It's a rainy day, finally, at the farmette. We got about a quarter of an inch of the wet stuff on Friday night and a teensy bit more last night. It's supposed to rain through the next couple of days. Bring it on, I say.
I've been noticing how the dry weather has affected the local rivers, and it's a bit disconcerting. Here, in our neck of the woods, the Saugeen is down to a trickle.
This is my usual walking path, which I haven't taken since earlier in the spring (busy with gardening duties). I was astonished on Thursday with the sight of big stretches of gravel heaving up through the H2O.
It was a far cry from those early spring walks when the detritus from flooding impeded my journey. An entire tree had been uprooted and fallen over, and there were big chunks of ice scattered all along the trail.
Yesterday, we were in Owen Sound and checked out the state of the Sydenham, which is the main waterway through the city. It, too, is pretty low, but not as bad as the Saugeen. See?
Both rivers are extremely important in terms of fish habitat. The Sydenham is stocked every year with salmon and the Saugeen apparently has quite an amazing trout population. They both contribute enormously to the wildlife habitat of Grey County.
As an example, about two seconds after I snapped this picture off the bridge in Harrison Park yesterday, a female duck flew right down the middle of the river, skimming the surface and happily quacking away.
With about 100,000 kilometres of rivers threading through hundreds of communities like Durham and Owen Sound in Ontario, I think it's crucial that we take care to maintain this vital part of our natural heritage.
Until next week.