California currently experiences the most extreme drought in the history of the state. It is so dry that they started desalinating the water of the ocean on a large scale (an interesting newsflash I learned from CNN at the airport).
Those sunny, hot days might be a blessing for tourists like me that have limited time to enjoy the beauty of the state, but all others the summer is slowly turning into a true hell.
The radio was reporting about the high forest fire risks in the mountains in the south of the state while I drove up to Jenkinson lake at the foothills of the Sierra.
The waterlevel here immediately indicates that this lake also suffers from the drought. Snowfall, and hence spring flow, has been limited and rains has been low for at least 3 consecutive years.
The drought cracks provide some interesting patterns for the camera, but for the plants in the forest around the lake, it is a real struggle.
The pines seem pretty good at ignoring the poor conditions, though, but it is known those trees are impressive survivors. You should mark the ecological significance of that: with their roots, they might still be reaching nice, wet parts of the soil. They do not experience the worst elements of the drought like you would think at first sight. You might wanna keep that in mind next time you think about plants and their wonderful survival tricks.
By the way, the little saplings do not have this developed root systems, so they might have big troubles germinating and growing. So growing possibilities are different at every life stage of the plant.
