Wednesday, November 26, 2014

- A river ran through it: Scenes from a gully-washer


Even though we live in drought much of the time, every year or so we get enough rain that our homestead becomes waterfront property. Of course, by the time the thunderstorms pass through and we get out to the flood plain, there's not much left of it ...


We were fortunate this time around that we didn't get 7 inches, as we did during the Halloween 2013 flooding. Even so, 4.3 inches of rain is enough to fill a copper dye pot ...


freshen up the windfall lichens ... 


beat down the "bad grasses" and leave the little bluestem standing tall ...


wash all the acorns down the driveway ...

where they can be gathered along with the oak galls ...

and douse the burn pit, readying it for another day ...

There's so much promise in the land, just waiting for the seeds to fall ...

8 comments:

  1. Love that you wrote, "there's so much promise in the land" and equally in your beautiful copper pot brimming with rainwater.

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    1. I love going out after a storm to see drifts of nature's compost and imagine what will grow in the coming year ... someday, though, I really want to be able to go out during the rain when the entire property is awash

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  2. love the bright light glistening on your rain watered world

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    1. There is a clarity of light and air after a storm that is simply magical ...

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  3. this landscape is, to my unaccustomed eyes, a natural wonder and savagely beautiful; I can barely imagine living in such a dry place, knowing it is of course possible as you are living proof, I soak up these images and bathe in the warmth of your sun on a water-cold, grey day over here (puns intended)

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    1. I love this land ... and it's great fun to share it with others. Thanks for coming to visit ...

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  4. i can't believe i missed this post. when i saw it, my heart stopped beating....you have
    .............................................................SWALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....................................oh!!!!
    EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and more, you have SWALES, naturally occurring swales!!!!
    oH ! You can exphasize them, their own natural balance and plant trees or whatever along them,
    oh just so WOW. I have flat here and off and on have thought of trying to create them which i
    could but creating them is not the same as working WITH what naturally occurrs....oh just
    WOW. Just last week i was on some permaculture search and watched some beautiful
    UTubes on desert swales... You are so so lucky.

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    1. You just keep teaching me new things ... now I'm off to learn more about desert swales. Of course, in between the annual gully-washers the floodplain plants have to survive some brutal sun and heat ... but survive they do.

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