Monday, August 13, 2012

And Now the Drought

This is the first time I have experienced a drought.   I have lived through other dry spells but have been mostly oblivious to what was going on.    The media has covered the drought well.   We have heard about the crops and I have seen the October brown corn in August and the beans that just won't get any taller.   This dry spell I've noticed much more.

Experiencing the drought as a walker is a whole different thing.   For weeks there is no way to escape the heat; day or night, shade or no, inside or out.    It is always oppressively hot.    Then, as I look around, I notice all plants are sagging with the weight of the world on their shoulders.   Everything is wilting.

Along with the wilting is the changing of the colors.   The bright green leaves are no more.   The lack of water has turned them dull green at best, if not brown.   Then to make it more visually depressing, everything is coated with a layer of lime dust from the country roads.   The gravel roads are so dry that my dogs walking down the road can stir up a cloud.    I remembered that rain brought us water.   I forgot how much cleaning a good rain did for man, beast and plant. 

I didn't know it was possible, but every morning smells dusty.

I guess the thing that has impacted me the most are the wild flowers.   Some varieties have not appeared; some are very scarce, and some just look sick.   The colors were all impacted by the lack of water and the coating of dust.  

Maybe that's what everything smells dusty.

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