Running wild and looking pretty
Young child, running wild
Hot child in the city...."
("Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder)
"El Niño" is in the middle of a hissy fit.
This weather phenomenon is bringing extremely hot weather not only in the city, but in the countryside as well. And there's no relief in sight.
Our province has been declared under a state of calamity due to the drought's widespread damage to rice and corn crops. The fields, already bone dry, are still baking under the unrelenting heat of the sun.
The farm is faring a little better so far. Well, primarily because we don't have crops that require extensive irrigation. But we do have plants and animals that need daily rations of water in order to survive.
One of the few holes in the ground where water naturally accumulates (image take summer '09).
Fortunately, the few watering holes are still accumulating ground water and the (not so) deep wells have been retrofitted with hand pumps to make fetching of water easier and safer. The little spring where they get their water for household use is still flowing.
The ditch that runs across the farm is a different story though. I was told it's currently dry. I had a lofty plan for this ditch, and that is to turn it into a water garden. But now that I know it does dry up, I have to rethink about my planned water garden.
The ditch flowing during the summer of 2009.
I took the picture above of the ditch in late May of 2009. Though it hasn't rained for months, as you can see water was still flowing. But now, it's only the middle of February and nary a trickle flows. I know the "El Niño" phenomenon is only temporary, but a water garden needs a permanent soaking of water.
So does that mean my plan for a water garden is dead? Not at all. Ditch or no ditch, a water garden will someday rise from the dust.
