Osprey
Ultra Nomad
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Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Drought
The Long Dry
Drought in a desert is almost an oxymarooon but most deserts have seasons and many of the same variations of weather as non-deserts. Only those who
live in the desert see and feel a drought; tourists can only judge things as they appear in the snapshots they take home. Satellites can show us
anomalies but you’ve got to get nearer to be a good reporter. High-flying birds can see the pea-green patches around well ranches, seep corrals in
the canyons – they can judge the drought from the stark contrast between these tiny oases and the burned-out look of whole mountain ranges. Airplane
passengers might remember those tiny slivers of quicksilver, ponds and streams, are not where they were seen on the last flight several years ago.
Most weather systems in the western part of Mexico stay on the mainland so the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is like an offshore
island and is affected only by ocean borne systems. Tropical storms and hurricanes begin off the western shores of southern Mexico and Central
America. As many as 15 to 20 each year march west where most dwindle and die far out in the Pacific thousands of miles from our parched and tortured
mountains. So a drought here is a condition caused by a long period of time when none of the storms drift far enough north to give us rain.
In drought condition, as hand-dug or uncased wells dry up or cave in, the roaming browsers like goats, burros, cattle and horses are in great peril.
The vultures have a time of plenty. Where there are people there will be water. Wild birds and animals are drawn to ranches and villages with deep
wells and natural tinajas, waterholes. Villagers with overflowing pilas can sense the drought. They begin to see the coyotes and snakes, skunks and
badgers, hawks and rabbits in their yards at night. The civet cat, the babisuri, spreads his awful musk, marking new territory in small pueblos like
his Ice Age progenitors did when they made their homes in the rocky scarps of North America surviving among saber-tooth tigers, lions and sloth bears.
In the mountains and plains the deadly desiccation is insidious. One cannot see little things die; like watching a small clock tick away the hours,
the days. Droughts are silent, unseen killers, hard to mark and remember. They weaken, ruin and kill like earthquakes and Tsunamis but without the
terrible surprise of sudden death and destruction. Life-forms begin to slowly slip away while waiting for the impossibly faint promise of salvation,
droplets from a cloudless sky. It is horror in slow motion.
When botonists say desert plants and animals are hardy they do not mean they can live forever without water. Plants can store water, most animals
cannot. Many desert animals do not drink water. They get all the water for their entire lives from their food. When the food-water is gone they stop
having babies, then, those that can, aestivate to conserve calories. They wait. Every thing waits for water. Uncountable living things die while
waiting. It would be unkind parsing to say they starved to death. Food or water deprivation ends the same way.
Everything ends. Even droughts. Since we have not received much rain this far south from Pacific hurricanes in over three years I suppose if they
miss us for three or four more we can say “we are in a drought.” Then, perhaps, an errant storm may veer north, wobble toward us like a boat with a
broken tiller and deliver the package of salvation. It will give us life, water from the ocean as rain. A few days after the blessed deluge, I will
once again marvel at the wonder of the rebirth. I’ll be filled with awe and respect for the strength, the resiliency of the survivors. If this is
Mother Nature’s schoolhouse, if these terrible times are nothing more than tests I would suggest to her I just heard the bell ring; around here, at
least, her children are as strong and smart as they are going to get.
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wessongroup
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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Good to see you writing again...
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ElCap
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Location: Montara CA, or San Ignacio BCS
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Yes, very well written. The natural flora and fauna of Baja are well-adapted to these drought cycles, but they can have bad years too, just like us
humans have. These longer droughts are worse for the ranchos with livestock, because their 'rangeland' is essentially a parched desert.
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bajajazz
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Registered: 12-18-2006
Location: La Paz, BCS, Mexico
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Excellent piece of writing.
Have there been any prognostications as to what kind of hurricane season the eastern Pacific can expect this year? And what is the state of the
aquifers that serve BCS in general? Anyone up on this?
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
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Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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we have heard that the watertable in Vizcaino is going down - which is very bizarre since we are scheduled to get our water piped in from Vizcaino
over the next years ....
we actually had about 10 drips of rain yesterday - just enough to spot the dusty car windshield.
I am so glad that Les figured out a way to store our graywater so that I can have a flourishing garden in the midst of any drought
[img] [/img]
[Edited on 4-7-2011 by BajaBlanca]
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tiotomasbcs
Super Nomad
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Registered: 7-30-2007
Location: El Pescadero
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Well said and your use of analogies make it fun to read! I can tell you're a Baja Veterano who looks behind the scenes to see things "close up"!
 Your appreciation of the desert as with many others is an important reason
why we love Baja California. We love the blue skies and sunny days. But, it sure is bone dry in the southern desert!! I have missed your stories
and style, also! Tio ps good questions, jazz.
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Mission Viejo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajazz
Excellent piece of writing.
Have there been any prognostications as to what kind of hurricane season the eastern Pacific can expect this year? And what is the state of the
aquifers that serve BCS in general? Anyone up on this? |
Knew overall the western portion of the American Continent was having some problems.... found this piece on Mexico...
Divining Destiny: Mexico's Water Crisis - Uncertain Futures, Unlikely Heroes
Had also seen that the Chief of Mexico's "Water" at the Federal level ... said that one should learn from their forefathers... the natives used to
store the excess in cistern's... in the "day"... that would be pre-Columbian....  and did pretty well... until that pesky eurotrash showed up and changed
everything.... to what we now have on the front burner ....
Boy, now that is some real planning ... Huh-!!
http://tinyurl.com/3fg74sp
must be getting better... the Central Valley grows on the westside are getting 50% of what they need... now what ya going to grow with half the
water..... farming is like any business... reduced production, means higher prices.... aaahhhh and who would that be paying the freight for NO
WATER....
Was hoping for a really wet year... however, not as good as needed again....
Really good subject... cuz, ya got no water..... what ya got... be it NOB of SOB....
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fishabductor
Senior Nomad
Posts: 800
Registered: 5-29-2010
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hurricane forecast
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajajazz
Excellent piece of writing.
Have there been any prognostications as to what kind of hurricane season the eastern Pacific can expect this year? And what is the state of the
aquifers that serve BCS in general? Anyone up on this? |
The forecast this year is for 10 hurricanes, we read it the paper yesterday whilke in SJD.
The fog we have been having on the eastcape is supposed to be a good omen when it comes in early April. accordingto the ranchers it means we are going
to get a decent amount of rain this summer.
Pray for rain...you'll make the cows happy!
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Can't find much recent stuff on Baja Sur aquifers but studies of Los Planes and Constitucion show mucho overexploitation and salt intrusion.
I heard that at one time Constitucion valley was using a century's water each month. I think they were heavy into cotton then. With cotton and corn
demand/prices going up they will probably over use a lot more.
Baja Sur gets 10 inches per year. The farmers don't like rain in May -- they say it is a signal they may not get the real rain in mid August.
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wiltonh
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In 1974 we drove to La Paz just after the road was paved. Somewhere down South we were stopped by a guy in the middle of the road. He was a local
rancher looking for a ride to the next town. We had an extra seat so we gave him a ride. My wife speaks Spanish so she asked him how things were
going. He told her that it was very very dry. On his ranch they need rain every 7 years or he had to kill his cattle. 1974 was year 6 in the cycle.
If he did not get rain in the next year, he had to kill his cattle.
Over the last few years I have been taking a motorcycle down and doing some riding of the back roads in the Las Palmas/La Ventana are. Over the last
two years there have been more and more small ranch builds being setup. This year, most of those are empty. People are starting to pull back towards
areas with more water.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8088
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Ten inches doesn't seem that dry. LA gets about 12 inches I think. It must be the dryness and higher temperatures that cause the plant change. The
only signs of baja I've noticed in the LA basin are prickly pear cactus and a few yuccas.
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
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Interesting story about Todos Santos
Jesuit missionaries founded Todos Santos in 1723, capitalizing on the region's only reliable water supply.
For over two hundred years, the town flourished as an agricultural center, which was centered around Sugar Cane production. At one point eight sugar
mills were in full operation. Unfortunately, Sugar Cane requires large amounts of water to grow and the aquifer supplying the town’s spring could not
keep up with the large demand. In the 1950’s the water ran out. The spring on which the town had been founded more than 200 years earlier had ceased
to flow.
Not only did the spring dry up, the town did as well. Only the heartiest of the old timers were left in the now nearly deserted town. Over time Mother
Nature healed a bit, and finally in 1981 the aquifer feeding the town’s spring filled up enough so that once again the spring flowed.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
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Registered: 3-9-2009
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Man, Osprey, you can really write well. Nomads never cease to amaze me.
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