Waterwise

  One good thing about all of this rain is the fact that I have not had to water the garden.  In fact, it is just the opposite!  I am needing some way to "de-sog" the ground.  Water is standing in the planter boxes as the holes drilled in the bottom are not sufficient in draining the boxes. My tomatoes, squash and peppers are floating!  I must admit that I have always had an interest in hydroponics but, somehow, I do not think this is exactly what the technique involves.  This, my friends, is just downright silliness!  Having standing water on a hillside is a tad ridiculous!  But all of this water is soaking in the ground and will help during the dry season with at least those trees with deep roots.  

  While out and about this afternoon, Ms. Ez, the old Bayou Dog, and I found a few earthstars.  These are the fungi that are, more or less, controlled by the humidity.  They are sort of hydroponically controlled! Actually, I think the more correct term is hydroscopic.  If they remain dry, the whole things sort of resemble a small ball but once the weather turns rainy, these guys burst open and almost turn themselves inside out.  The peeling back of the outer casing reveals the inner spore sack. Once raindrops or some hapless critter thumps the sack, spores spew forth and make a bunch more little earth stars!  If the weather dries, the star closes once again to protect any remaining spores.  There it will sit just waiting for another rainy day.  

  Now, think about it for a minute.  If some little fungus can be smart enough to use water wisely, it sure looks like humans could as well. Perhaps we need to learn a lesson from something that is basically kin to slime.  Clean water is of utmost importance to the survival of all and it is (regardless of our current overabundance of rain) on the verge of becoming very scarce.  Perhaps if mankind studied the world around us and learned how other things survive, we could do a better job ourselves.  Nah...humans are too "know-it-all" and will use and abuse this old world until it is no more.  Then...then...blame the loss on something besides where the blame belongs...on us.