The continuum

As the floodwaters recede here in the valley, the waters rise out west. West of the Red River Valley is the prairie pothole region. In places like Devils Lake, the standing water level has been rising for over a decade. Birds benefit from it, but cabin owners do not. Farther west, flash floods occur in the steep ravines of the badlands. At least one man fell victim to the Mouse River near Minot.

Back home, things are quiet. We pick up the trash transported downstream from who knows where. There are liquor bottles, beer cans, and blue plastic tarps. Even the strongest flood can't scrub all of this junk away; but we have our share of beauty too. A pair of tundra swans stop by on the way to their namesake breeding grounds. Cormorants dive for minnows in the cold river. The spring air is filled with goose music. Life goes on as it always has, since before humans were here to watch it.