The heat continues on. Relentlessly. By 10am the temperature reaches 38C and higher in the shade of the verandah, and doesn’t fall until late in the evening. At least the very early mornings, just before sunrise and for another couple of hours, are cool enough to be outside without distress.
That is when I walk with the horse, giving her an opportunity to graze on the remaining browned grasses on the roadside. Today we took the track following the river downstream, as I wanted to see how the river was faring further down. Most of the river is flanked by large swathes of reeds, in fact, the reeds are threatening to choke the flow of the river. I am reliably informed that the reeds weren’t even there until in recent years. This section of the river was a popular swimming spot in days gone by, but now is so polluted with algae, only a fool with enter it. The horse is no longer able to drink from the river, yet in earlier times, this river provided water all year round to teams of horses ploughing the paddocks. Long before the piped water was available, this river was the lifeblood of the land. Without water, nothing is possible. It is precious.
Water is precious, yet all over this great country, river systems are dying. Drying up because people have been greedy, taking without bothering to consider the consequences. Taking, taking it for granted. Taking it for granted that there will always be water. Well the harsh reality is beginning to bite. The fate of the river where I now live is looking bleak. Certainly, it will rain again someday. The river levels will rise, and the flow will increase. But the surrounding land was cleared of its native cover and crops sown. Now each time it rains, more and more soil is washed into the river system. The paddocks are losing precious topsoil, and this soil that is washed into the river is loaded with artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, antifungals, all contributing to the overgrowth of reeds and algae.
What is the answer? Perhaps Bob Dylan says it best:
“How many years can a mountain exist before its washed to the sea?
Yes’n’ How many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes’n’ How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just doesnt see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind
The answer is blowin in the wind”
