Lynn Moss

Until a few days ago, the weather has been seasonably cold and frosty with lots of clear sunny days. These recharge the solar storage or accounts that are being devoured by our need to feel warm. Even though we had some snow in recent days, only a few millimeters have fallen and happily the sidewalks and roads are only icy in places, and we are not slipping and skidding.

But wait- the snow that makes driving and walking difficult and delights children is the precipitation we normally get in winter which fills up the natural water storage in the land. The past few summers have been dry and we have witnessed the stressed and distressed plants and seen how normally stable trees have blown down in the autumn storms.

The climate news reports this was the second driest January since records were kept. We humans tend to think of our own comforts instead of what the land needs. Let’s remember that if the land suffers, all life on it suffers too, including us.

So as this snow melts and gives way to (hopefully) to spring precipitation,  do what you can to keep the water on and in the soil. Let the rain to soak in and feed the streams. As the snow at higher elevations melts slowly in spring, there will still be some standing water in fields and a few yards and ditches. It is vitally important to let it stand and slowly soak in as the land can absorb it. 

In many places in the world it is recognized that dams, solid sided ditches and culverts interfere with natural seasonal flooding and that standing water which carries upstream sediment and minerals is a natural and healthy recharging of the groundwater which all life needs. We think of standing water as a breeding ground for insects like mosquitoes, which it is in warmer weather, but it also is home to frogs and other life that keep the mosquitoes under control. Nothing says spring like the serenading of frogs in the evening. Let water stand because with this winter’s lack of precipitation, it is needed more than ever.