Rain! Lately, we have been blessed with an abundance of it. The earth and our bodies require a certain amount of water. Water is necessary to sustain life; life here on planet Earth and life in our bodies. A human can live much longer without food than water.
Despite the fact that some folks believe certain individuals are a "bag of wind," the truth is the human body is comprised of a much larger percentage of water. We talk a great deal about rain and, in the State of Florida, we live knowing we are susceptible to tropical storms or hurricanes, which often bring a great deal of rain with them.
Even the title of this article "Around the banks" is referring, of course, to the Suwannee River, which is made up of what? Again, water (H2O).
We talk a lot about water, as in rain. We drink a lot of it, as in coffee, tea and, well- water, bottled and tap. We swim in it, bathe in it, boat on it and we often take for granted we will always have an abundance of it. I sure hope so.
I am in no way a tree hugger (fanatic environmentalist) and I don't understand a lot about the Florida aquifer, but I do know two things and I don't know them well, as related to water. I know the springs in which I grew up swimming, White Springs, from I guess the beginning of time until around 1970 discharged around 30,000 gallons of water a minute into the Suwannee River and I know beginning in 1970 and until now, the springs have never had that kind of flow. I also know the flow at Suwannee Springs is not the same. We grew up thinking those would always be the same, but they aren't. As beautiful as our own Ichetucknee River is (near Fort White and with a Columbia County Side and a Suwannee County side), I was a bit disappointed it didn't seem as crystal clear as it had been during the days of my childhood and into my adulthood. It was running a bit cloudy.
Don't misunderstand me, it was still cold, refreshing and I still gave thanks it is beautiful and has some semblance of my childhood memories, unlike White Springs, Suwannee Springs and what we called Blue Sink outside of White Springs, which have decidedly changed and, sadly, not for the better.
I am told if the population of Florida continues to increase at its current rate, we may be the most populous state in the United States in the next 10 years. We are already at number three. It's hard to believe, in our part of rural Florida, the population of the state now exceeds 20 million residents. It's still unbelievable to me, but then, it's unbelievable to me Disney has been in Florida for 50 years and our own Florida Folk Festival held at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park will celebrate its 70th birthday on Memorial Day in 2022.
By the way, as of Thursday, July 1, after 16 months of closure, I am so delighted the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center's historic Museum and Carillon Tower auditorium are, once again, open to the public. The gift shop and the craft square remain closed, as they have since March of 2020, but we have hope that, along with everything else in Florida, soon they will be open for business and that melodies will, very soon, resound from the largest set of tubular bells in the world, housed in the historic carillon tower.
Time changes things, it does and with non-renewable resources, such as water, I believe the time will come in Florida when we all might have to be more prudent about how much water we use. We don't want to take more from our earth than it can stand and, well, sometimes men in general are more driven by greed than common sense. The Bible doesn't state money is the root of all evil but the LOVE of money is, which is a big difference.
When you drink a chilled bottle of Zephyrhills or Nestle Water, know it comes from a water supply that may seem endless. Enjoy it, but don't take it for granted.
"Water, water, everywhere" and, unlike in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, still plenty to drink and enjoy. But, be aware that, like the song "The Old Grey Mare," nothing, including natural treasures in our own north Florida are what they "used to be" and neither am I.
From the Eight Mile Still on the Eight Mile Still on the Woodpecker Route north of White Springs, wishing you a day filled with joy, peace and, above all, lots of love and laughter.