Acequia in Drought

ACEQUIA IN DROUGHT, JULY 2012

Rozome on kimono silk
Beeswax and soy wax resist
Framed 28 x 22"

Snowpack melted off early, recharging the springs. A meager runoff trickled down the arroyos, stopping short of full course, never reaching the Río.

Ditch cleaning occurred, as usual, in early March. The mayordomo warned that there would be less water; the irrigation season would be short.

People planted a bit, or nothing, this year. When the waters began to flow, the thirsty trees along the ditches absorbed every drop possible.

Despite late frosts, the apricots bloomed heavily. Painted lady butterflies blanketed the trees. Exquisite green and purple racemes showered down, the refuse of desperate pollination by male mountain cottonwoods.

In time, the apricots bore profusely—mealy bright orange fruit about the size of shooter marbles covered the ground. Some fell into the acequia, and there they stayed as there was not enough flow to flush them through.

Though small, they made good jam.