~and I turned on the tap and the water came out~

One of the very first things that we have learned about our new community of Burkburnett, Texas is just how much of an impact a 5-year drought can have on the place that people, just like Mike and I now, call their home.  I have never thought about a drought all that much before, even after living in Kansas for nearly all of my life.  You know how it goes?  You turn the tap on and water comes out.  Sometimes I let it run longer than I need to and waste several gallons of that precious commodity.  When I brush my teeth, often I neglect to turn the water from the bathroom sink off while I am brushing.  Some days when I am tired or aching, I stand in the shower way longer than is necessary.

I waste water.
I turn on the tap and the water comes out.
But here in Burkburnett and areas close by, responsible people don't do that.
They save every bit they can.

The drought was recently broken by all of the record setting rainfall and subsequent flooding  The water was everywhere and so much of it fell over the spillway, making it look something like Niagra Falls.  Some of the water restrictions have been lifted but not completely.  Water remains a precious commodity and wise people still do their part to be good stewards of what we have now received.  We cannot be sure when such an abundance of moisture shall come again.

All of my life, I've been used to having flowers and green plants all over the porch in the summertime and one of the first things we did after arriving last week was to start getting as many plants as possible into containers.  The porch looks pretty good now and to me, it just shows that people who care live in the house therein.  But the strangest thing I noticed was this.

Hardly anyone else in this city of 10,000+ people has flowers or green plants or anything that would require a regular watering.  Not one porch is adorned with green life.  Residents of this part of the state have lived without water for such a very long time and the recent rainfalls, even with the flooding, have not magically brought with them the promise that the days of conservation of water are over.  Rather, people understand even more the need to be saving of this life giving gift.

I read over the Stage 5 water restrictions that the people around here have seen from time to time and none of them sound very fun.  No washing of cars, no sprinkling the lawn, water served at restaurants only if the customer requested it, and a thousand other ways that water could be saved.  They were serious.  Very serious.

The very first day we were here, I filled up a tub in the sink to wash out a few dishes and promptly when I was finished, I poured the dishwater all down the drain.  It was only the breakfast plates and cups, a small offering of dirty dishes that could well have waited until the end of the day when we had more to wash than just a few.  I thought about it, realizing it from the moment the first drops of water hit the drain.  Geesch as I thought to myself what I had done, a new resident of a place quite arid by most standards, I realized just how much how I had to learn about being a "water conservationist".

As time goes on Mike and I will learn more about what it is like to live here.  The lack of available water has not weakened this community and its people.  Rather it has made it just that much stronger. I like that about Burkburnett.

Our new house is coming together quite nicely now and we are happy to be a part of this community.  If I had a dollar for every time a person said to us, "You moved here from Colorado?  Why?", well then I'd have a lot of dollars.  Little by little, we have found our way around and when we have gotten lost, well then we found someone who would point us in the right direction.

We are alive and well in this place along the plains of the great state of Texas.  No need to worry for us as we are making it just like we said we would.

We are sticking together.

Burkburnett is a combination of a lot of nice places that I have lived in my nearly 60-year old life.  We are doing fine here~

Trying our best to make it look like HOME.