Whew. It’s been a rough couple of days. It was time for the annual spring flood! We needed the rain, though, as we hadn’t had any appreciable rain in three weeks, according to my husband.
We had a really strong band of rain come through yesterday, and we got the long side of the front. Lots of rain ensued. Then in mid afternoon, the tornado sirens went off in town, and we got reports of touchdowns not too far away.
So, Lee and I joined all five dogs in our fine storm room for over an hour while the system touched down four times, the last one just a few miles from us.
We were surprised at how well the dogs did in the little space, but it did keep the sound away. The wind broke a few things but we were okay.
Storm Room?
If you weren’t following the ranch on Facebook while we were building the house, you may not know that we turned the big pantry room into a storm shelter by getting custom metal storm doors installed, added additional bracing on one side, and used the stairs to brave the other side. It will also shelter us in any other disaster.
This may seem like a weird thing, but we use it at least once a year. Lots of bad weather here.
Then what?
It finally stopped raining and I was able to go check on the animals. It was very wet but beautiful at the Wild Type ranch, too.
Water was running briskly down the road. The sun made it lovely.
Of course, the chickens were glad to see me. They were damp, but they’d laid plenty of eggs! All the new chickens are producing, so we often get 9 eggs a day. That’s not bad, considering most of the hens are older.
The horses were fine, and almost dry. Fiona the donkey was soaked. She had apparently stood out in the weather.
Back home at Hermits’ Rest
The pond was nearly full and the culvert flowing briskly. Not too bad, I thought. I love how beautiful my pictures came out!
But wait, there’s more
We were awakened this morning by big booms. The heavens opened up again, and Carlton and Harvey disappeared under the bed.
In a short while over three inches were added to the three from yesterday. That meant big time flooding, but at least no more tornadoes showed up.
The dogs and I went out in a lull to see how we are doing. So, it could be worse. But, the pond was as high as it could be and starting to flow over the driveway. Eek.
The flow was really strong heading toward the creek, which meant I was not surprised to see we have waterfront property again. The dogs loved running through the shallow parts.
Since my walk, it’s continued to rain, but that should end soon. I’m really hoping the bridge doesn’t flood, so those of us who’ve had to be in town today can make it home, and so I can head to work tomorrow.
Here are some more photos.
The Hermits' Rest 