Homestead mailing list

[<eureka AT hctc.net>]

Our house is about 32 inches higher than where the river 
rose to, and our sheep pen and garden another foot higher. 
That doesn't sound like much but I think it would have to 
rain a whole lot more because at this point the land 
flattens out into prairie and it would spread out. Our 
worst problem is the creek that divides our property is 
only about fifteen feet from the house and when the river 
floods the creek has nowhere to go and backs up. I've 
heard this was not the case when there was a low water 
crossing but sometime in the 50's culverts were installed 
and get clogged with trees "coming down". We try to keep 
our portion of it free of fallen wood and dead trees, but 
have no control over the mountain behind us. I carry flood 
insurance even though FEMA does not consider it necessary, 
just in case.

During the first big flood I was still unpacking and 
moving in. (This was the three slug flood). Someone called 
to tell me there was going to be a flood. This is the 
protocol: if you live upstream, you call everyone you know 
downstream. I looked into the creek, and nothing. Fifteen 
minutes later I looked and it was twenty feet deep! I 
decided to stop unpacking, it was like rearranging the 
deck chairs on the Titanic. I called a neighbor who told 
me not to worry. He went down and placed rocks as markers 
on the street where the water had risen to. He came back 
about twenty minutes later and the rocks were underwater. 
I could see he was concerned. He and his wife came over 
with a truck and helped me get all my animals into 
carriers and took us into their home, about two feet 
higher than mine. Someone's large bull ended up in my 
front yard. Deer gathered on the street. I have never 
heard so much water, all around me.

Others not so fortunate have to be rescued by helicopters 
from their roofs. I don't think our house will flood, but 
it would be nice to have a permanent ladder to the roof!

On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:42:13 -0400
 EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
> eureka AT hctc.net wrote:
>
> > Yes, the slugs (big 4" garden variety slugs) showed up 
> > in 
> > my kitchen during the rain *before* we knew it would 
> > rain 
> > enough to cause a flood. During these two floods the 
> > river 
> > rose 47 feet above it's normal depth quite suddenly 
> > (about 
> > an hour or so). An old timer told me he watches for 
> > snails 
> > crawling up the side of his barn. When we are having a 
> > flood, the locals say "the river is coming down" (not 
> > up) 
> > because it's always like a wall of water coming down 
> > like 
> > a bowling ball through the canyon carrying trees, 
> > livestock, cabins, cars. I am half a mile from the river 
> > but suddenly had river front property with a class V 
> > rapid 
> > in front of my driveway on these occasions. How could 
> > these slow little beings know to seek safety so early?
> >
> > There's a whole lot of wisdom out there if we could 
> > reconnect with it. What Buhner is doing with plants 
> > could 
> > be applied to all living things: Listen and they will 
> > teach us.
>
> Ground vibration?
> I hope Sage, that you have high ground nearby and could 
> get up out of 
> the way of the water.
>
> Bev
> _______________________________________________
> Homestead list and subscription:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/homestead
> Change your homestead list member options:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/homestead/eureka%40hctc.net
> View the archives at:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/homestead