Cool, clear water

RAIN! RAIN! RAIN!

We have been in a Texas-sized drought so far this summer. My garden and much else has been suffering. We’ve been worried about our well water supply.

We maintain several water sources on our property for wildlife. I emptied out one of these buckets Saturday in order to refill with fresh water before we left on vacation. I left it sitting upside down while I retrieved the hose. When I returned five minutes later, a two-foot long checkered garter snake had wrapped itself around the upside-down bucket, stretching out over the moistened ground. He didn’t move at my approach, and after a few minutes of watching, I called my daughter to see him.

We agreed this snake looked suspiciously like the one we captured a couple of weeks ago, which subsequently bit her after tiring of her affections.

This snake eventually slithered off to a hidey-hole under a nearby stump. I think the lure of cool, moist ground drew him out into the heat of day and the glare of human attention.

Thinking about this snake, our well, the dead vegetation in my yard and the sad, sad zinnias in my garden, I remembered a song I loved as a kid:  “Cool, clear water.”

I tried to embed a video here to the song, by the Sons of the Pioneers, but couldn't make it work. So follow the link, to hear it!

Apparently we needed to get out of town for the rain to feel it could make an appearance. This morning I leaned on the balcony of our beach condo, watching rain drip off the palm trees. Through Facebook we hear that two to three inches fell in our neighborhood overnight.

This may not break the drought, but it sure will help the trees, plants and wildlife in our area for a little while. Hurrah!