The Flood Begins

This past week, the waters of the Ohio  began rising.

Unlike the recent tsunami of Japan, the waters of our river rise slowly, giving us time to prepare, and to gawk at the sight.  Businesses and basements are damaged, but lives are seldom threatened with the slow steady rise of such a large river. 

In the distance, below and above you may see a berm elevating the railroad track. This narrow strip of high land is all that separates this water from the river which pushes through at every opportunity.

See those two black things in the middle of the photo below?  Those are the tops of gate posts.  The gate is between them, the right one higher than the left. The gate is somewhere beneath the water and  yes, the road, too, is below.  It goes out to a campground on the other side of the railroad track.

The road comes out of the deep to cross the tracks, only to disappear into the river on the other side.

Camper trailers have been brought to high ground to avoid becoming boats. 

In Marietta, At the time I took this photograph,  it was fifty feet to the bridge above. 

Along with a couple other "rubber-neckers" I parked at the water's edge to catch the rising water in my frames. The next day, those cars would have been parked in shallow water.

Back across the river, in Williamstown West Virginia,  muddy waters slip into basements.

More and more through the years, sea gulls have been calling the Ohio "home."

Today it seems normal.

The road back home along River Road is still passible though in a few hours that won't be true.

I'm glad it is too early to plant corn in Mr. Lane's corn field.

The trees, behind, mark the edge of a quiet little creek, now buried beneath the waters it's much larger relative.

Nutrients and new top soil from upstream are dropped on the field.  This summer there will be corn or soy beans growing out of that soil.

But for now it is just water.  This is the site of the crow "staging area" I described  a couple weeks ago in Crows Clan Gathering.  The photos from that entry are from the hill side of the road. You can see the same white farm house from these photos in the distance of those photos.

For now, the road ahead is clear. Tomorrow would be a different story.

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Many Drips a River Make

Yesterday was pi day.  That is because March 14 is represented by 3.14.  I guess that is pi.  I Don't know numerals.  They don't stick in my head. I do know pie. Pie are round. Pie sticks on my hips. Like I said, I don't do numerals very well.  That is different from numbers.  I have a concept of numbers.  Right now, the woods are full of many numbers off frogs.  The cry of peepers fill the dark with high-pitched "peeps"  as the fog sinks in to coat the woods with a creamy thick darkness.  I go to the compost pile at midnight and hear a "drip, drip, drip." from branches and briars.  The fog is so thick that I can't tell if the drips come from rain or fog. 

Yestertay it rained for much of the day.  Jeff and I took a walk out to the "coyote" dens.  He thinks they are probably too small for coyote.  I think coyotes squish up to get inside. I'll keep checking and see what I can figure out.  I checked the fruit trees and they are budding.  The trees won't mind the rain.  In fact they cling to every drop as it softly falls.

All this rain is adding to the snow melt from the mountains and filling up the river.  The Ohio is slowly rising and has already started flooding the low lands. This road leads across a soybean field to  a small campground along the river.  The signs say to keep out.  Okay.

I am glad to live up on my hill.  We get muddy up here, but we don't have to swim.

The Canada Geese didn't seem to mind the water.  they ignored the "Keep Out" signs, floating among the weeds thoroughly enjoying themselves.

I zoomed in on this group who were going almost too fast for me to keep my camera on them.  They geese are surrounded with last fall's corn stalks.  As the river comes up, it does a bit of house cleaning it trades field debris for river debris; large limbs and tree trunks.

Reports tell us that the water will continue to rise for a few days more.  The businesses of Marietta will closely watch the whelming Ohio as it creeps closer and closer to their doors.  I hope the swell stops before it comes indoors. Our buildings become puny when compared to the power of nature.