#WaterYear 16
On #WorldFoodDay let's remember that nearly 1/3 of all food in world comes from rivers: their water, nutrients, sediment or habitat. See WWF's fascinating microsite Rivers of Food (link in next post). Photo is a market in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

#WaterYear 15b. The photo above was cropped from this one, and shows people accessing sub-surface water by digging a scoop hole. The amount of labor people have to expend to get to that “invisible” water is immense and exhausting and precludes so many other activities.

#WaterYear 15
Today is “Imagine a World Without Water” Day. Most of my photos for WaterYear show scenic rivers, flowing through a verdant landscape. The photo below is also a river, one in Kenya with a dry riverbed; there's water, but you just can't see it. @uswateralliance.bsky.social

#WaterYear 14
Last month TNC and many partners released the Amazon Forgotten Fishes report (link in following note)

Photo: me at age of 24 hand line fishing for wolf fish in Bolivian Amazon; a trib to a trib of the Beni, which is trib to Madre Dios which is trib to the Amazon

#WaterYear 13

Leaves starting to turn along the Chagrin River (Chagrin Falls, OH)

#WaterYear 12
The Living Planet Report documents steep global average declines in vertebrate populations, w/ most dramatic decline among freshwater wildlife.
But report’s subtitle is key: “the Science of Hope”. One reason for hope? Dam removal can restore fish populations
Photo: juv salmon in Elwha

#WaterYear 11

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day. Research supports that time in nature improves mental health; "blue spaces" such as rivers & lakes are particularly effective.

(Photo is of Paola floating in the Chagrin River at sunset)

#WaterYear 10a (video edition)

here’s a song and music video I wrote celebrating migratory birds called “Flyways to Get Them Home” with my friend Matt Simon. #WMBD2026 #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

#WaterYear 10

Today is World Migratory Bird Day. Wetlands, lakes & rivers are crucial habitat for many migratory birds, like these African sacred ibises in the Tana River Delta, Kenya. #WBMD2026 #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

#WaterYear 9
The Living Planet Report shows monitored vertebrate populations have declined by 73% on average since 1970. Monitored freshwater populations have dropped by an average of 85%, largest decline of any species group.

Photo is of a gharial swimming in the Babai River of Nepal.

#WaterYear 8
Hope is the thing with feathers…(Emily Dickinson)

Today, World Wildlife Fund released the Living Planet Report 2026: the Science of Hope.

Photo: little Wren as a ruby-slippered water bird taking flight from the Chagrin River (sometime around 2008)

#WaterYear 7

Happy birthday to Yo-Yo Ma! (born this day in 1955) He has several beautiful recordings that celebrate rivers or water, including “The Falls” (an Ennio Morricone composition from “The Mission.”). Photo is Catarata San Fernando in Costa Rica. See next for water theme Yo-Yo Ma playlist

#WaterYear 6

Dinkey Creek, California. Photo was taken during late June of 2017 and Dinkey Creek was roaring like all the streams and rivers of the Sierra Nevada due to the record snowmelt runoff from an enormous snowpack melting rapidly during the heat of June.

#WaterYear 5

Today is #WorldHabitat Day celebrating the crucial importance of shelter & communities for people. Rivers greatly enhance life for people in cities, offering recreation & connection w/ nature even in crowded urban areas, such as the revitalized riverfront along the Rhône in Lyon France

#WaterYear 4

Today is #WorldAnimalDay, which is celebrated each year on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.

On this World Animal Day i celebrate Birch, who we had to say goodbye to a few months ago after 15.5 wonderful years.

#WaterYear 3

Happy weekend

sunny hike along the Chagrin River

#WaterYear 2

Deschutes River; the Benham Falls reach north of Sun River, OR

On this day in 1968, President Johnson signed into law the US Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Deschutes was designated Wild and Scenic in October of 1988.

Want to know how the 2026 water year did? It too was a mixed bag. In comparison to the 1991-2020 climate period, the Hood Canal was the driest and the North Cascades were the wettest in Washington! #wawx #climate #wateryear

#WaterYear 1

Happy New (Water) Year! Here in U.S., the new Water Year kicks off on Oct 1. To mark this moment, I’m starting a photo diary, each day posting one of my photos w/ a water theme along with a brief description of why that theme is important to people; see below for link to essay & song..