The Spell
“And then the dry years would come, and sometimes there would be only seven or eight inches of rain. The land dried up and the grasses headed out miserably a few inches high and great bare scabby places appeared in the valley. The live oaks got a crusty look and the sage-brush was gray. The land cracked and the springs dried up and the cattle listlessly nibbled dry twigs. Then the farmers and ranchers would be filled with disgust for the Salinas Valley.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
While the rest of the nation has been in a deep freeze with record levels of snow we have been basking in winter sunshine. It has been fun, especially the walks on the beach without even a light jacket. But there is a feeling of dread, not unlike the last day of vacation before returning to work. We fill guilty in our sunny pleasures as we wait for the price to be paid for our greedy use of water. We need lots and lots of rain. Another inch of rain fell after rain dances were held. Not enough to break the drought. Maybe if we all stamped on the dusty earth and chanted our pleas the dry spell would be broken.