Mother Nature's Wicked Encore

THIS. The photo below illustrates what we dealt with yesterday with Mother Nature's wicked winter encore. Compared to the snowstorm in mid-February (which brought frigid temps and power outages), this one brought flood waters - much worse conditions. The river that runs parallel to our home, just across the street, was at its highest since 2003, just under 28'. Flood stage is 30'. Note the sidewalk and boat dock pylons and the difference in the water levels.

I emailed the above photo to our local news when they asked for readers' input yesterday. They opened their 6 o'clock news with that photo. Thankfully, our home is safe, and the waters are now receding. One of my daughters also lives very close to another tributary river west of me, and she is also safe, but neighbors just two streets away from her home were flooded.

In the photo above, do you see those protrusions in the snow on the bank in the foreground? Those are our utilities on our riverbank - the lower one is the water spigot, the higher one electricity. The water pipeline was run (3') below ground level, from our house and under the road. We previously had a gazebo on a plateau just a few feet below where the spigot is situated, which was flooded in 2003. During our renovation in 2004 we dismantled the gazebo and have not rebuilt.

The photo above is my next door neighbor's gazebo, sitting at the same level where our gazebo was on the riverbank. The furniture is sitting in about 6" of water, and they'll have to take inventory to see if any floated away. Where my daughter lives, boats, furniture and other personal effects were floating down river, as well as many interiors flooded. News accounts today will have more details.

All of these photos certainly put things into perspective as to what's important and how one's life can turn on a dime. I am thankful we were unscathed, but so many others weren't. Please keep the folks affected, both in our area and surrounding, in your thoughts.