Wednesday, March 19

Farm Photo 3/19/08: Flood Watch


No Crossing Zone

Many of you know about our wet weather creek that starts meandering through the farm after a heavy rain or big snow melt. Well yesterday that pleasant little stream quickly became a raging, unpassable torrent. The rain, which continued throughout the night, has finally let up (and now there's light snow predicted), but the creek won't crest and begin to recede for several more hours. The fields are flooding, and the barnyard is pretty much under water.

After driving a truck full of hay over to the barn while we could still get across yesterday, we worked in the pouring rain doing what we could to divert some of the several mini rivers that were rushing down the hillside and into the barnyard. Joe managed to dig out a drainage runoff trench that was already overflowing, and in lieu of sandbags we packed handfuls of wet leaves around a large tree limb in one spot, but the water simply went around it.

At one time there were 40 homes down here in our little valley, and over the years all of them flooded except for The Shack. The new building we plan to move into is located just across the farmyard on one of the only other spots that hasn't been under water at some point in the last 70 years.

So we're safe and dry, but we haven't been able to get over to the barn - which is full of two dozen extremely pregnant sheep - since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. The donkey peddling cowboy will be here soon to check on the girls and feed everyone hay. Cell phones don't work down here, so we'll have to shout to each other across and over the sound of the rushing water. Until then there's nothing to do but wait, wonder, watch, and worry.

Want to see what the creek normally looks like?
3/18/06: Meandering By The House Exactly Two Years Ago
3/26/06: The Bigger The Water Dish, The Happier The Dog
5/15/06: Sheep Crossing
1/15/07: Running Water, Rubber Boots, & Mud (This is looking across the water toward where I was standing when I took today's photo; that's the same little clump of cedar trees, and those bare trees on the rocky beach are the ones now midstream.)
1/19/07: Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life Is But A Stream
2/25/08: A Rare Winter Sight - And Geese!

© Copyright 2008 FarmgirlFare.com, the award-winning blog where some days it's more obvious than others that Mother Nature is the one in control around here - and the donkeys are safe but soggy.

31 comments:

  1. Well, the nail-biting and anxious bladder comment I made on Monday's post just went down the toilet. Jeez, I'm gonna go ahead and have an anxiety attack and get it over with! Fingers crossed here, Farmgirl!

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  2. Oh my. Thinking of you up here in St. Louis. We got wet but we're on a bluff. I wonder if all that snow, plus this rain: are we in for another intense flood year?

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  3. Let's go back to calm happy days on the farm, OK? I'll be thinking of you and your precious sheep mamas; hope you can get out there soon.

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  4. Wow, I was worried when I read all the reports today about MO. Hope that all is well in the barn.
    You will need to acquire an ark.
    The best to you and all the little friends and soon everything will be all lush and beautiful!

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  5. Send some of that water up to Montana if you would, please.

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  6. Aii yi yi, I've been wondering / worrying about you since last night. Even my back yard is a roiling mess, but nothing like your creek. Be dry, be safe ...

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  7. Wow. Can only say wow.

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  8. We are under a Flood Warning here too. Will it ever be Spring?!?!?!

    Carolyn

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  9. Gaaaah, I'd be a nervous wreck! Do you have a flatbottom boat you could use as a ferry?? Hopefully it will recede soon(as in by the time I post this).

    Molly

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  10. Goodness gracious! I'm saying some prayers for you. Hopefully it will all subside soon.

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  11. Susan:
    I've been trolling your blog for awhile now and have wanted to write. You are a hoot! And I am going to learn alot here, I can tell. I have been thinking about you since hearing about all the rain. We have a house in Southern Ohio that was the start of our organic farm market dreams. But there wasn't any work to sustain us for the interim. For two years now it has been sitting
    vacant with a for sale sign. The organic farm we wanted to buy here in Indiana blew up in our faces. Right now we are in a house that sits on a 50 x 60 lot:( We need to find another place next month. My husband wants a new job too. But we are getting nowhere--YET. I do have faith the Lord will provide. I am learning patience! But I'm itching to plant! Made your molasses ginger spice cookies. But I used sucanat and an organic molasses. (What is sweet molasses? Mine turned quite dark and are definately not sweet--great with coffee and milk. I also used coconut oil for half the fat in the recipe. They were great. And I make lots of bread, mostly sourdough. Now I want a breadbowl! Lookin' on Ebay. Thanks, and am praying for you.

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  12. I have been a drive by reader lately, but your news of the torrents tugs at my heart. You'll be in my thoughts as this dries out.
    Thank you for your excellent blog.

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  13. Just no predicting the weather is there? Oh that's right - somebody thinks they predict -but not the parts that count - like how much and when! Hoping things are stable and you are back to the quaint meandering stream right soon!

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  14. Oh that does sound scary. I do hope everything will be okay!

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  15. I hope you get to the pregnant ladies soon!! Worrying to think of what may happen, just in case they need your assistance and all. Stay safe too! Hugs to Cary! :)

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  16. I hope you and your's are keeping safe.
    I can't help but wish I lived somewhere where cell phones don't work. I can just imagine the peace. I know I can always turn them off and I do. Hubby however, is a different story.

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  17. Glad you are all safe. We are on the same side of our flooded Missouri creek as the sheep -- but getting to the cattle was tricky. The sheep just walked back and forth along the creek as it crashed through their woods wondering what the heck was going on. At midnight last night we were figuring we could open the doors/gates and let everybody out to higher ground if we needed to. But by 2am check, could see things would be OK. Sheesh. And to think it will all be dry in a few months.

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  18. Rain was downright crazy...I believe that global warming is real but when the hell did Missouri move to a tropical zone...it rained like we were in Belize.

    peace

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  19. It's flooding like crazy here too. We're on top of a small 'mountain' so we're safe... but driving home through Indiana yesterday I saw horses in fields that were 90% flooded. Crazy!!

    I hope it recedes soon!!

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  20. Thinking of you and all the animals!

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  21. Shades of my valley last year. You all stay safe and dry. Warm too...because, snow? Snow?

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  22. We are having water problems too. I love this blog and discovered it from Gather :)
    Hope you get a chance to check out my blog(s) sometime.

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  23. Good luck with the flooding...I am near St. Louis and the water is high everywhere...hopefully it recedes soon. Can you post some pics of the newborns on the farm (when they are born)?

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  24. I'm anxiously awaiting to read another update from you! Hoping to hear that everything is still ok. Thoughts of well being are with you.

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  25. Wow! Always an adventure on the farm! A flood is the last thing you need right now, but I suppose Mother Nature isn't a very sympathetic soul. In fact she can be downright ornery at times!! Hope everyone's ok, and the water recedes!

    Jeannine

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  26. Yikes! Good luck with the flooding. Hope the waters go down soon!

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  27. Thinking of you and hoping all is well, especially with that barn full of expectant ewes! I love reading your blog in all of its aspects (I'm not much of a cook/baker but read those darn recipes just the same!).

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  28. Now I've been dreaming about floods for the last two nights. I think it's a combination of seeing this post (and others)and hearing that the river that passes a few blocks from our home is nearing flood stage. We live up on a bluff, so we're not at risk, but it's been strange. This river never floods. It just doesn't.

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  29. Terrifying, and I would think you'd be going off your bean. Best luck and be thinking of you.... ( I finally found out my Goggle address - totally accidently- they've been keeping it a secret)

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  30. hi my wife has been reading your website for a while now. Any how, I grew up on a sheep farm in New Zealand and was just wondering why the 2 am trips to the barn are necessary? Our lambing in NZ is bascally leave them to their own devices and check once a day in the morning for any stuck lambs.

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  31. That's incredible! Wow!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

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