Let It Rain

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink.

Here in the lower Keys, there's a lot of people passing through. Most don't give a second thought to our water supply. For those of us who live here, we think about it constantly. Those who pay attention know that this is a crisis globally which must be addressed sooner more than later.

Some Keys water comes from Lake Ockeechobee (far); some comes from the Biscayne Aquifer near Florida City (far). During the dry season, and droughts (we're in a constant state of drought down here by the way), the water authority does "blending." They take water from the ocean, process it through the desalination plant, and blend it with regular water.

Some people have cisterns down here. I'm sure if you wanted to build a new house, Code Enforcement would have something to say about a cistern. You can imagine that rain barrels are sought after down here. We have a rain barrel on every downspout. Thanks to a very ambitious plan to resolve a sewering upgrade, we will be acquiring many more barrels. Tonight, our local art gallery (www.artistsinparadise.com) had the culmination of a silent auction for (drum roll....) RAIN BARRELS! Yay! A dozen or so artists donated their time and talent to design and paint rain barrels for charity.

In addition to being surrounded by water, we're steeped in talent. The artists in the co-op are a vibrant bunch, and in a word, gifted. They had drinks, snacks, live music and of course rain barrels at the gallery tonight. The turn out was outstanding plus there was a nice amount of money raised for charity. We came out as high bidder on a gorgeous barrel painted by one of our favorite artists at the gallery (pictured as Peri finishes his inspection). Carol has done a few commission pieces for us at the inn, plus you'll see her work sprinkled all through the inn.

"In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference."

Wouldn't a rain barrel be a lovely addition for YOUR home too? I sure think so!