pounding rain this morning...

...several feet above my head. Thankful for a roof that keeps me dry. And glad to be in a snug warm bed, knowing I did not have anything 'pressing' in my life that needed instant, urgent attention. So I could just lay there and ponder the universe.

It was raining just that hard last night when I left work at 8:00 to cross a parking lot that was full of running water and get to my car. I picked up one of the bright yellow slickers and covered myself to trudge through the streams of rain water and get to my car. The carryout guys had a grocery cart with half a dozen waterproof plastic slickers sitting out on the sidewalk in front of the store, to wear when they had to help customers load their goods. I decided I could just borrow one, and return it this morning when I go back to work. Never thinking I would need it just as much today as yesterday.

Lying in bed, listening to a pounding storm on the roof, hearing thunder rolling across the landscape: thinking about California and how desperately dry it is out there. How people that depend on a benevolent nature for their livelihoods are struggling with things they cannot control. How the lack of snow in the mountains, and resulting lack of melt to provide water for their crops in the summer will affect all of us with both cost and availability of food in the coming months. Plus likely find some of those families leaving agriculture  - that creates a long term problem for the rest of us who are still going to be expecting to buy the goods the farming families are no longer growing.

I remember a drought in the mid-west a couple of years ago, affecting farm crops, mostly grain. And hearing on the news of livestock growers having to sell animals off at a loss as they could not buy feed. Not just high prices they would/could not pay: it just was not there, not available at any price. So the cost of the meat we eat skyrocketed. Beef, poultry, everything we expect to find in the meat coolers of the grocery stores.

So, even though I cannot help the agriculture situation in southern California,with farming communities desperately needing water. I am thankful for the spring rains that will fill the reservoirs in the north of the state. And farm ponds all over, to provide the water for crops to grow. As well as providing sustenance for the farm families to continue to support themselves, maintain their lifestyle and small rural communities all over the south.