| ACTION - Imbolc 2007 - Article 7 |
Action is the official newsletter of the Alternative Religions Educational Network
Editorial |
As I sit here out in the desert, it is looking a bit more wintry than I have seen it for nearly 15 years. Today we had our second snowstorm in a week’s time. The first storm gave us a inch of snow, which is considered serious snow out here, though the temperature never quite hit freezing, staying between 33 to 36 degrees. This morning however I woke to 28 degrees and already an inch of snow. The snowflakes were some of the tiniest I have ever seen, laying down a fine powder snow that skiers might well have liked. All the schools were closed today and for a while all the highways as well. I am sure the two inches of snow we got would have hardly been noticed in someplace like Minnesota, but out in the desert we are never ready for snow. In fact we are hardly ever ready for rain. There are no storm drains in town so the streets flood every time it rains. Our roads and even highways rise and dip into gullies that flood during rainstorms. So moisture is always big news in the desert. The plants and animals normally have to make do without it. Desert plants have roots spread out 40 and 50 feet around to grab all they can get out of either snow or rain. Sometimes the roots are bigger than the plant showing on top of the ground. Animals rarely see standing water so their moisture comes out of what they eat, be that plants or other animals. Our snow is already mostly melting and will be gone completely by tomorrow morning. We will see the results in a few days, and already have sudden growth of the cold weather plants spreading as far as they can get while they can, spreading rich, green and then tiny pinhead-sized flowers. The larger plants won’t seem to be doing much, but their roots will work fast in getting their share. Who knows when more moisture is coming their way? If I am going to trim some of my little mesquite trees it will have to be very soon, because their sap will be running. I feed the local wildlife each day. Obviously they can get by without me, as they have since man changed this land from grassland to brush land and now to desert. They adapted, didn’t have any choice. Ranchers and farmers have changed the land and our water table drops each year. The animals provide me with entertainment so I have my own nature show outside. I tear up three slices of bread and put out water in the morning for the birds. I will soon have my salad and will put out three quarters a pound of baby carrots and one diced apple for the rabbits and smaller rodents. They have become quite fond of this strange food. It can fill their bellies a lot faster than on native grub. My neighbor across the street is selling some purebred puppies, starting the cycle of birth. Calves and lambs will show up by Imbolc or thereabouts. Still too cold for my walks, I don’t handle cold the way I used to, but at 61 that too is part of the natural cycle of things. Comfort which was once a pleasant luxury has become a necessity of living. Fortunately now because of 96 solar panels, it only occasionally costs me. Even then only because I need three electric space heaters on day and night to stay comfortable. I have propane when I need still more heat, but most of the time I only need it maybe an hour or two on the colder days. Like the little animals I pretty much stay in my comfortable burrow. My cat looks out from his window wanting to go outside but not as much as he used to. But at nine and a half years, comfort is more important to him. Though if the day is not too cold he still likes to go out for a walk. He has arthritis in one leg and sometimes I have to give him half an aspirin. I understand because I feel the same way myself, though my arthritis is not near as bad as his. He is a very civilized cat who gets under my covers when he naps. While he likes critters and will stalk them, he does not seem to know exactly what to do with them. He also does not know that he could eat them. Our local animals seem to know he is no real threat. Even rabbits often only hop to the next bush and go back to eating while they wait for him to make up his mind what he will do next. He is often more interested where they came from then where they are. Only occasionally will he give chase, though he can track them from bush to bush for 100 feet or more. So we are all out here in the desert, watching the days grow longer and waiting for it to get warmer. Plants are waiting to sprout and for the animals birth and mating games are waiting to happen. The wheel of the year begins turning again. This issue is getting closer to its deadline. Life is getting ready to speed up again. ACTION |