We've Gone Beyond Summer...

It's been a long time since I've posted. Life gets busy; days pulse into weeks and weeks merge into months and before you know it, a chunk of time has passed once again. So be it. It is simply the way things are from time to time, but more often, I'm hearing from many folks that life feels this way more often than not.

I've missed the blog. I've enjoyed the people who've commented on how they've enjoyed the posts. Blessings to all of you.

We are in the midst of a drought; the kind of drought we hear of in other parts of the world where lands go weeks or months without rain. Everything dries up. Things go to dust and that dust coats all surfaces, lying on the roads and amid the straw-toned lawns, parching everything. We are more than 120 centimeters less of rain this summer in Ontario.  Is this a result of global warming? Possibly. Probably. Oceans are warming up and ocean currents affect jet streams, air currents, weather patterns, period. 

We started out in May with everything lush and green and in new, full bloom. Lilacs blossomed, wild apple trees snowed with pink blossoms, tulips and other early season flowers adorned gardens everywhere. Birds sang; lawns spread out like lush emerald velvet.

Then came late June and everything changed.

The heat that has become a frightening trademark of the last few summers, set itself up like a stubborn camper refusing to move on. Temperatures have soared up to and remained mostly in the 30 plus Celsius range (in the mid to high 90's for those of you using Fahrenheit; that's difficult enough, even when you have rain. 

But the rain has evaded us. In the last two and a half months of this damning heat, we've seen only a few, brief sprinkles; just enough to tease, but not enough to quench the relentless thirst that is turning this land into near-desert. Lawns have turned to a crunch ochre hay; plants and trees wilt, their leaves no longer smooth and crisp. Most wildlife is hidden, trying for respite in the shade wherever they can find it. Everything is desperately thirsty. I'm not hearing birds sing in the mornings, or even the evenings (where even dusk won't cool much). Instead, all we hear is the melancholy whine of cicadas, reaching an ear-splitting pitch before cutting off.

And the land waits...tired, broken, begging for rain.

I tried to plant a vegetable garden this summer. That was a futile goal. Even with watering every evening, long enough to soak the ground well, some plants have died from the excessive heat. Wild animals like rabbits and deer and other have taken all the tomatoes, green beans, peas, chard, beet tops in their quest to find anything with moisture. Who can blame them? Not me.

I always put out water for the wild critters; I lay out pans and bowls around the property and woods and ensure that I fill them with fresh water morning and night.  I see squirrels, chipmunks, other animals lying flatly on branches, seeking shade, their eyes half-shut from the tenacity of it all. This heat simply will not give any of us a break.

We experienced a few episodes called 'brown-outs' where the electricity almost goes off; lights flicker and dim and the whine of fans slows...before winding up again; the drain on the infrastructure is phenomenal. 

If you are in this heat, take a moment to place a bowl or pan of water out for the animals. On the way home today, I saw a tiny grey squirrel hop to the edge of someone's dry fountain; a grey stone ornament meant to provide trickling water. I had no water at that time to offer the poor animal, and I thought 'where do they all go to find a drink? Where?' Backyard pools? Perhaps a leaky hose somewhere that can bring a small trickle of survival to some thirsty being.

If you are reading this and live in this kind of heat, I hope you can find a bit of water for the others out there, who need a drink of water. In some places in the world, clean drinking water isn't easy to find. One thing is a fact; all of us need water. All of us, no matter the being, be we human, mammal, or otherwise. Water sustains us. Water is necessary.

Rain is necessary. 

Let's ask for rain; refreshing, life-sustaining rain before riverbeds sink and ponds dry up. 

Rain...come.