Thursday, January 08, 2009

Submerged Vignettes From My Quaint Underwater Idyll

If you've been paying attention to the news you'll know that we have some flooding going on here in Whatcom County. Here's what it looks like so far at the Rancho. Don't expect much excitement. A flood here means 'really deep puddle' instead of 'raging currents of death spreading watery destruction.'

...looking due south out my front door, we have my front yard, the street, and the hay field.



...and turning slightly southwest, the corner of the hayfield where the t-intersection cuts across it.

Now for the backyard. Looking toward the grade school, north...

...that was yesterday afternoon. Now lets take a look at it the way it looked this morning at 8:am...

...a little deeper...

And now, this afternoon.

...it's risen a little, huh!

Look at the seagulls swimming around. This is looking northeast from that last picture...

All morning long huge flights of geese and swans have been migrating BACK UP FROM THE SOUTH.

The rain is hitting in a succession of waves. We'll have nothing for 45 minutes and then it sweeps in again for a couple of hours. Fortunately for us, we don't live near any major rivers so there isn't any current to contend with.

We are, however, housing five flood refugees. The SSA, the Lucky Bastard, the Goonybird, their dog and cat got evacuated last night and spent the night here. They'll probably end up staying at least one more night before the Corps of Engineers decides its safe to go back to their area. Now, their property is in no danger, realistically speaking, but the area they live in qualifies as alluvial fan and so they got a blanket 'voluntary evacuation' warning.
______________________________
Yes, its been nonstop excitement here at Rancho FirstNations. I just had my very first blogmeet! Inner Voices and Cheese stopped by for a visit!

...where the great man sat


No of course I didn't take pictures. That would make sense. I was so overcome with relief that y'all are in fact more than figments of my imagination that the last thing on my mind was taking pictures, yo.

They were kind of freaked out to find things so damp, so they cut things short and got moving up toward Canada, to do whatever hockey and Gouda-intensive Canadian activities they had planned up there. I will say this much...they are lovely people.

...generous,too.

21 comments:

  1. It's gonna take a lot of elbow grease to scrub out the stains where the "Great Man" was seated.

    Do you have indoor plumbing?

    Or did you make him use the toilet planter?

    ReplyDelete
  2. You might want to check around the house to make sure all your valuables are still in place.

    Just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:54 PM

    How fun, ain't real life interesting. Very glad you haven't had to break out the ark.

    Also I look forward to your very first book signing, I want a first edition. Thanks. Retro

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, yes, I am all too familiar with the flooded hayfield images. Only it occurred in summer... not winter... for two years in a row. Which, of course, meant we had to buy hay for the horses for winter as we didn't get enough off our field.

    How nice that some fellow bloggers slopped in to visit! Did they take their hipwaders off at the door? No photos of them with snorkels on, ready to continue on up north? What were you thinking, woman!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh dear God--is that a Cowboy Curtis figurine? No fair!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I should have come down and YOUR Cowboy Curtis could have had bumsex with MY Cowboy Curtis.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Look! It's Moses and the burnable bush!
    O I C WUT U DID THER



    (i am aware of who those figures are, plus i am sitting in your armchair farting preggo farts)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Have you thought about STILTS , they would be way cool in flood situations AND you would be 10 ft tall , its not compulsory to dress as a clown
    ***wonders what the Great Man is getting up to with a wheel of gouda***

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous3:32 AM

    So you will have water in the cellar, that can make things a little difficult.

    In re "generous too" ... what exactly does this figurine give as present? It looks a little like fossilized shit to me, but I may be wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Put pontoons around the base of your house.
    And he looks shorter than I imagined.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pontoons, you could have a houseboat soon! wow

    ReplyDelete
  12. mj: all sour grapes, girl. thats right. oh yes. have a little cheese with that whine. *looks smug*

    retro: yeah, well, first i have to get the refugees out of my house so I can write the damn thing. every time i want to someone needs a bagel or is having a virgo fit about clean shirts or wanting to go drive around in the middle of the flood like a noodj.

    ponita: I know, I know. I almost lost them both in the lake that my front yard has become before they even made it up the steps to the door.

    dangerPanda: complete with the hard to find removable cowboy hat! OH YEAH!!!!

    mj: wouldn't that be incest?

    ssa: SO glad i thought to buy vinyl...

    beast: at this stage of the game a jetski is the more practical means of getting around. although we did have a couple of guys out in the playing field the other day boogie boarding. no kidding!

    mago: no cellar, thankfully! and the 'offering' is a giant heefin' bud. one of many, I might add. Christmas came late, but apparently I'd been a very good girl last year! Who'd have thought Santa wore shorts and knee-high athletic socks?!?

    gale: pontoons and a couple of sails and i could go buccaneering! avast ye Canada arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

    joeVegas: houseboat hell, a party barge! set some of that combustible on fire and send out a few smoke signals, yo!

    ReplyDelete
  13. ahhhh.... and such a comfortable throne it was... now we are sitting in six feet of snow getting ready to hit the slopes!!! meeting you was wicked!!! thanks for all the welts and letting me keep the leather belt too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. voices...thats 'Thank you, Missy.' *slaps boot with riding crop*

    ReplyDelete
  15. SOOOOO...... did cowboy curtis and moses get a chance to partake in the burning brush?!?!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. ***THWACK***
    Slaps Inner Voices with old hot water bottle.

    We could empty out the toilet planter , if you wear it on you head upside down , with the application of a bit of gaffer tape and a garden hose we could make freaky deep sea diver helmets and go loot underwater shops and stuff

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have a canoe you can borrow...

    ReplyDelete
  19. *grabs garden hose and builds water pipe, passes it to beast*

    lets loot the village!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. voices: thats cowboy curtis and LEONARDO DAVINCI! *smacks Voices with riding crop*
    NOW say 'Thank you missy! may I have another?' you WORM!!!

    beast: have you been partying with cowboy curtis and leonardo davinci, beast?

    geo: thanks, but the water is already receding. *waves to passing submarines*

    voices: man the mizzen! thwart the jibs'ls! Freen the mackinaws! Hoist the Walter Frawleigh! *takes another long hit off the water pipe* ....wait, what?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oy! That's a lot of water on the ground. Hope the sun comes out soon and you get some dry land. And that last picture, that's not broccoli that little figure's holding. That's lovely!

    ReplyDelete