Low water in the little creek - a few different views

Today I had time off from work, so I walked to the next village and took some photos of the low water levels of the creek there.

It HAS rained over the last few days - but besides the "clean-up" it had on the creek from Saturday to Sunday it did NOT have the effect to fill it more.

To start with once again the photo from last year May, 7th; followed by the others taken earlier this year to compare them:

Now the ones form the weekend: all "clean" of the sticks ;-)

And now the ones from the next village: the grass was not growing that far into the creek last year

This concrete creek is only half filled of what is usually is, with sand filling in as well as the water is slow streaming.

Keeping an eye on it!!

Low water in the little creek - update!!

So...

We did have a bit of rain in the last weeks. It seemed to have filled the creek a little. What a shock for me to see it after the first hot weekend.

So little water - even lower than before; even the water held back ona short stretch for the ducks and wild geese is very, very low. And lots of algae in it too - due to lowing slower and warmer water - heated by the sun faster.

Here some photos I took yesterday (the ones with the blurry foreground I made through the window of the train - luckily it dove a bit slower than last time):
(you can compare them with the one of the first post: Low water in the little creek! )

Last time I saw it before the weekend only three steps were outside the water!!

The ducks and geese have left this place -- water is too low for a good dive!!

The black and white dot on the newly surfaced sandbank is a resting duck; maybe even the duck I had seen at the bridge on the first photo a few weeks ago!!

Yes, those stones are usually underwater!!

I'll keep watching this. And again - when asking persons living here the response is always: "All is OK!"

BUT - it's only beginning of May and not end of HOT July!!!

Low water in the little creek!!

Here some photos of the low water levels of the creek:

First ones from 5th MAY 2011:

Then we had a wet summer and the water level rose back to "normal, which is about half way up the dry part. The creek bed in the upper photo was dug out shortly after I had taken the photos too.

These two are from 4th February 2012:

Lots of water in this photo (and not only because of the dug out during the previous Spring)

Lots of water upstream too; this is the normal level of water.

Now, we have April!! Snow melt and Spring rain filled the creek)

"Ducky" swimming over the dug out part of the creek; 2ndApril!

"Ducky" on the 10th April; water again a bit lower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upstream side of the bridge; hens picking in the dry soil; 17th April

Usually the water is right up the the stones!! And if you compare this photo with the one from May last year you an see that the water level is already below the one from then!!

17th April 2012. Notice the gap between the plants /soil edge and the water?? In the February photos the plants were level with the water (ice building on the edge)

Further downstream I can see the water levels being even lower. I'm passing the creek nearly every day with the train. I took a few photos of the low level. They turned out all blurry due to the train being so fast! *lol*

Best ones:

See how the high waters of last summer washed out the creek bank?? And now it's even lower than the normal level; noticeable at the bottom of the wash-out being horizontal visible - that is already the creek bed!!

With normal water levels these stones are half submerged. High "tide" (flooding after heavy rain) last summer made the water go beyond the creek bank right into the grass and fields beyond.

And it still hasn't rained much and we are having cooler than "normal" for this time of year. 

Still, if asking the people on the street they say it's all normal and OK. They like the dry weather, the water low in the creek -- oh, no, not really (without actually looking at the creek) or they accuse the fish ponds up stream to keep all the water back.

But that has been done in the last years too! And the "fish farmers" complain about not having enough fresh and fast running water through their ponds, the land farmers complain about it being too dry too - the plants are "thirsty" and not thriving well; as if it was a hot summer (like in middle of June or July and close to harvest time).

But, yes, all is normal ^^;;

I'm keeping a watch on this.

Can you write a myth today?

Myths are an interesting thing. 

They narrate about strange happenings from a time long forgotten. No one really knows anymore what actually happened. But it must have been something so strikingly different than normal daily life that it has been handed down over many generations.

Some of these myths are about catastrophic events. About earthquakes, floods and other natural phenomena. So vast, that they were affecting the whole world. And are now "known" world wide too.

A few centuries ago scientist and thinkers mused over what truth lies behind the myths, making bold statements. Now a "modern" author, Rens Van Der Sluijs, has summed up all these with his own ideas to them.

Catastrophism in the Humanities - a Low down - Part one
Catastrophism in the Humanities - a Low down - Part two

I observed, that news, that get reported and remembered, are mainly those that are out of the ordinary. Things normal are forgotten easily and neglected. 

It is not only bad things, though, that are being remembered this way. Not only catastrophic events but also the too good to be true things are being remembered longer. 

There is the common phrase of the "good, old times" when everything was so much better than it is now. Not because it really was, but because the "bad" parts, that are similar to the ones now, have been forgotten. They have been there all the time so they did not get remembered - only the outstanding good things, those that were not everyday experiences.

What will be remembered about our time, the era we live in now? 

Will there be a myth about worldwide connections and friendships without ever having met the other for real? [social networks as example] 

Of making money from things that do not even exist as material things? [example here could be the "Wall Street"] 

Or will it be remembered as a time of war and hardship for most and luxury for some? 

Or a time of natural catastrophes that are "only" regional but still had impact on people far away through the media that connects them worldwide; with some then actually physically helping those affected and many just giving money (to help - or calm the conscience) but actually wanting to ignore that it had happened at all and will never happen or affect them.

Or will there be nothing to be remembered at all? An era that will be forgotten completely? A blank page in the overall history of humanity. Maybe there are some outstanding "discoveries" in the field of science, medicine or exceptional things done in art to remember. But assuming a long, long time has past (thousands of generations): what of these will be left? What stories, that could become myths, will be handed down over generations? What will remain in the common memory of all? 

Maybe we should write and tell stories to our children and grandchildren about things that we deem important to be remembered. Not about us, our "mundane" daily life. No.

Stories about all the great discoveries and inventions and other happenings that had an effect on our world, the way we live. And about the dangerous things we have "created": nuclear weapons, oil spills, damaged ecosystems to name a few. And how we went about, once we realized those dangers, to eliminate them.

For a "better" world to live in. 

A world we "remember" as it can be like.

In 2009 I have self-published my first story, a small book. I received a comment on it then that said the story is "out of time": it could have been way back in the past, now, or play in the future. Like a myth. 

I did not really understand it that way when writing. I was just bringing to paper (computer) the images and emotions that were buried so deep inside me. Maybe it's just that "common" memory that surfaced. Maybe there is more to it.

Here is the free link to the PDF file of this story:

Journey_MichaFire

Yes, it's free! I want to share this little book. I'm on the lucky side of life that I do not have to earn a living with writing.

I hope you enjoy reading it. And sharing it to the people that mean a lot to you; those that you trust.