Anomaly

Anomaly

 I woke up early and wrote Edy a long email. She’s still in Taos with 2 of our 3 grandsons and I miss her a lot.  The writing energized me, so I headed off to Rice University for a longer than usual bike ride. They’re getting longer and longer. It was warm and the sun was out, but I could see the clouds building in the South. Rain is coming again. Lord, we need it.

This year has been one of the worst droughts on record. While I was working on the Ranch we were losing decades old trees at a rate of one a week. Lush fields and pastures turned to dust. Dead stands of old growth trees were everywhere. Lakes and streams dried up.    It was horrible. In town the last count I read for trees lost was around 2MM – Wow that is a lot of trees !!!  Add to that, water mains that continue to “pop” because of the lost stability of the surrounding soil and as they say around here “It’s a Shi$ Storm of a Mess”, block after block. These are the kinds of conditions that have caused civilizations to crumble. Some parts of the country expect this kind of problem, not here.  It’s an anomaly.

In our business over the past few years we’ve seen decades old firms come crashing down like old oaks. We have friends and colleagues who have lost everything and had to pull up stakes and either move or find a new skill after a lifetime of successful practice. We experienced our own version of drought during a portion of our time in Taos and it tested us to the core of our being. We are grateful everyday that we moved here. Drought or not, Texas at least has a “pulse”.

I decided I needed a bit of nature today and drove over to the Bayou to visit some gardens that Edy and I enjoy. It was sad to see the extent of the drought damage even on the Bayou. The water was still so low. The gardens were in pretty severe shape because of the extreme heat of the summer and lack of water. I walked path after path seeing various shades of browns and grays below my feet and again in the distance. I took a side path that I thought would lead me down into the bayou and found a lone Dogwood off in the shade. It was partially in bloom and struggling.  It’s leaves were mottled and stressed but it was using it’s last bit of energy to ensure that there would be another generation this spring.  It was a most beautiful anomaly.