So, when last we left our heros....

[Debbie]

I was making some silly remark about not having the proper amount of winter storms. Ahem, let's say that last Monday, Mother Nature sorted that for us... all at once I awoke at 6am (before sunup) to unusual activities on our highway out front. Seems that the river across the road had reached a high note and flooded the highway about a mile down the road from us. Oh yes, it was a foot under water on the highway.

My fields? They'd reached a new level of flooding, even surpassing the 5 day storm we had last Sept. Even worse, we were at high tide and the forecast for the day was to receive new rains.

...once more I'll say I don't like clear cutting. I love logging, but leave me a few trees to act like sponges for when we receive the typical winter rains.

All horses/ponies were kept high and dry in their respective barns, and I wondered, "Do they actually make life jackets for horses?"

The Necanicum River was cresting across the highway from me, a good four to five foot higher than my head when I was seated at my kitchen table. I'm not the panicky sort, never have been, but believe me, on Monday last week, I could feel the panic rising along with water.

As luck would have, and many exhausting hours later, the tide turned and the water did indeed go out. Many people have told me that at the worst, the water from the river would come halfway across the highway, with our barns, house and the field Bloss and Dundee have traditionally never flooding.

Hmmm... I'm originally from St Louis, Missouri, so I realize all it takes is one drifting log to stick sideways and undo history. Luckily it wasn't that day, but I believe in being as prepared as I can, so I've prepped a hurricane/flood kit now.

Bright spots? Well now, with floodwaters and ducks and seagulls setting up residency in my back fields, the elk abated. Sadly now that the waters have gone, the elk returned elk patties anyone?

Even brighter spots for Bloss and Dundee is that the weather turned milder after the storms, so they are turned out for the first time in months on their field. Blossom's not entirely sure she likes 'roughing it'. She is a Princess Pony afterall, but they seem to enjoy the new grass that's coming in

[harveydales]

That sounds scary! Glad you came out of it all unscathed and lets hope spring is truly on it's way....

[dalesnfellfan]

That does sound really scary, at least it got rid of the Elk for a bit though, lets hope we all have some dry weather now and spring is just around the corner

[colmworthdales]

People do tend to forget the power of water very quickly - and especially when it is seawater rushing inland with a big storm tide behind it and backing up the rivers. How scary for you - so glad the floods did not get any closer. Was the water still fresh around your property, or have you now got the saline residues to cope with as well as the mud? How close are you to the actual coast?

[dusty]

Wow that does sound scary! Fingers crossed for no more floods

[Debbie]

I've been raised in an area that traditionally floods and have always respected floodwater. I've seen too many people drowned by attempting to cross flooded creeks and the like

Thankfully the ocean is two miles away. I'm sure the water in the creeks and river turn brackish, but I don't have saline deposits to deal with. Once the tide goes out, the water can drain away, although in this case, it took days, not hours to go down.

[colmworthdales]

As you probably know eastern England in December, and southwest and southern England and Wales since the New Year have had terrifically high tides and storm surges. Masses of damage done by the power of the waves, - and then the river floods also horrific and still ongoing in places.

Global warming really beginning to show, I fear.

[colmworthdales]

As you probably know eastern England in December, and southwest and southern England and Wales since the New Year have had terrifically high tides and storm surges. Masses of damage done by the power of the waves, - and then the river floods also horrific and still ongoing in places.

Global warming really beginning to show, I fear.

[valerie n scout]

Wow Debbie that's scary, hope things stay nice and settled from now xxx

[cadeby]

The US certainly seems to be experiencing a wide range of weather extremes Glad you didn't get to the stage of needing an Ark Sending clear-off elk vibes your way!

[benjismum]

oh that does sound scary, I'm glad it didn't amount to anything major and that you are all ok xx

[heathera]

I'm so glad you stayed safe and dry! I was in the Natural History Museum last Friday standing next to a stuffed moose and I was thinking of you, they are seriously BIG.

[nedales]

Debbie--


Sounds really scary--but curious to know what your evacuation plan might have been? I am an Archers addict and Jill and David are housing flood-stricken sheep for an old friend....made me think to have a more formal plan in place should we ever have a sudden need.

[Debbie]

The gameplan was to have the horses all up in the barns, and bring them up even higher into the upper stalls, grab Oogway and Mister into carriers, grab my hatchet and hi viz jacket with my ungodly bright flashlight, a gallon of water and my fully charged cell phone.

The hatchet would be for chopping through a roof if need be so I could get out onto the roof and cell phone and hi viz jacket to signal the Coast Guard. They do search and rescue for people on the coast constantly, though most of the time they're fetching people out of the ocean, they'd still be capable of reaching a rooftop.

Where our barns, house and the field for Blossom and Dundee are, that is the high ground for here. We do have a 900 foot mountain behind us. If given enough warning, I can put everyone on leads and go up the hill, but this time around the water came up while I was asleep, so I got cut off from the mountain route. Everyone local tells me to stay put no matter what because the water goes down when the tides go out, although they all say it's pretty scary to watch. Someone further up the road from me had the same thing happen to them. They took photos and their house was an island for awhile.

I've never actually seen a moose, but I can well imagine they are massive. The elk here are big enough to ride and when I get fed up with them, I growl something to the effect of slapping a saddle on them so the tourists could have the full effect of meeting our wildlife here. It's a complete farce, but the elk seem to shy away from the house for a day or two. Hey, I reckon if they eat my grass, their butts can work for it. In reality the Fish and Wildlife people really need to take responsibility for their free roaming cows and the damage they do.

And on a completely different note, I think our salmon fishermen are NUTS. No more than a day after that flood, in the rain, I saw fishermen across the road tossing lines into the completely muddy waters. I just shook my head because I reckoned they'd hook a log before ever snagging a fish in water like that.

PS... I totally should have brought my Ark with me when we moved from Tipton!