Streaming…

There is nothing more eloquent in Nature than a mountain stream.

John Muir

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. Henry David Thoreau

Got you roped in to read this because you were wondering what I will be “streaming”, as in video. The truth is that this blog is about streams!  One of my favorite geographical features. Water is life on our little blue planet, and the variety of moving water in streams never ceases to amaze me.  Tiny little rivulets appear in spring and are gone by mid-June, remembered only by brown moss and marked by tall plants that grew while they could! Larger streams rush down the mountainside in the spring but gradually subside to a mellower cacophony of sound created by splashing on rocks and logs.

Then there is the variety of places that you find streams, from deep forests to barren desert to oceanside where brooks meet waves. Some waterways are tiny, hidden wonders screened by many plants thirstily crowding the edges to drink the life-giving water. Other streams run through deep dark forests while some of my favorite creek settings are those hurrying through meadows with snowy peaks in the background. Still others are clear shallow wide sandy seasonal streams passing through desert playas.  

All streams are special and echo a season of life for people.  Some are in a busy season of life rushing from one place to another. Some streams combine with another stream to form a bigger stream or even a river….just as people may gain family by marriages and births. Some have an abundance of life to share while others are just trying to keep moving. Sometimes streams may slow down going through a valley, so people too may have a slower season of life with deeper or more tranquil waters.  

Whatever life is “streaming” for you at the moment, appreciate the uniqueness of both the time period and you…and, if you can, go take a walk by a stream and consider the incredible assortment of life giving moving waters! Happy streaming!