July 12, river runs dry.
Actually not, it’s ‘just’ gone subsurface. No local monsoons to sustain it and since the vast snow fields of old, (up in them thar mountains), are all gone things just aren’t the same. I lived in this same area for a half dozen years some thirty years ago and spent a lot of time out on the fields, mostly building T-post fen, but also helping with harvesting hay, and some irrigation ditch tending, spreading water over land, that was cool. Back then there were more ranchers and good help was appreciated and needed, Once it got out I did good work, and didn’t complain, I found work on a few different properties over those years. Nowadays, young willing men around here, can’t find anything like that anymore. Few ranchers and farmers left are hanging on and making due, no money to hire anyone, little need for it anymore either.
Long way of saying that back then I was out in the weather all day long. I learned to pay attention and watch those clouds and that weather unfold because it mattered to me. Back then for certain periods in the afternoon you could count on those building clouds, building up until they dumped. I mean dumped, a 25 yard would drench ya like a bucket of water being poured over you. Oh and stringing steel wire makes one really pay attention to potential lightening. {sree, I know this from living it, not reading about it. Oh and it sure beat me spending yet another five years of my life trapped within another splendid kitchen/restaurant, with the repetition of all same old perks and vices. I mean, like, hasn’t ever gotten repetition and tiring all that gourmand fancy pants stuff? ;-)p But I digress. }
“Gully Washers” which is exactly what they are, I’ve watched the waves come through, with all the stuff being carried along creating more of a scrubadubdub for said gully, but that’s another story.) Beautiful blue sky in the morning, a few clouds here and there, depending on the day before, sometimes you could also notice mists of evaporating water rising. By afternoon it was more clouds than blue sky, then the winds pick up, then it hits. Sometimes gentle, but often not. In any event, it rained and good and everywhere for a little while. Then the clouds ran out of water and the rains disappeared, sun came with hours to spare before another incredible sunset.
This in turn meant I would simply go back to the truck, or find a place to hunker down under your poncho and sit it out. Then get back to pounding T-posts and stretching wire - and thinking about how that moisture came out of this green landscape adding to the moisture blowing in from the west and getting dumped right back down onto our landscape. With huge (though shrinking) snow fields feeding river and atmosphere.
Ain’t like that anymore. The cloud action still happens, but they simply don’t have the moisture. Gully washers happen, but they are shorter, and smaller, localized. There was some hope that “they” (ditch company) would let the river run all year" but the Colorado River Compact forces them to divert our river into a larger neighboring river so it can be sent to New Mexico. Apparently, the gates been closed and no more water. Landscape is drier, so it’s not adding near as much evaporation to the afternoon clouds and less. be blown in from the coasts. Folds within folds of cumulative harmonic complexity.
I visited the river before I left for AZ, and saw a school of tadpoles swimming around, it’s crazy how fast they are ready come to back. But alas, they need to hide again or do whatever they do to manage it until the next time water offers hope. Such is nature, such is life. Same old cycles really do come back. But, also the water is going somewhere else. It’s sad and scary. But so much is scary these days, ain’t they?
We can still count on those afternoon clouds showing up, but not the rain, that’s definitely been an increasing crap shot, with dice loading in the wrong direction for our complex human society, before long I have the feeling we won’t even be able to count on the clouds developing. No Guy, I don’t say this because it what I want it, it’s where the facts lead intelligent conclusions based on the evidence at hand. Of course, you need curious and willing to look at all the evidence at hand and learn. You also need to be skeptical of your own assumptions, and rethink every once in a while.
Mistakes Are For Learning.
July 1, 2020. Pretty much the same spot.
On the bright side, those memories are never near as cold and wet and miserable as some of those moments are. 