Spruce with Snow

“Is this a watershed?” you might be thinking. Yes. The one you are standing in. This is what replenishment looks like. That snow is poised to take on the heat of the sun and drip slowly into the rush of water that soaks into groundwater or runs off into the river itself. This water has been in the ocean and now it clings to the needle of a spruce.

This is where a year’s water comes from. For this tree; it might draw it up into its roots in the spring, holding it to use or letting it leak out when the summer gets hot, sending it back up to fall again somewhere else. To the river; in time it might just make it. To me; I will drink this or eat the peas and corn grown in the garden nearby. All these things drive me to treat it carefully. A plant takes water and leaves it cleaner than before, with less nutrients and more clarity. We have that responsibility too, don’t we?

As I stand here, I hope for a deeper snow pack, a better chance at renewal, a way of living more lightly in this watershed. That last one, I can do more than just hope for that.

-Erin Murphy-Thompson