rejectomorph | Desiccation

For a few days, there was a rill running down the edge of the street, because my neighbor to the north's sprinklers were leaking. It was too small to make a sound that I could hear -- maybe the cats could hear it -- but it was nice to see it sparkling in the sunlight at the end of the driveway, and by night it gleamed slightly, especially after the moon would rise. Today, the sprinkler guy came and stopped the leak. I miss the stream. I'll bet the raccoons came and drank from it at night, and will miss it too. It formed a nice, clear little pool in the pothole that has formed about thirty feet south of my driveway. I even saw birds drinking from it a couple of times. It was like a suburban version of something one might see on the Discovery Channel. And, because the water was moving (however slowly), the pool didn't breed mosquitoes. But now it's gone, and there is only hot gray asphalt bordered by a bit of withering grass. I'd turn the hose on to bring it back, but the irrigation district charges a small fortune for water over the base limit in this dry place, and even a small trickle can mount up over a month. We're only watering the lawns about twice a week, and they are mostly yellow and brown now, except for a few pale green patches where drought-tolerant weeds have sprung up. Yay for weeds.