I Hear You. I am Here.

In the week leading up to the treatment an argument ensued between myself and the oak wilt crew leader. We had been dealing with a historic level drought. Never had it been so hot, so early, and for so long, with so little rain. i mowed my grass once this year. Some mowed not at all. It died so early there was no need. The trees hadn’t had a drink in forever. The man said it was imperative that i get a hose and soak each sick tree for a couple hours every night leading up to the treatment. I refused to do that because as a well owner you know the only thing more precious than the land is the water that feeds the land and you have to be a good steward of that water in texas because these people who sold me the property had to dig 250 feet down to hit water and now if i empty that i’ll have to pay for a messy and extensive process to extend the well further in the earth to get the water because ive used what was reachable. You don’t **** around with water in Texas. The guy looked at me and said “oh no it’ll fill back up. There’s no need for you to worry, it just fills back up when you use it.” I felt someone who had never had a well was trying to explain wells to me. What he didn’t understand was that i wasn’t the only one pulling from my well. I was tapped into a cavity of water deep in the earth that everyone else in my town was also tapped into and all our wells pulled from the same source. Now, being way out in the country, for all but a select few on the main road this was the only source of water we had to rely on. Our ways of life and property values depended on this water staying at a level where it was accessible to us. Every one of us had to be conservative with our use of this water to make sure it was there for all of use to use when needed. Let me explain what replenishes water deep in the earth: rain. Something we don’t have a lot of here in Texas. Often when it does rain it hasn’t rained in so long that we’re just making a dent in the deficit, not fully replenishing the stock. Now that we understand there’s no magic faucet refilling the earth with water during a drought let me explain that replenishment of water deep in the earth takes time and would not be an instantaneous fix. Just because it rains on the surface does not mean the aquifers are all filled up. Trust me, you do not want to drain that water faster than nature can put it back in because nature hurries for no one and you will have to find a new place to live while you are waiting on her to do her thing. So he kept calling me on the phone and saying, “you’re watering those trees right?” And i kept saying no. I felt guilty that i wasn’t doing what the trees needed but a little voice in my bones said “no, you can’t do that.” I could not just turn the faucet on and empty my well for 6 hours every night. Was he nuts? That goes against every fiber of a homesteader’s existence. Don’t **** around with the water. Pray a lot, thank God it’s there, and hope the well keeps working.

Well, i prayed a lot. “God, guide me. Tell me what to do. How do i help these trees? Tell me how to fix the mess i’ve made. I am lost. Set me on the path you have designed for me and i will place my steps where you desire them. Tell me what to do. God, help me.” Some are going to think i’m ridiculous. They’re just trees. To understand the significance of this blunder one would have to recognize that im an introvert who grew up under a sociopathic guardian and learned that humans always have ulterior motives and evil designs. Dogs, horses, trees….no ulterior motives or evil designs. I love trees in a way that i could never love humans…without hesitation.

In this year of historic drought, in the year no one had to mow the grass because it died as soon as it grew…God delivered an entire week of microburst pop up storms that blossomed in the heat of the day like rising bread dough and then exploded in a wave of fury, snapping tree limbs, ripping up car ports, tearing signs out of the ground, toppling fences, and causing some elderly individuals to call 911 for assistance because they were clinging to their house column or carport post and couldn’t make it to the front door in the gale force winds. these storms cracked the sky with blinding fingers of lightening and often extended past sundown, illuminating the night. They dumped buckets and buckets of rain. It poured. It soaked the parched earth in a way we dared not ever hope for again. My trees got watered.

Later i found out Kerrville got two storms. Ingram, Comfort, Mountain Home, San Antonio, Austin, and Dripping Springs got nothing. It rained here, right here in this spot where i prayed for God to intervene and fix the blunder i couldn’t make sense of and where my friend said all she wanted for her birthday was rain and then prayed feverishly for God to deliver her only wish. He delivered. What a wonderful day/week for my friend Ren. The best present you can give a Texan: Rain.