Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Cool Water by Nancy M Bell

 


Chance's Way releases in September 2021. To find out more about Nancy's work please click on the cover. 


Water. It's something most people take for granted. Not me. I grew up in a house with a shallow well, every August it would go dry for a short period. There is nothing more heart stopping than turning on the tap and nothing comes out. The number of things we use water for without realizing it is mind blowing. Everything from washing dishes, to showers, to flushing the toilet...the list is endless.

Maybe I'm weird, but every time I  turn on the tap and water comes out give up a silent thanks to the earth who shares her life blood with me. In the shower I offer up a silent prayer of thanks for the luxury of having clean water pour over me, washing more than bodily dirt away. What would happen if the rivers ceased to flow? The lakes dry up into windblown plains? 

The sound of running taps or the pump kicking in and out will still wake me up from a sound sleep. Such are the lessons we learn in childhood. I currently live on a farm that depends on well water and I husband it carefully. I think of well water as 'living water' it is straight from the depths of the earth, cold enough to freeze my hands after a few minutes. It isn't treated or 'civilized' or 'purified' it is just what is meant to be....water. Life giving, life sustaining water.  

This summer is one of the driest and hottest we've had in many years here in southern Alberta. It's only June 28th and the grass is dry and brittle under my bare feet, the pavement hot enough to produce burns on unwary feet of humans and animals. The wide but shallow slough in the pasture is dark brown mud right now, the water gone from the surface but still lurking below waiting for a good rain to bring it back into the light.  

So, the next time you turn on a tap and water gushes forth, give a prayer of thanks and appreciate the bounty provided by nature. Fresh water is not a commodity to be traded or made money off of, regardless of what some think.  Fresh water is a give from the gods and goddesses, or God if you prefer. Not to be taken for granted and not to be taken lightly. Just for second imagine life without water...


Until next month, stay safe.  







Saturday, November 29, 2014

IN THANKSGIVING

SIMPLE GIFTS-~WATER
by
Juliet Waldron
 



Today, I was in the kitchen hand-washing mugs and scrubbing pots. Hot water came from the tap and a nice container of blue Dawn (c) sat by the sink. As I washed, I felt slightly put out. Always some darn mess to clear up! If you cook at home, you clean-up at home, and because we are mostly stay-at-home eaters. That's our daily reality.

The water was hot, the sponge was clean. (I've got a thing about laundering sponges every other day so they don't inadvertently become hosts for exactly the bugs you're trying to wash away.)  The task was not really unpleasant. I'd already cleared away the grease from a frying pan with a paper towel and put that into the trash.

I've a habit of turning the water off and then turning it back on again as I repeat the cycle of wash and rinse. I reached to close the faucet with one hand, and, with the other, set a clean pot to drain in the rack.

As I did this, I abruptly realized how lucky I am that this clean--potable, actually--water just emerges from the faucet simply because I turn the handle.  I can ask that it arrive ready heated to the temperature I desire. If I drink from the cold tap, it won't taste that terrific and probably isn't, long term, that good for my gut, but even without filtering, it's not going to give me cholera or dysentery. I live in one of the places on this planet that provides this luxury, this despite the fact that in my well-to-do town, we're  considred pretty much po ' folks.

Thinking over the images I've seen of women and girls trudging hot, dusty miles every day lugging heavy sloshing pots in order to supply the bare minimum need, I thanked my stars that I was washing dishes in a fine stainless steel sink with plenty of hot water issuing from the tap.  And although I've been washing up since I was a little kid--in this life, it appears that "doing the dishes" is an unvarying part of my destiny--for the first time, I felt a real change of heart, an attitude adjustment at a deep level.

From now on, I'll give thanks for the good fortune I enjoy, while I--ever so effortlessly--wash those daily dishes.


 

~Juliet Waldron

http://www.julietwaldron.com

Historical Novels ~
Mozart's Wife ~ 18th C Vienna
Roan Rose ~ Wars of Roses
Genesee ~ American Revolution
Black Magic ~ Paranormal

and many others

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Vacation!!

by Diane Bator


I spent a few days away at a friend's cottage this week with my kids. I labeled it a "vacation," but is any writer every truly on vacation? Unlike some people, a writer's brain has no off switch. We tend to think of everything as a prompt, the start of a plot outline or a great hook. For example:

          Feeding the chipmunks led to thoughts of a children's book.
          Paddling on Lake Huron on a piece of fiberglass-covered Styrofoam gave me ideas toward a Young                      Adult book I've been battling with for years.
         Walking on the beach watching the waves rush to my feet, sent my mind reeling with thoughts of                              messages in bottles and bodies washing ashore.
          Building sandcastles...see above.

So after a few wonderous days of swimming and miniature golf, I find my hands busy with laundry and cleaning and my brain buzzing with ideas. Apparently, "vacation" time away from a keyboard to try new things can do a writer a little good!

Stop by and visit me at my website:  http://penspaintsandpaper.com/

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