A Dry River Bed

There was a strange sort of sky this morning... a hazy sort of cloud instead of the usual clear blue. It made for a change. Except there is no change predicted in the current weather patterns for some days yet. No rain. This has resulted in some North Island districts being declared drought areas.
My thoughts are with those dairy farmers in Northland. Their herds are looking heart-breakingly thin and times are very very stressful for the communities up there.
Down here in Marlborough the Taylor River is drying up more every day. This image shows a view of the dry river bed looking south towards "The Ned", a prominent peak in the distance.
There is a group of nice green willows in the top left corner. The dogs invariably hurtle over there during our walks as there is still a nice pool of refreshing water at the foot of the willows.
The whitish residue on the stones are where the water has been running most recently. There is some vegetation alongside where the river waters used to run. It is mostly "Pale Willow Weed" (Persicaria Lapathifolia.... I have just purchased a wonderful reference book "Common Weeds of New Zealand" as I am nosy and like to know the names of plants out in the wild).