water, sewage, clouds and gratitude

It is always exciting when we hear of a new trail to explore, especially one so close! This morning we found ourselves walking the southern part of the Arcata Marsh. The marsh is Arcata's water reclamation "plant". Today we discovered the ponds that obviously contain the beginning of the process. We've only the really walked the rest of the marsh; a series of trails, wetlands, vegetation and ponds.
We followed a trail running along a chain link fence enclosing the city's collection of big tools and trucks. The fence turned to shrubs which opened up to two large ponds(football field size) full of all different ducks and birds. I must admit that I find it hard to believe that wildlife enjoys swimming, eating and bathing in our sewage (at least it's "treated sewage"). The birds, however seemed to be having a wonderful time cruising the glassy surface.
The clouds were amazing and the wind was fierce, which usually means a shift in weather is soon to happen. Sure enough, while we were eating our soup at Japhy's we saw the first raindrops fall. I'm grateful we were able to get outside when we did.
The rain is definitely a welcomed sight in this unusually dry Humboldt winter. We need quite a bit more rain before we're back to h20 normalcy.