Well it has been a very dry winter so far …. hardly any snow and very little rain. The water reserves in this area have shrunk to a worrying level with the possibility of serious water shortages this coming summer. And then just when it looked as though we really were going to pass the whole winter without snow – down it came. The local ski resort Abetone breathed a huge sigh of relief as the ski lifts started to move people up the slopes for the first time this year. Now that snow has started to melt and trickle down the mountain. The streams are filling back up as that water is on the move down to the bottom of the valley and then to the sea.