The slideshow (photos, not video) below is of our backyard and shows you how unpredictable living by a river can be.
The house in the photos is a playhouse my man built for our girls. It isn't entirely done, which is a good thing since the little house flooded today. The tree is our 2008 Christmas tree, planted just a few months ago. The fence you can see is the fencing we just put up for a 2nd garden. It's currently holding building materials from our recent projects, like the playhouse. Later you'll see that it collapses (and, lovely!, the building materials are presently floating in the nearby woods for us to find and gather later).
Updated noon, March 30th...
The last photo shows what we have left from the flood: a lot more sand (we like that) and a lot of work (uh, yeah..not liking that so much). In the photo, you can see our ballerina (11yo) shoveling sand back where it belongs and you can also see the assorted towels/blankets that are drying out on the playhouse and bushes. I totally should have moved them (the towels, not her) before taking this shot.
The river flooded to 17.84' when all was said and done. Normal is 0' to 2' since the river is at sea level, but is a tidal river and raises up 2' with high tide. Our house, FYI, is at 27', yippee.
So, there you go, I thought I'd show you what living on a river can be like!
psst, Full-sized photos may be viewed on my Picasa page, here.
Lori,
Has it even been inside your house? Is that a shed/garage/studio that is flooded today or is that a part of your house? I suspect the water is still rising. True?
On another subject:Spinning. We would be glad to try to try to help answer any questions you might have, Blog, email, face book, or phone. Of course you know Mary is the expert.
Mac
Posted by: Mac McFatter | March 28, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Oh my! Head for the hills!
I hope you are able to keep everything dry and damage free. Saying a prayer for you right now.
Posted by: franticallysimple | March 28, 2009 at 11:53 AM
How are you guys doing? Did the water level go down? Did you have anything that was damaged? I hope that you fared well and they everyone and everything is safe and sound!
Posted by: Katherine | March 28, 2009 at 01:58 PM
Mac - The little house is a new playhouse my husband built for our girls but I WISH it was my little studio. I am so jealous of its cuteness. The water is still rising ...it's almost 3 as I write, and I just updated the slideshow w/ 2 more photos (total of 4). News 15 says it will crest at 5pm.
Mac, thanks for the spinning offer. I need to get that website you mentioned once, for learning spinning? I'll Facebook you and ask.
Frantically - the hills sounds VERY nice today!
Katherine - Nothing damaged, if that little house can handle staying up as the water still rises. It was built knowing it would flood sometimes (we didn't necessarily expect this level).
Thank you all! ~ Lori
Posted by: Lori Seaborg | March 28, 2009 at 03:00 PM
aaackkkk! Sorry for the girls and their poor play house! I just trust we will not see pictures of your having to rescue the goats and other animals again!
Posted by: Tammy Schindel | March 28, 2009 at 04:45 PM
Wow! Life along the river sure looks exciting. As for the house I am sure Dr Porcher would be proud of Tim. I am sure he did extensive calculations prior to putting hammer to wood. Uplift forces shear of the water pressure and all that. See all that training did come in handy.
Posted by: Mike Linderer | March 28, 2009 at 08:38 PM
Goodness me ....it did go way up...hope the little house is fine and that the water goes down quickly. Love you guys
Posted by: mom | March 29, 2009 at 07:55 PM
Lori, this is crazy!!! Glad it was the playhouse, not the "house" house! Whew!
Posted by: Andrea | March 30, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Oh man. I'd have been too busy freaking out to take pictures. Thank goodness it didn't go further!
Posted by: Darcie - Such The Spot | March 30, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Mike - Yep, I think Dr. Porcher would be proud - the little playhouse stood strong and never budged through all that water pressure. Tim draws a little bit on paper, but most of his planning is done in his head. He stares silently at a project for the longest time in a mathematical engineering daze.and doesn't even notice when we talk to him. It's a little strange, but results in great projects like this little house which I WANT and can't believe he made for our girls and not me (pout). Since I have no clue what "uplift forces shear of the water pressure means," it's a good thing he didn't ask for my help!
Posted by: Lori Seaborg | March 30, 2009 at 01:04 PM
Tammy - We had to find the goats another home for this very reason. :(
Mom, Andrea, and Darcie - Thanks for looking and commenting! Darcie, It was pretty freaky this time, especially since it was all happening as my man was at a 12-hour shift at work and I didn't know what to do. I think the camera calmed me. I kept up with the shots to keep the local news station informed. They had so many stories related to the flood that they couldn't come out, so I was their Fish River updater. They put 3 photos on the newscast, famous me (and not a single person mentioned seeing them at church Sunday, so...okay...I'm not famous.)
Posted by: Lori Seaborg | March 30, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Oh my, that is HIGH! Your poor goats...and chickens, right? Where did you put them? You let them in your living room, didn't you? I love the playhouse, I wish my house looked that cute. It's amazing how quickly it can rise and recede.
Posted by: Samantha Cashen | March 30, 2009 at 05:01 PM
Yikes...! That's a LOT of water.......!
Posted by: www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkXBt7Wh7kM7cLx9oOhM8ZgMukRGiNEuBk | March 30, 2009 at 07:43 PM