The 5-year drought for this particular area was broken with the more than 17 inches of rain that fell during the month of May. The flooding that came along with it was definitely an inconvenience but sometimes you must take the bad to receive the good from it all. Little by little the flood waters receded and things were once again cleaned up. Life returned back to normal.
Even though the days of the drought appear to be over, the memories of what the people here went through will remain with them for some time to come. One of the first things that Mike and I noticed in our initial few days of living here was that no one, and I mean NO ONE, had any kind of flowers growing anywhere. There are 10,000+ people who live in our town and to think that no one had any type of pretty baskets, rows, or clumps of flowers decorating their porches and yards seemed unreal. Yet when you must live in a Stage 5 water restriction, there is not a whole lot of extra water to go around. Our front porch is covered with beautiful flowers and plants but even though the drought is over, you still don't see a lot of people planting them. The local stores, including big national chains, didn't even bother to carry flowers and plants because they knew that no one could keep them alive. It all seemed strange.
Mike and I went over to the little community of Charlie on the 4th of July to see some of their festivities and partake in some cherry and peach cobbler with ice cream. We had never been there and wanted to see what it was like. While we were standing in line we met a wonderful young lady named Allie who visited with us. Only 12 years old, she knows firsthand of what it was like to live through the drought and talks about it like a learned scholar. She told us of how it was to not be able to ever go outside and play in the sprinkler like other kids do on hot summer days. There was no going to the pool for her or her friends or no chance to have water balloon fight with the kids of the neighborhood. Allie told us of how glad she was that last year there were fireworks even though the fire danger was so high. With a smile on her face, she reiterated the thoughts and feelings of this entire community.
"I am so glad the drought is through!" she said to us.
And I am glad that the rains came too.
When we got here in the very last days of May, one of the first things that I did was to make several rows next to the fence in the backyard. I wanted to try and plant the zinnia seed that I brought from Montrose as well as the hollyhock seed that Mike and I gleaned from old plants in Ridgway last fall. It was late to be doing so but I thought that since I had nothing to lose anyways, why not try it? I sowed it in heavily as my mom always did and thinned the seedlings out as they arrived. The rains came again and fell upon that red Texas dirt and they began to grow. I was so happy! After two years of failing miserably in planting zinnias in the clay soil of Colorado, I finally saw some success. Yesterday between all the rains, I ran out to check on how things were doing and was able to see my very first bloom of the season. It may have been a little late on the planting side but everything worked out great.
I've not been the best steward of water in my life. I'm pretty sure that I've wasted my share and then some. My shower water has run longer than need be. I've gotten a glass of water and poured what I didn't drink right down the drain. I've run dishwashers with only a half of a load and put a small load of laundry though a full size wash cycle. Yet as I have gotten older and somewhat wiser, I have become better at not wasting as much as I used to but there's still a long ways to go.
Living in the area formerly known to be in extreme drought conditions has already taught me a lesson or two on that subject. It's a lesson that most folks around these parts don't care to learn a second time.
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