When I was a little girl ׂ(ages ago), my mother used to wash my hair with rainwater, as it was considered beneficial to both scalp and hair. I suppose nowadays, mothers wouldn't do this to their girls as rainwater is full of all kinds of pollution particles that cause damage to soil, to humans, to our flora and fauna.
And yet, in spite of its contaminants, we badly need rain, want rain, dream of rain, pray for rain, expect rain, feel miserable without rain. Rain cools the air, and makes the heat of summer more bearable. It prevents famine and thirst .
fountains - as a "cooling" sight.
Despite smart desalination and irrigation water systems, and the bombastic headlines style " Israel helps world fight water shortage" - the sad truth is that water is a never-ending problem in our country, because of rain, more precisely - lack of it.
It rains mainly in winter, and even then, not daily or weekly. Maybe 'Climate Change' will change that, and bring us some more rain, who knows. I wouldn't count on that, though. This Climate thing is quite unpredictable and very, very scary! In the meantime, we have to keep an eye on our water supply and consumption, so that we don't get into deep trouble.
There are things that can be done to prevent water waste without affecting our life too much. Here's one tiny example - replace living (green) fencing with the various other options: wood, metal, stone,wall, bamboo. Living fences (shrubs) need water (quantity depending on the requirement of the plants that make up that particular shrub).
living (green) fence, neatly trimmed
dry fence ; no water - no living (terrible sightֱֱֱֱֱ!)
Most house owners prefer a green fence, it's a favorite, but this is gradually changing, as water is not the only one problem with this type of fence; there's also the regular cutting and trimming process which requires time/patience/money. In addition, there's the growing awareness that home and garden security might be better assured by the other options, especially stone and metal.
overgrown shrub - not trimmed, not nice fence
white wooden fence
wall-type fence
bamboo-type fence behind the bus stop.
It would be a shame indeed to have to forego a natural fence, a green fence as you put it. We have enough sterile wood, metal and plastic structures without adding more. There are perhaps drought-resistant plants native to the area that could be used for fencing purposes. But it confounds the imagination that in the face of water shortages in many parts of the world, and floods in others, we blithely keep adding to the human population thereby exacerbating the problem. And yes, we continue to pollute it too.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. It's a shame to have to give up a natural fence. And yes, sadly , pollution and overpopulation go on. Drought-resistant plants usually belong to the cactus family, and people have all kind of superstions about them.
DeleteYes, rain is a necessity. I had an email from my step-daughter in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales today and she is really worried about how they are going to cope with the lack of water.
ReplyDeleteNo rain causes big Worry here and in every part of the world. It seems we are helpless when it comes to Nature's ways and activities. Only prayer might help us.
DeleteThey do predict that a very imminent future will bring us rains which won't stop for months... well, not your part of the world, probably, but Europe... most of us are unprepared for it, when we have massive torrential downpours my city streets literally turn into lakes or rivers within minutes, I cannot even imagine what would happen if storms would be ceaseless... we'd live on roofs I guess. I myself live in a sandy part of the town, so I understand Israel's problem, sadly, even after it rains, our soil looks like it hasn't rained for weeks as the sand sucks up everything.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I'm quite scared of heavy, torrential rains, especially as we also seem to be unprepared for them. If only we could order some, gentle, but steady rain:)
DeletePreparing for the rainy season is something we can do, and yet every year it appears nothing has been done about it - floods and damage abound in certain areas and disrupt daily life.
Low water levels can be caused by overuse.
ReplyDeleteIs there a special prayer in your Jewish prayer book for rain. I hope so. But I say a little prayer for rain now, without book. About your photos; I love the wall with the flowerpot in it. How nice it is.
Lieve groet. ( oh and rainwater contains little lime. It is soft water. Very good for washing)
Yes, we do have some special prayers/verses for rain in our books. I have my own little personal prayers for what is important for me and my people - rain among them.
DeleteI agree with you about the wall fence -it looks very nice. Fencing, including the gates, is a good way to exhibit one's creativity.
Good idea to conserve. I just was reminded that trees and plants provide oxygen to us however. But without water we cannot live.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, water is Life. We cannot live without it. Oxygen too.
DeleteMy indoor plants (the Feng-Shui lucky bamboo) are said to be good providers of oxygen. By the way, I water them with distilled water. The idea came to me from a Youtube tutorial, and it works great: no yellowing of leaf, no brown spots on it.
I remember getting my hair washed in rain water as a child, too.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of washing used to be common in those days. People believed rainwater had beneficial properties, and they were right about that. Pollution has increased mainly in the last three decades or so, and made everything questionable.
DeleteWish we could send some of our rain there!! It has been raining and raining. Thats such a sweet image of using the rainwater to wash your hair. Praying for just the right amount of rains for Israel!! It would be nice it they could keep the greens, as its such a lush and beautiful fence, but I understand your concerns. Blessings and Shalom!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shayndel, for your understanding ,praying, and wishing to send us some rain from Japan.
DeleteYes, that's a sweet image of mother washing girl's hair with rainwater. Wish I had a picture of that!
Blessings to you, too!
I like the idea of green fencing but I can see where lack of water could be a big problem. I hope you can have some rain soon. It's been terribly dry here, too, although not so bad as in parts of the country. I'm sure the people in the path of the current hurricane are wishing for dry weather, though. You're right about the climate -- it's really quite frightening. I still wonder if the rain water might be better than the highly processed water that comes through the faucet!
ReplyDeleteOur tap water is considered as very safe; it undergoes various tests and cleaning processes. Yet, I'm not convinced of that. So, I use bottled spring water for drinking/cooking, and distilled water for indoor plants. I don't know much about rain water. I'm just happy when it rains, and make no experiments with it. I just know from the media that it's quite polluted.
DeleteMaybe there is an undiscovered water source just waiting...well, it seems like there would be. I mean, the Moses was led there by God.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes. The story in 'Exodus' about the water crisis, and how Moses solved it by striking a rock.
DeleteIf one believes in God, one could indeed expect all kinds of miracles to happen, including undiscovered water sources.
Living in the Great Lakes Region of the US, water isn't a big concern, locally. However, I think most are aware of the issues that await, if there aren't changes made. Your ideas on fencing make good sense, DUTA. I love the look of the green fences, but it's true, they no longer make sense.
ReplyDeleteLucky people those who live in areas with water. On the other hand, proximity of water bodies has its dangers such as floodings and evacuations.
DeleteAs they say : 'there are two sides to every coin'.
And I live in a country where it always rains ! It's a miracle that I don't have flippers instead of feet ! Water should be better distributed by the sky ! When it starts to rain here you can be sure that it will be for the next 3 weeks ! I also hope it will change with the climate change, but the other way around ! We are praying for sunshine !!
ReplyDeleteOh, Gattina I just love your sentence "water should be better distributed by the sky" . You're so right about that!
DeleteWater shortages are big issues in many parts of the world, I agree, and there is so much waste. It's not just green fences, but homeowners who put irrigation systems in to water their yards to keep them green. I can see the beauty in plant fences, but when they die from lack of water or are not maintained it would be better to replace them with wood, stone or metal.
ReplyDeleteThere are people in appartment complexes who activate the irrigation system during the night, so that neighbors don't know about it, and leave it open all night until morning. The water bill is astronomical and causes much dispute among neighbors.
DeleteThis is an excellent post with amazing and thought provoking information, thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI've never read or heard anything about this before reading about it here. Thanks to you I now have some insight into it. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Wishing you a great weekend!
Well, thanks dellgirl for your very kind words. I'm glad you liked my post and felt enlightened by the info contained in it.
DeleteI have heard about washing hair in rain years ago, sadly we can not do this today...Pollution scares me so much,it is everywhere. Have a lovely weekend ☺
ReplyDeleteYes, pollution is everywhere and it scares us. We cannot go back in time and close industries, give up cars and all that pollutes the air, water and soil. Sadly,it doesn't look as we've got a soluton for it.
DeleteI live in the desert so I don't see a lot of green fences here. Most fences are made of wood or cinder block that I see here.
ReplyDeleteSo, you have more or less the same 'lack of rain' problem that we have, and that, requires certain adjustments.
DeleteSadly, green fencing is water dependent, and has to be replaced with more adequate type of fencing, unless we start getting more rain.
My husband retired from a water treatment plant. I drink tap water. In the central United States we are on a main river or two, the water supply is endless. Out west it is a commodity. We take it for granted and we should conserve.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds good. Your husband probably knows a lot about water because of his work background.
DeleteHere, we are all "water experts" because of our need to understand the water problem and how to tackle it.
It's crazy Alaska need rain to put out the fires and the bahamas is being belted with rain.
DeleteAs commenter Gattina remarked, water should be better distributed by the sky. All places should have the necessary water, and flooding should not occur,at least not in a dangerous way and not frequently.
DeleteMost of my life I've had long hair (not now)...and I wore it in plaits when I was a little girl. My hair was always washed in rainwater...as that was all we had then. Mum or Nana used to always put a splash or two of brown vinegar in the final rinse.
ReplyDeleteHere where I live this area is dependent upon rainwater and/or the mountain aquifer for its water supply...so I still wash my hair in rainwater or the crystal mountain water from the aquifer.
Living fences are wonderful...and many properties here have them. Even though everything is still green up here on the mountain, we do need rain presently, though. It was a fairly dry winter. I love rain.
Your descriptions of the area, the hairwash, the mountain water, the living fences, are poetic. Lucky place, lucky you!
DeleteHi Duta, we got extra water that we don't need it here, flood, from heavy rains, tropical storms, and hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteFlood is not only destroy and damage our properties but also killing us to make extra money to buy flood car insurance and flood home insurance.
I love your photos of many kinds of fences. I prefer green fences :)
My heart goes out to those in the flooded areas. In those places water is sure destructive. May God have mercy on the people and their peoperty! Only God can.
DeleteHello Duta, Yes, it can be very worrying the lack of water in some areas. I like your suggestions to conserve, its very practical what you say about the green fencing. In Australia, while we have the wood, brick or wire fencing mostly, there are some houses with hedges (as we call them) but with water restrictions in force all through Summer a lot of people are replacing them with native plant hedging.
ReplyDeleteWe live in the country and still catch our own rainwater (in addition to the mains supply) and consider it a luxury - it tastes beautiful. We are very lucky and grateful for it.
We also have restrictions, but people here are, sadly, of the undisciplined kind.
DeleteAustralia sounds like a good place (see also Lee's comment); it has everything it needs for the people to be happy and satisfied.
Robert Frost wrote: Good fences make good neighbors.
ReplyDeleteMy mother kept a rain barrel for years, and we always dipped into it. Rain ran off the roof.
Both, R. Frost and your mother were right. Good idea to keep a rain barrel for the roof water!
DeleteWe spent quite a bit of time in the desert this summer. It always amazes me how animals and certain plant life thrive in that environment. I hope the world can solve its problems before it is too late.
ReplyDeleteYes, the desert is amazing! People living there are making wonders; the best fruit, veggies, dairy products - come from our desert farms.
DeleteI'm afraid I'm not very optimistic of the worls's ability to solve its problems.
I too can remember getting my hair washed in rain water as a child.
ReplyDeleteWe do try and conserve our water usage, it annoys me when so many do seem to waste it!
All the best Jan