You never miss the water till the well runs dry

Deep into 'El Niño' and the dessicated land is crying out for moisture. But the clear blue sky is an indication that no rain will fall any time soon. The plants are showing signs of stress from the heat and lack of water. The grass fields where the sheep forage are turning brown.

The sheep are foraging for some green grass on a brown landscape.

In my 'Hot child in the city' post, I mentioned that our water sources are still OK, but that's no longer the case. The shallow wells and watering holes where water naturally wells up from under the ground are either dry or drying up. These are our only source of water for the plants in the upper part of the garden. In some holes where water is still flowing up from beneath the ground, the flow has slowed down to a trickle, and so the supply could not meet the huge demand.

Prolonged drought has forced us to use water from the river to water the plants in the upper garden.

Desperate situation requires desperate action. To save the plants from completely withering they decided to turn to the river for water. The river may be adjacent to the garden but the problem is it's quite a long way down a cliff to get there. Hauling several huge plastic barrels into a jeep they drive a few minutes down into the side of the river, fill the barrels with water and drive back up to the garden. This laborious task is done twice a day just so the thirsty plants in the garden could take a drink.

One of the plastic barrels under a tree. There are several barrels placed at different areas of the upper garden. They are constantly filled with water used for watering the plants.

The upper garden is still sparsely planted and there are few more plants in the nursery waiting to be transplanted. But the lack of rain, and now ground water, dictates that they remain in the nursery at least until the rainy season comes.

Note:
El Niño is a weather phenomenon that causes drought and extreme heat in some parts of the world and severe rain and flood in other places.

Be careful what you wish for...

Last May of 2009, I stayed at the farm on a short vacation. That gave me the chance to inspect some areas which I have not seen before.

Upon reaching the easternmost edge of the farm and admiring the view of the plains beyond and the river below, how I wished there was a direct access to the river, even if it means jumping down a cliff just to get there.

View of the river and the 'ledge' as seen from the edge of the farm.

Now there is this not so narrow strip of land, which I call the "ledge", that runs parallel to the river down below and the farm above. Problem is, this desirable piece of real estate belonged to two different owners, with an invisible boundary running somewhere in the middle.

We took chance and talked to the owner of the lot on the left of the boundary to see if he is amenable to sell a small parcel of his property. After agreeing on the right price, a piece of the "ledge" a few meters wide was ceded to the farm. This small piece of lot now sits in the middle of the two properties. And that was the highlight of my vacation!

The strip of lot outside the fence and down below used to belong to our neighbor. It is now part of the farm and leads down to the 'ledge'.

After enclosing the farm with a fence, the only way to get to the "ledge" is to build a ladder, create a stairway, or a climb down a rope. None of these implements are in place yet so getting down the ledge is a challenge. Jumping is not an option either since that would result to broken bones and severe bruises. Well, at least the farm is now connected to the river's edge.

Continuation of the picture above, now also part of the farm.

Not satisfied with this sliver of lot a few meters wide, I still wished we could have a bigger area. If only...

Then one day in October last year, after the fence has been installed, the previous owner of our piece of the "ledge" offered to sell the rest of his to us. Gladly and without hesitation, we took the offer. All of a sudden the area of our "ledge" got substantially bigger. Also, access got safer and easier since now we can hike down to it.

Continuation of the picture above, now part of the farm. The land from here down to the 'ledge' is now part of the farm.

So the next time you wish for something, remember the rest of the wise saying because...

...you might get it!

Now how I wish we could get the right side too...

Slide

"And I'll do anything you ever dreamed to be complete
Little pieces of the nothing that fall (yeah slide... yeah slide...)"
("Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls)

Sometime in late November 2009, I was informed that there was a landslide at the far end of the farm, where the farm overlooks the river down below. The damage was not substantial and there were no casualties either.

My mental picture of the landslide based on how it was described to me.

At the time the news was relayed to me, I sorely wished I could see the damage (frustration, frustration... sigh). They said it was small, but a damage no matter how small is still a damage that needs to be addressed.

Finally, after over a month, I have the general idea of the scope of the damage. And to me that is not something I would ignore.



We can only surmise as to the cause of the slide. The just concluded rainy season brought heavy rains and storms which may have loosened the soil. There were also tall trees planted near the cliff and the ground vibrations caused by the trees swaying with the blowing wind may have aggravated the situation.



Admittedly, without human intervention, nature will continue to sculpt and re-form the land until it reaches a stable state, only to be re-sculpted again in the future.

A River Runs Through It

... is the title of a movie I have seen several years ago.

Now what has it got to do with this blog entry? Nothing. But if I were to give it an appropriate title, it would be "A River Runs Below It".

The farm humbly boasts of a great view of a river that flows at its eastern edge. But access to the river is quite difficult because of a cliff that separates the farm from the river. However, the cliff gives the advantage of viewing the river from above, as you can see below.

The view from above gives you a glimpse of the simple life as it was decades ago. The water is still relatively clean. You can see people washing their clothes and bathing on it. A few anglers try their luck to catch some fish for dinner. Boaters leisurely paddle on a lazy afternoon. The floodplains on its left and right banks provide a vast plain of rich soil that gives a bountiful harvest to the humble farmers who lovingly toil to turn the brown soil into a carpet of green, which in time transforms into a sea of golden grains of rice or ears of corn.

This is the view bestowed to city folks who wish to escape the busy and chaotic life of city living. It is a reminder of how it was when things were simple, a bucolic vista long gone amidst the city's labyrinth of congested roads, tall buildings and toxic air.

Take time to enjoy this unspoiled piece of nature while time has kept it safe from man's destructive hands. May it always remain a sleepy scene, spared from the kiss of death of what we call progress.