Rain Water

It's raining cats and dogs in England at the moment. From the camera installed outside my house in London, and my kindly iPhone app, I can see that the situation in London is pretty much the same. The difference is, where I am in west England, by the mountains, there are no big houses or trees to break up the force of the storm, so my wooden chalet is being bombarded by the full force of the winds.

I knew it was going to be stormy, but I just didn't realise how much. I haven't been able to do any nature walks this time, which is sad, because the force of the wind has just been too much. Not only would it not be enjoyable, it would also be dangerous due to storm projectiles.

We did get a few minutes of respite from the downpour and gusts, at which point I was able to at least stand at the porch sipping a hot brew, then go around taking a closer look at the site.

By the way, I'm still not drinking coffee or black tea, which is why I haven't posted anything about coffee on Hive lately. That will soon change, of course, starting in a week or so when I plan to going back to drinking about 1 cup of either a day, max.

While looking into the mountains ahead, it occurred to me that this grey, precipitous, weather is in fact normal English weather! What we have been witnessing for the past half-decade or so has been anomalous. Yes, as an island in the north Atlantic, it's windy AF in the UK and it's bound to rain - a lot! That's the normal state of affairs :)

Somehow thinking of it that way made me feel suddenly better about it. The plants need it. We are moving into Spring soon and things are going to need a lot of water to wake up from their wintery sleep. It's nature.

We also need water! Hey, we're about 70% water. This is good stuff! If everywhere in the world was like Lanzarote or Egypt, sunny and dry for most of the year, we'd be extinct! The earth would be a harsh, inhospitable, place for life.

I was so glad, and impressed, to see the rainwater butts installed at the back of each chalet. Not one, but two, butts per unit! We've had so much rain in the past few days that the butts were all overflowing with fresh rainwater. It reminded me of my childhood when my cousins and I would collect rainwater into all the buckets and drums in my grandparents house. The water was put to good use; bathing, laundry, and even drinking! Yes, I had that kind of immunity as a child. I drank rainwater dripping straight from a roof top. I drank water straight from streams and designated drinking places in rivers. I was part of the ecosystem back them :). Not now, I don't think.

I'm now seriously considering installing one of these butts at home. Why not? It will reduce my water bill for one. Also, rainwater is much, much better for watering plants than the stuff coming out of the tap! Even in a place like London where our skies are filled with chemical garbage, the water is still superior to the treated stuff (for plants).

Peace & Love,

Adé