Every drop of water counts
This year, the rabbits in the park have moved their foraging area away from the swathes of grass by the trail. Normally this area is green year-round; now it is brown as old hay. The bunnies can be seen in the shadier crannies of the park now, seeking nutritious greens where there is shelter from the punishing sun.
The flocks of birds that live in the Serpentine marsh are glad of every drop of moisture. Their series of interlinked ponds have become great swathes of mud this year. In Bear Creek, the ducks huddle closer together as the waterway is reduced to a trickle.
It's hard to believe that as recently as January, we were concerned by the rising water in that same creek where it flows some distance behind our house. For only the second time in the more than two decades we've lived here, we could see the swollen creek from the windows.
Where is all that water now?
The good news is, awareness makes us want to conserve. Two simple measures: Turn of the tap while brushing teeth, and catch the water in a bucket while the shower warms up to use on the garden later.