have seen so much rain the past few days that harvest has come to a screeching halt and the crops are just sitting in the field. Nothing is getting harvested, none of the field work is getting done, it is just a very weird fall...
Sue, seems like no one can catch a break. Our fields are drying up, there is a shortage of hay and fodder and some cities are imposing water restrictions. I live in the country on a well, but I had a well go dry once during a drought. The well was at 181 ft and they had to go down to 272 ft to get me more water. I'm taking care of my well and conserving water. I plan on using a heavy layer of mulch on next year's garden to cut down on water needs. If the human race dowsn't take good care of what Mother Nature provides, she'll just kick our butts.
Vin..well, now you've given us something else to think about...erupting volcanoes, and the subsequent ash!
Yikes!
sue..it's crazy, alright!
I guess if your livliehood isn't dependant on farming, or agriculture, you don't realize how devastating too much of it can be!
rockync..well-drilling can get to be pretty expensive, too, right?
I have lived through some droughts..bad ones and I have lived through some years of continual flooding..and I can't say that one was any worse than the other..except that the dry years seemed warmer.
But in any event there is a lot to be said about a deep well and conserving the water.
guyk..I don't recall either, really, except maybe when I was a kid. I remember my stepdad worrying about having no rain for such a long time, and how we all went crazy with excitement when it finally did rain..so I guess we must have been having a drought.
Yeah, Jan, that new well was drilled in like 1980 and cost several thousand dollars. A lot of money back then.
rockync..think what it would cost today, though!
Our problem is that the Powers That Be are celebrating the arrival of more and more people in an area that is already in a deep water deficit. They will probably solve our problem by drying up the upper end of a lovely free-flowing desert river. Argh!
granny j...there are no words to express my feelings about that disgusting situation!
Hi Jan, We had an unusually dry summer this year. I've never seen anything like it. Some of my vegetable plants were not as productive, because of the lack of rain.
Don't get me wrong, we've had the droughts here, too... I have all my gardens mulched and try to conserve when I can. My sister-in-law lives in Virginia and it has been something like four months since they've had rain. It has just been unusual. I'm hoping the weather pattern changes a bit before winter hits, this could be 30 FEET of snow!
lydia..it seems like it's either too much, or too little, all around the country.
sue..you had to remind us! I was just thinking the other day about the snow that we had here in April!
We had a green Christmas, and a white Easter!
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