So it is raining here in Los Angeles. And when I say rain, I mean a very slight drizzle. But hey, my fellow Los Angelinos can attest, drizzle is for us what a downpour is to most other parts of the world. We see rain here so rarely that when it happens, it is often the top story on the news. Reporters will do man on the street interviews to discuss local resident’s experience of the treacherous trickle. No joke.
Yet we need rain to nourish the land. California is in a horrible drought which means all of us locals need to be mindful of when and how we use water. It is destroying crops. I read a statistic that 17,000 agriculture workers are expected to be out of a job this year. I even read somewhere that the possibility exists of needing to migrate people out of California. Whoa. Personally, I’m opting to be migrated to Hawaii. I was born in New York, not too far from the Canadian border but I’ve gotten way too used to sunshine to turn back now.
California is supposedly the number one state for US agriculture. Yup, amazingly we have more than movie stars and botox factories here. Who would have guessed? It is amazing for us Los Angelinos to remember that California isn’t just a conglomeration of coffee and juice bars, but is very much a large expanse of farmland. I wonder if the farmers, toiling in the dry sun all day laugh at those of us who thrive on spray tans. But I digress.
So, we have a lot of agriculture here in California. Do you like cheese? Amazingly, we have a lot of cows here. California is also a really good state to find organic raw milk (if you are so inclined and don’t happen to have your own cow.) We are also great growers of grapes, apples, almonds, walnuts, lemons and hay (yes, I said hay.) (http://norml.org/legal/item/california-top-10-cash-crops) Personally, I am a big fan of the California avocado. I’d never had an avocado before moving here and was shocked to find it is served on EVERYTHING. I become judgmental when I go back East, shaking my head at the dismal selection of available avocados. I look sadly at my fellow shoppers and wonder if they have a glimmer at what they are being denied based on geography.
There are, of course, other reasons to be concerned about a drought than food. Fire is a huge concern and dry conditions create the ideal setting for an out of control blaze. As much as we like to feel in control of the elements, Mother Nature can overpower us.
So if those of you who have more access to the wet stuff could kindly do a rain dance for us, it would be greatly appreciated. Even if you aren’t a great dancer. It will benefit you too by keeping pricing down for some of your favorite commodities. A slow down in production means less availability and high prices for everyone.
And if you are into entrepreneurship, you may want to invest in a galosh manufacturing company. See somebody is going to have to sell us Californians rain gear once it starts raining again. Seriously, do you have any idea where I might have left my umbrella? If I retrace my steps I last saw it in 2011.
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Oh I know the drought there is just awful! I do do sincerely pray for rain for all of you. CA has more produce than most people realize, not to mention almonds! I thought you a storm out there last week??? A Facebook friend posted something about thunder and lightening and how rare it is in LA
Oh my gosh, we NEVER have thunder or lightening. A few years ago I went back to New York and I was alone in an apartment in a thunder storm and I was freaking out. I had to remind myself that when I was younger, this was a common occurrence. I think I did hear thunder a couple weeks ago, and my first reaction was that there was gun fire. Thunder just never happens.
I know the drought in California is bad. I hope you guys get good amounts of rain soon. In Manitoba, especially the western part of the province, we have the opposite issue. Fields are flooded and farmers are losing crops because it is too wet.
Wow, Donna. I’d never thought of the flip side of the situation. That is horrible that crops are getting flooded. It would be nice if we could just funnel some of your water to California, to balance out both situations but unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn’t work that way.
It is definitely a bad situation. Has this happened in CA before? I feel like it has. Even all the money the celebrities have can’t help with this one. It’s up to mother nature now. Positive thoughts and energy that you find your umbrella in time.
Hi Patricia! Given the nature of California, I imagine this has happened before. There has never been much rain since I moved our here and that was about a decade ago. Thanks for your good thoughts!
I lived in Santa Barbara, CA for 34 years and thought it was dry there. Since it is a coastal desert, everything needs to be watered. Now I live in Arizona and know what a severe drought really is. Even at the 5000′ altitude where I am. I do remember when a desalination plant was built in Santa Barbara. Very expensive. And then the drought ended. So it was disassembled. Very expensive. I hope your drought goes away soon, Californians.
Hi Beth. Yes, I imagine that Arizona is very dry. It is easy to forget that much of this land is built up desert. I didn’t know about the plant in Santa Barbara. Given that California was facing bankruptcy not so many years ago, I would imagine nobody is too excited at the idea of an expensive solution to our problems.
Hi Erica,
Your post almost causes me to consider not only the drought in California and the social and economic impact, but drought in other regions of the world. Fire is a definite hazard, but even more so where there is drought and hunger, such as the crisis in East Africa.
We are fortunate to have rain frequent enough to not be affected by drought. I hope you get more than a light drizzle soon.
Kind Regards,
Bill
Hi Bill. Yes it is really horrible when drought hits places of poverty and hunger. As horrible as this is, we have more options than they do in other parts of the world. Glad to hear you are still getting rain in your neck of the woods!
I wrote a piece on the drought a little while back as it came as a bit of a shock when I went up into the Sierras and saw first hand all the dry lake beds. I lived for many years in Chicago and like you, am amazed at the bounty of fruit and veggies, and the variety, that is available in California. I really hope it never falls off and sinks in the ocean 🙂
Hi Tim. I imagine it would be very shocking to see the effects of drought up close and personal. It is one thing to hear about it on the news. It is another to see how it is directly affecting the land. Interestingly (not sure how accurate this info is) I heard that it is exceptionally unlikely California would fall into the ocean. Our major fault lines supposedly move up and down, not left and right. If that is the case, we are more likely to be joining Canada some day. I guess time will tell.
Loved the post. I too am a Californian, NorCal to be exact. This drought has raised the awareness of global warming to a level like no other. It’s about time. Our area has seen orchards die, sell of of live stock, fields go fallow and food price rise. That said I am now learning to do rain dances in the hope that when falls comes it will begin to rain and rain and rain. 🙂
Yes, wouldn’t it be wonderful if it just rained and rained? I can’t even imagine. Do you normally get pretty constant rain in Northern California. Los Angeles only has a rainy season in the late fall and winter so we just have to hope for the best once October comes around. I love your rain dances! Hopefully they will bring on the rain!
Hi Erica – I have been hearing about the drought in California on the news and know that it’s bad. I have been dancing and praying for rain for you and I hope when you read this, you’re looking out the window at a nice steady rain. But like Donna says, there is a flip side with floods causing a lot of problems. Fortunately, our little patch of Paradise is perfect – all summer long we have been having rain every Tuesday.
Lenie
Hi Lenie! I love that where you live is paradise! It isn’t raining her yet but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the upcoming months! Thanks for thinking of us here in California.
Totally right. The avocados available on the east coast are terrible. We do have to go to California every now and then to fully appreciate that fact.
Hi Ken. It really is such a shame that our wonderful avocados aren’t everywhere. Glad you at least you get them when you are here!
Erika I can totally relate! I’m in the central valley and it’s desperately dry up here with multiple fires raging in the mountains nearby. We drive by orchards that are being destroyed due to lack of water. My recent post about celebrating National Farmers Market Week had me doing a whole lot of research to post throughout the week about farming and much of the amazing stats are linked directly to production in California. The #1 tree nut producer in the US with 80% of the world’s production of almonds…it’s amazing. I just hope if and when we do finally get some rain, we aren’t having to deal with even more natural disasters i.e. torrential flooding, mudslides. I’m doing my rain dance up here south of Fresno!
Hi Pamela. I know! Mudslides can be such a big problem here as well. We also have horrible flooding because many of our streets don’t have a drainage system (why, I have no idea). Needless to say, I will think good thoughts for Fresno and I hope Mother Nature starts cooperating soon.
I am a native Californian and it breaks my heart to see the drought my state is going through. When they call California is the golden state they do not mean because it is brown. Because of the drought we are getting more produce on the east coast from Mexico. I would prefer US products and produce. I wish there was an answer. I have been praying to rain gods
Hi Arleen. I agree that it is very frustrating to not be able to find good produce from the U.S. in the markets. Nice to hear that a native Californian is thinking of us!
Erika – you can have some of our rain!! This must be the first summer I remember when we have had a couple of days which were dry!! Most English people tend to travel with their Macs and Umbrellas as there is always a chance of rain!
Hi Mina! I’ve heard that the UK gets so much rain. The few days I was in London, we had perfect beautiful weather. I did spend a week in Scotland and it rained so much that the locals seemed to have given up the quest to stay dry. Us Americans were covered head to toe in rain gear, while the Scottish were barely wearing coats. Made us feel like wimps. 🙂
I feel your pain, from New Mexico. We get excited by a little bit of drizzle! And I love avocados. And wine. Guess I better get to dancin’…
Hi Meredith! Yes, dancing would be a very good idea! Then maybe we will all get some rain.
Koreans were claiming drought when we’ve had two typhoons pass through. I really can’t imagine your situation. Prolonged drought is no joke and hopefully California’s water situation gets sorted ASAP. Thanks for spreading awareness about this.
It is all a matter of perspective I guess…what you are used to. When I lived on the East coast, they declared drought when it hadn’t rained for a month or so. A very different perspective.
Hello; I do feel sorry for all the farmers and others whose jobs depend on agriculture. and you are right alvicados ar a treat not to be missed. I too feel sorry for people who can’t get them or can’t get good ones. I can eat them on anything. thanks for sharing, max
I know. The farmers are the ones who are hit the worst. I can’t imagine my livelihood being compromised in a way that I had no control over. On a separate note, nice to hear I found a fellow avocado lover!
Hi Erica, I’m sorry to hear about the drought in California. You’re right, I never really associate California with farming, so it’s a real shame. You’re more than welcome to take some of the Irish rain, that would be great! 😉
Hi Christine. Yes, I imagine Ireland has rain to spare. Too bad we can’t work things out that way!