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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

. . . and the rain came down

New England doesn’t need any more rain, but it’s coming down in buckets. The ground is so saturated that it can’t absorb any more. Water flows directly to the streams and rivers.

My house isn’t in any direct danger. I’m on the height of land that divides two water sheds. The only real concern is that flooding might take out the roads. There are only two ways in and out of my area. It doesn’t happen all that often, but they have both been cut off in the past.

Hurricane Irene’s rains took out the shoulders of one of the roads. Last years new pavement project seems to have held the bulk of the roadway together. However, with the shoulders now gone, any new flooding will directly attack the road.

In the old horse and buggy days, it wasn’t unusual for people in my neck of the woods to be cut off for weeks on end. There are a few ancient ladies in my wife’s church who remember those days. They have some interesting stories to tell.

While the buggies, and later cars, often couldn’t get through, people were used to walking. My grandfather never drover a car. Every weekend he used to walk home 30 miles one way from the logging camps. That’s after doing hard manual labor all week in the woods. Sometimes he hitched a ride on a buggy, but often he walked the whole way. It wasn’t unheard of for people to get washed away in flooding or to die of exposure.

Since hurricane Irene my house has lost the grid twice. As I write this, it’s currently up so I’m using it to top off the batteries of my solar electric system. One of my off the gird friends has lent his backup generator to people who’ve been without power since Irene. Another friend has grid power but most of his area doesn’t. He too lent out his generator. That’s pretty darn generous as his basement is prone to flooding and he relies on pumps.

Rain is predicted for the next few days. After a short break, more heavy weather is supposed to come in. Hope this pattern doesn’t continue into the winter. If all this water had come down in the form of snow, we’d be buried to the second floor.



-Sixbears

6 comments:

  1. We're getting a pounding here in GA. Don't know if the ground can absorb it it's been so dry. Wishing you sunshine.

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  2. And it is still dry here in Texas and again we are being pleagued by wild fires. 40 homes were lost just west of us. I feel so sorry for those people. After a tornado, you can find some of your stuff, after a wild fire goes through, all is lost. The smell of smoke scares us.

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  3. If I had to choose, I'd take the rain rather than the fire.

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  4. almost 9 inches of rain in 2 days here. my pond overfloweth.Son-in law has my genny bet it comes home empty.Trip to smokey mountains put off a week.has gone from 98 on saturday to a high tuesday of 63.Life will return to normal i guess.As a prepper i can help our kids with this kinda stuff.But i need advise? whats the best way to pull a kids head out of their ass so they can do for themselfs?

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  5. Anon,
    Just remember, if it becomes long term. That gen may never return...
    Speak long and hard about such things to the kids, can't have ole dad doing without...

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  6. The smoke from central Texas wildfires cast a haze over the coast today, and sent my already tortured sinuses into an uproar. At least it was "cool" today, only mid 90's. A welcome relief from the triple digits we've had the last few weeks, which is a rarity on the coast. When we get our Gulf breezes back it will be pure heaven, rain or not.

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