I haven't posted in awhile, things got a little crazy like they sometimes do and I couldn't find a spare moment. Now, thanks to Mother Nature I was reminded to slow down and take some time to enjoy the things I like to do. Like reading peoples blogs and finding things to post about myself.
Mother Nature, I think, thought we were enjoying just a little too much of her Autumn finery and decided to remind us how powerful she can really be.
Pineapple Express....sounds so lovely....a quick trip to the Hawaiian Islands and all it's beauty.....NOT. Torrential non-stop rain, accompanied by winds up to 45 MPH. Our rivers were pretty full anyway due to all the rain we had received earlier.
I started watching the hydrographs at work....trying to judge when I should make a break for home. We don't have to worry about our home being flooded living up on the side of the mountain like we do, but the road to get there can sometime become part of the Skykomish River.
I started getting itchy feet, and doing my mother hen impression (worrying about her young 'uns) knowing that I couldn't leave my animals alone for who knew how many days. So I left earlier than I needed to, the river was high but hadn't overflowed it's banks. It didn't matter I was SO relieved to be pulling into my driveway.
I started watching the news and soon there was serious flooding everywhere. I got an automated reverse 911 call warning me that I may need to evacuate. (They send them to everyone with-in so many miles of the river). Of course I didn't need to evacuate but I started worrying about the people and animals that did. Lots of the farmland is flood zone and I've heard horror stories of cows and horses floating down the river. Here is a slideshow of pics taken by viewers of KIRO news: http://www.kirotv.com/slideshow/weather/17964192/detail.html (you'll have to copy and paste....for some reason it wouldn't do a link for me....I'm still kinda computer illiterate....)
The local fairgrounds opened up for displaced cows and horses and wound up with a few zebras to boot.
One thing about Mother Nature is she sure can have a way of bringing people together. There were the very young and the very old filling and setting up sandbags to try and keep some of the water at bay. Citizens with a boat would risk their lives getting to neighbors to help them leave their homes. Police, Fire, Search and Rescue all put in long hours. Churches and other facilities opened their door to people that could not stay in their homes. Food banks asked for and received supplies.
It's time like this that my faith in humanity gets restored.
More news, the water flowing over Snoqualmie Falls was hard to fathom. Huge trees looked like sticks flowing over the falls. Here's a video of the falls: http://www.kirotv.com/video/17972267/index.html They even had some footage of Ben Howard Rd (the one I live off of) with a Subaru the was stuck in the middle of the flood (fortunately the owner looked like they were able to be rescued) and there was a black lifted 4x4 that had second thoughts about trying to make it through and ended up backing out before he got very far.
The thing is, once the river starts flowing over the road it obscures the lines and you really can't see the road very well. Being as they are country roads they have huge ditches on the side and if you were to drive off into one of these your chance of drowning increases considerably. I enjoy having a paycheck as much as the next person, but really, if your not alive to cash it what's the point?
I stayed home, cozied up to the fire with my dogs and cats. I had made sure everyone else (sheep, etc) had a dry place to be, and waited for it to end.
I drove down this morning to see what the road/river looked like. The Subaru was still there, the river was down considerably but not enough for me to attempt crossing it so I stayed home from work another day.
The rivers have all crested and are returning to their banks. People will be heading home to start the clean-up. I am just grateful that all my animals are safe and we all survived with nothing more than a little waterlogged wool and feathers.
15 comments:
Whew Tammy so glad you're high and dry! It's so great when we all come together to help each other!
I'm glad that wasn't my little Subie stuck in the road!!!
This weather front was indeed a crazy one...my heart goes out to the people who live in the lower elevations. I'm so glad you got to be with your critters!
Eve, I drive a Forester myself....and of course I thought how easy it would have been for that to have been me!
Wow -- scary! They always say on the weather channel that it doesn't take very much water to sweep a vehicle off the road.....
We're so used to thinking of our cars firmly on the road that we don't think about how powerful even a shallow river-over-the-road is, I guess.
Glad you and your critters were ok, and it sounds like your neighbors were, too.
LOVE the spotted Jasmine! I didn't realize until the day I saw her that donkeys could have spots!
Water is powerful. I'm so relieved that you are OK and so are your animals. It's good that Mother Nature reminded you to slow down!
I'm glad you could benefit from all this rain...a day off...sounds a whole lot better than a flooded house or barn. I feel sorry for the animals. People can choose where they live the critters can't. I saw the zebras too. There was one on craigslist yesterday. A bottle baby Zebra. I would have bought it if I had an extra $3000 dollars. Wouldn't you?
Wow, glad you're okay Tammy. It's nice living away from the river isn't it? I am always amazed how people flock to it and pay the big bucks to live on it... No thanks. ;) We live about a mile from it, that's close enough... Plus, we don't have the mosquitoes like they do down there! :D
Not only a great view, but protection from floods! Thank goodness your family and animals are okay. I've been following the flooding on the news and it looked pretty crazy. Hopefully, the floodwaters will recede soonest.
All I can say is Wow! I am glad you are all safe!
Wow, when Mother Nature wants our attention she certainly gets it. Between your rains and the fires today in California...sheesh. I'm glad you've been able to weather the storm and hope you see the sun this weekend.
Glad to hear you didn't get stranded like so many did. November here in Washington is usually brutal. Remember 2006? Ugh!!!
We had the Green, Stuck and Puyallup river flood here on the south end. Hwy 410 (the one I take to work) was closed for 2 days. My sheep won't come out of the barn. Weenies!!! It's supposed to be nice this weekend so maybe I can clean up all the mess the storm left.
This community is awesome in times of need, I agree.
So glad to hear that you are ok with no damage or injury from the flood. Wish we could have some of your extra rainfall!
Wow, I can't believe how much rain you guys have gotten up there!!! I'm glad you and the critters are all doing ok.
Wow, I'm glad you're all ok and that your job is understanding enough to allow you to stay home and be safe. In these economic times, there are many companies that don't tolerate any time off by their employees. I'm glad yours does. :)
How awful for anyone that was effected by these storms and flooding, though, including the animals. :(
Being up on a mountain, do you ever have to worry about mudslides, like folks do in California? How about those horrific fires there now? wow.
From drought and fires, to uber rain and flooding.
It's hard to imagine these things when everything is dry, cool and sunny here. I'm just hoping we can get plenty of snow this year to build up the water table and local wells. Last year was freezing cold, but not much snow.
Thanks for sharing with everyone what you've been up to. I hope you'll post more about your critters soon, too. I always enjoy that :)
Here's to drying-out up there,
~Lisa
New Mexico
Glad you are all okay. Rain like you had is so dangerous. I live in Northern California; we would love a little rain. It's going to be 70 and sunny today. Not good for the long term.
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