This photo, it's water, albeit frozen like it will tend to get up in my area this time of year. If I didn't have the luxury of running water, these puppies would be having to be thrown in some sort of receptacle and melted down to quench ones thirst, cook with, or wash up with.
Ever hear of the Ice Storm of '98? Well This stuff ( in the picture) was everywhere, coating everything, you opened the door and it was a cacophony of trees breaking. It pretty much devastated our area but beyond that it gave me a small glimpse of what it's like to live without running water. The power was out and we had a well with a pump so, no pump—- no water. In the span of those 2 weeks, I came to sincerely appreciate my modern miracle of clean running water. Just think about it for a sec and be thankful :)
Want to know what I've wanted to do for a while? Iv'e wanted to get a rain barrel ! A rain barrel is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, but because some of us are blessed enough to have the ability to get fancy extras, there is always what I call "Rain barrel and beyond" http://www.gardeners.com/4-Port-Rain-Barrel/40-201,default,pd.html <—- such as that one. Or if you want something prettier this is a great example http://www.gardeners.com/Rain-Catcher-Urn-65-Gallon/38-683,default,pd.html There are even ones with a little mini solar pump.
What the heck do you use a rain barrel for? Well, do you garden? D0 you wash bird crap off your deck? If you have an outdoor spigot or watering can you fill up inside, you could use a rain barrel :) If you have downspouts you can even channel that water into the rain barrel. No chlorine or fluoride while you're watering your plants and you're conserving a precious natural resource.
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