Hearthside

I have had a worry in the back of my mind now for several weeks. You see, I am out walking and hiking as much as I am able. About 3 weeks ago I was following a path along the river to a small dock where I often like to sit and look out to the water. I could see the water level was low as I walked along the bank at one spot on this trail. I did not realize how low, until I got to the dock, which had no water under it at all. Now, I might expect this to be possible in July or August, at the hottest and driest point of the year, but this is early spring. The snow had just melted. I mentioned my concern to my mother on the phone and she said it was okay. The snow probably hadn’t melted in the north yet and the river had not reached full saturation. It was then that I reminded her that unlike most rivers, ours runs south to north, meaning it had reached its saturation point already.  No one was saying anything in the news about drought; they were all too preoccupied with the pandemic. T...