The Watering Hole

We are gifted with the presence of flowing water - salty and fresh. Salty tides traverse sandy outwash plain. As the tides give way to sandy woodlands, deep kettles filled with peat or freshwater speak to the ancient blocks of ice that caved off the retreating glacier, were buried in sandy, cobbly sediment. Elsewhere small streams traverse this undulating inland landscape providing avenues for critter migration. Moonlight, sunlight, accompanied by bouts of stormy weather grace this landscape creating an infinite medley of change as temperatures rise and fall and rise again through the seasons. Meanwhile the living things, critters including humans, navigate, evolve, and discover synergies within this panoply of natural energy.

While we mostly rejoice at our existence at the edge of salt and beside freshwater, humans are an anxious lot. Observations of cliff erodings and streams drying up tell us that our existence is married to and gifted from this panoply of energy. We must be more mindful of our impacts. While we love to recreate at the salty edges, we know that our future depends on freshwater remaining fresh and plentiful. Hence our concern with water and climate change and our desire to learn how to be gentler on the natural world. This collaborative blog is dedicated to that learning. We reserve the update section for observational pieces - words and images - that help us all learn about water resources and challenges in the Plymouth area and beyond. Please email glorianna@livingobservatory.org if you have an idea for a contribution.