IN AN AUTUMN WHEN RAIN REMAINS elusive and drought once again settles upon Minnesota, I am reminded of a poem I penned 14 years ago for a competition. “In which Autumn searches for Water” was among 28 pieces of prose and poetry published in “It’s All One Water,” a collaboration between the Zumbro Watershed Partnership and Crossings at Carnegie in Zumbrota.
The winning entries were printed in a beautiful 55-page booklet that paired the writing with submitted photos, all themed to water. I opted to pen a poem personifying Autumn as a woman searching for water upon the parched land. To this day I still love that strong visual, inspired by my long ago observations at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.
And if I were to tap further into my visual memory, I would also see a semi trailer full of hay parked in a southwestern Minnesota farmyard in the summer of 1976. That was a year of severe drought, when my dad bought a boxcar full of hay from Montana so he could feed his cows and livestock. It was the year that nearly broke him as a farmer.
A REALLY DRY & WARM SEPTEMBER IN MINNESOTA
Here we are, 48 years later, settling once again into drought/abnormally dry weather conditions in Minnesota after a winter of minimal snow followed by an excessively wet spring, a dry-ish summer and now a record warm and dry September. This September, the Twin Cities recorded only 0.06 inches of rain and the most days of 80-degree or warmer high temps in any September. It doesn’t feel like fall in Minnesota, more like summer. But at least temperatures cool overnight.
Areas of western and central Minnesota are under a Red Flag Warning today, code words for a high fire danger, due to dry, windy conditions and dropping relative humidity. We are experiencing “near critical fire weather conditions” here in the southern part of the state.
AND THEN THERE’S TOO MUCH WATER
Contrast this with the weather my friends in western North Carolina and other areas affected by Hurricane Helene are experiencing. One is OK (as is her house). But she expects to be without power for a week and is relying on limited cell service at the local firehall. Another friend, a native Minnesotan, lost his car and may lose his home in Hendersonville after a creek swelled, flooding his garage (with four feet of water) and house (30 inches of floodwaters). A foundation wall “blew out” of his home. He is currently staying with family in Florida.
So, yes, even though the lack of rain and abnormally warm weather in Minnesota concern me, I feel a deeper concern for the folks dealing with loss of homes, businesses, infrastructures and, especially, deaths of loved ones. The devastation is horrific. It will take months, if not years, to recover.
RESPECT FOR WATER & MY POEM
In 2012, the following statement published in the intro to “It’s All One Water”: It is our hope to inspire respect, protection, preservation and awe in honor of water, our most precious of Natural Resources. How one views water right now depends on where they live. But I think we can all agree that water is “our most precious of Natural Resources.”
In which Autumn searches for Water
Water. The wayward word rises in a faint rasp,
barely a whisper above the drone of buzzing bees
weaving among glorious goldenrods.
I strain to hear as Autumn swishes through tall swaying grass,
strides toward the pond, yearning to quench her thirst
in this season when Sky has remained mostly silent.
But she finds there, at the pond site, the absence of Water,
only thin reeds of cattails and defiant weeds in cracked soil,
deep varicose veins crisscrossing Earth.
She pauses, squats low to the parched ground and murmurs
of an incessant chorus of frogs in the spring,
of Water which once nourished this marshland.
Autumn heaves herself up, considers her options
in a brittle landscape too early withered by lack of rain.
Defeat marks her face. Her shoulders slump. She trudges away, in search of Water.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
© Copyright 2012 “In which Autumn searches for Water” by Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
It is really dry here too! The images of the flooding on the news are heartbreaking! Horrible damage left everywhere not to mention the loss of life.
Farmers like “dry” this time of year. And, yes, the damage and death toll as a result of Hurricane Helene are staggering.
One of my favorite children’s book was titled, Thank You, God, for Water. Indeed, water is a precious resource and it’s good to give thanks for it. I liked your poem. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Valerie. Part of your comment was cut off, but I assume you are somewhere near water, perhaps along the North Shore.
This is what’s missing:☺️
We are up on the north shore of Lake Superior. There is an abundance of water in this Gitchi Gummi (big sea).
Enjoy your time on Gitchi Gummi, one of your favorite places.
Such a very poignant poem, Audrey, and I see why they chose it as part of their collection. Autumn is a challenging season and there are certain things that need to happen to keep the balance when that does not happen when there’s too much or too little, it can take a huge toll on everything. Here to the farmers in the dry land and the people in land right now overcome with water may they find a balance.
A balance is assuredly needed. I know farmers in Minnesota likely appreciate the dry weather now so corn and soybeans dry for harvest.
Water is everything. We forget that sometimes. It’s also relentless, a characteristic too often overlooked.
I enjoyed your poem.
We do tend to forget some aspects of water. I’m glad you enjoyed my water poem.
I love that photo of the leaves in the water!
Yes, it’s so horribly dry.
lovely poem!!
Thank you, Gretchen. Driving to Owatonna this evening for an author talk by Doug Ohman, the sky looked so hazy, almost like smoke due to strong wind blowing around all the dust in the air.
Ugh. Yeah, the dust is terrible. And the lake is getting really low.
Harvest and wind are stirring up the dust. It’s hard to believe that after all the rain we had this spring, we’re nearly back to drought conditions again.
Hi There,
Have I read the flyer for the It’s All One Water event incorrectly? Friday, Oct 19 is actually a Saturday this year.
I think this event looks inviting and I’d like to attend – Friday or Saturday?
Thanks,
NancyK
Nan, the All One Water event was held in 2012, as noted under the image. I’m sorry if you were confused. I tried to make it clear that I was referencing a past event. Thanks for your interest anyway. As an additional note, Crossings at Carnegie is no longer open.
Thanks for the speedy reply. The email had come across slightly off-center and the left side of the entire email was cut off. I thought I had ‘shrunk’ the email msg enough to get all of the info. But on a second look, see that I had not.
Thanks again,
PS I always thought the lady in the little round picture in the header was you until I saw posts of the present day you. Much younger!
I enjoy your work very much!
Nk
Nan, thank you for appreciating my work. The picture you’re referencing should be me, but was taken quite a number of years ago. That I look younger now is really nice to hear. Time to figure out how to update my photo. Tech savvy I am not.
I hope your Hendersonville friend is doing okay. The photos are so unbelievable. We are all pulling for each other and we are helping where we can. I head to Hendersonville tomorrow so I will see maybe a tiny bit of the damage but it is so widespread . Keeping him in my prayers.
So thankful you are alright. I need to check in with Brad again to see if he’s returned home.