HERD ABOUT IT?

by Ana Grarian

 I had to include this video of a childhood song because the critter costumes are just so creepy cute, and well, there’s a runaway pig. This song accompanied a clapping game when I was a girl, but I couldn’t find a good video of that. Ah the days when we played face to face, instead of via WiFi.

I imagine the fun of shouting down a rain barrel was the echo from an old wooden, probably half empty rain barrel. Rain Barrels are making a come back amongst city gardeners. When you have to pay for water, both coming and going (even if it doesn’t go down the sewer) you start to make provisions.  The rain barrels now have to be sealed or screened to prohibit mosquito growth, so I am not sure how much fun they are to shout into.

Do kids still slide down the cellar door? I’ll bet it’s better now that many of them are metal and not splintery old wood!
I was stunned to find out  how quickly my 55 gallon drum filled up. We barely had any rain the other day, and yet my barrel over flowed. I really need to get a couple more. It is possible to hook them up in sequence so that when the first one fills, the overflow goes into the next one.  It becomes easier to see how much rain we are misusing because our over paved, overbuilt cities are channeling water in ways that cause erosion, and prohibit it soaking into the ground, where it filters and recharges local groundwater supplies. Houses used to be made with cisterns in the cellar, and that is an idea that could be revised. Even if we just used it for flushing the commode it would save a lot of water.

Say say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three,
Climb up my apple tree
Shout down my rain barrel
Slide down my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more.