Learning to wait

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. 

-- Buddha

Sometimes it is the spirit of the moment that causes me to chose a quote, and then I write to justify what I have chosen. The flood, such that it is will likely go on for about a week. I groaned. Not because of the water. I groaned because I live in an old poorly insulated house over a garage that floods. Make no mistake, I love it here, I have no intention of moving at this time. But my joints and old bones hate cold moist air. Electric heaters are a God send but they are expensive, so I am judicious.  

The flood only reminds me to be flexible and grateful. This is my life and path, and one that I have chosen. It doesn't matter at all what has or will happen to me as long as I remain gracious and aware of my reaction. 
So here are todays images. The cold creates a stillness that is wonderful. Nice for photos. Hugs to all. 

Looking West

Front of the house

Just a poto

A little rain this way comes

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. 

-- Rabindranath Tagore

It is that time of the year. Water in the yard or to be more accurate, River in the yard. For those who are reading this for the first time, I live on the river side of Garden Hwy, and G.H. loosely follows the winding path of the Sacramento River. I live in a two bedroom house above a garage and storage area. In the fall I start looking at my tools, and supplies and assortment of "stuff" and start putting it up above the 4 foot mark, more or less.

This year the flood amount data from the I Street Bridge Gauge told us we would get about a foot into the yard, so I knew my garage and yard would be under water for a while. Then the level shot up. The storm that dumped all the rain was very warm. The projection changed to include snow melt. Folsom Dam began releasing water so that when the snow melted they would have room. Folsom Lake and dam release into the American River. That extra release of water is what can back up the Sacramento River at the Confluence. So we went from expecting 1 foot (no big deal) to 4 plus feet by Midnight Friday. GULP. That was a rise of 11 feet in 36 hours. That is millions and millions of gallons of water. So I expected to come home from my last day of work (another lay-off, separate story) to at least a foot of water in the yard if not more, at 4 pm. I figured something had changed. 

So as of 8:35 pm on Saturday night, I have water in the yard, in the garage, but just a few inches. I will be able to walk to the car without waders so life is good. The dog won't think so, but he is small and I can carry him. Here are some pictures: looking South towards West Sacramento on the left,The center shot is looking straight on to the Weir Gates and the Old River Road, looking West on the right. December 15, 2016 Successive days down. This blog program is funky, BTW, Looking for a new one. 

And last, but not least, a beautiful sunset. 

More tomorrow, at 10:09 p.m., there is about 6 inches of water in the front yard, and yes, in my garage. The car is in the driveway. I can hear the water rushing under the bypass gates. I should be seeing a few more ducks, maybe some geese or a heron. Last year I had a beaver for a day. All is well. 

Spring

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'   --Robin Williams

When I read this quote, I laughed because it is so true. Then I realized who said it, I felt a little sad. He was one of the funniest men this world has known.

    

Lavender Iris, River Side of the
House,  April 2, 2016

My garden, because of the rain and the subsequent flood, is gorgeous. It is purely accidental. I take care of it, but this is just what happened this year. It is lush and green. All of the iris are blooming, the Chinese Gladiola look very healthy, and I will be surprised if I do not have a sea of orange blooms this summer competing with the red blooms of the cannas. The potato vine is blooming now, and one clump of lavender iris have four foot stalks nestled in the dark purple flowers of this bush. My mother's favorite iris, which is reddish brown, is blooming in two spots. It didn't bloom at all last year. My roses look like they are straight out of a gardening magazine. 

I have small artichokes  already. The Navel oranges are all blooming. The Jasmine is bright spring green and making a serious bid to take over my front porch, and every branch tip has flower bud. I think heaven must smell like Orange blossoms and Jasmine. The Blackberry vines are on a rampage of growth, I will be freezing berries this summer and making pies, jam and other goodies. I can already see Figs. OMG!!! Here we go again. I have spotted poison oak in two places I have never seen it before. It was lying in wait. 

Nasturtiums, fennel, pyritheum daisies, Grandpa Ott morning glory, 99 Cent store bulbs of all kinds, are up and ready to Party. Thank you Mother Nature. We need to be reminded that this is not our party, it is yours.

Rock On!!

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.   --Alan Watts

Alan Watts was my introduction to other forms of spirituality. I was raised in the Christian Science, Baptist and Catholic faiths depending on who was taking me to church.  One Christmas my sister and I received radios for gifts. Somehow, the first thing that caught my attention as I was flipping the dial around, was Alan Watts talking about Zen Buddhism. Now if you have ever heard this mans' lectures you know he is engaging, funny and profoundly knowledgeable about the subject. I was hooked. Every Sunday I was home I would get breakfast and go back into my room, shut the door and listen to Alan for an hour. 

Last week I got good and bad news regarding the problems I have been having with my neck. First I have very little disc left between the disc in my neck. I can see where the bone spurs are from the arthritis. This means that small movements can make a big difference. Looking at the xrays was important for me. What I can see, I can process. ( The whole idea that a report is all a doctor needs to make a determination is crazy. ) But it was the conversations and the questions the doctor asked that took 24 hours to gestate. 

He asked me about how much my handwriting had changed, if I was having any twitching in my hands, if I was dropping things. I have been dropping things more often but the rest was negative. I have, however, been making sloppy mistakes when I draw. Not big ones, just ones I notice. When I start loosing fine motor skills we will talk about the next step in treatment. In the mean time I needed to adjust my computer screen, and some of the other things I do that require looking down or up. I need to keep my head and neck straight and level. Still working on that. 

The next morning I starting thinking about the whole thing and it really dawned on me what it meant. That was when I burst into tears. That was when I realized how my identity is wrapped around what I do with my hands and eyes, and how most of the time I look down when I draw, work on the computer, sew, crochet, garden, do stained glass, jewelry. The list is very long. Washing dishes, cooking, chopping vegetables, reading, using the cell phone. I knew working on the computer was creating pain, but I am going to have to make some choices. I need to choose the things that are very important to me, finish  those and make changes in how I do things. 

My chiropractor talked to me about the power of an alkaline diet to prevent and control arthritis. He reminded me that movement is the best tonic. So it is time to '... make sense out of change and plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." Thank you, Alan Watts. 

Waiting for the snow melt.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.   --Frederick Douglass

The water is receding, but we have warm weather next week, and snow melt will follow. That means we may go through this all again. I can handle it. For the most part the plants, trees and wild life will also be fine. Obviously the iris don't care at all.

Everything that was submerged is covered with a fine, clay like silt. I am anxious for another good rain to wash off the covering because I am pretty sure it will interfere with photosynthesis. It would be a shame to come through all this just to have mass death. I have hosed off what I can, but it

is impossible to do the whole yard.

The two ducks here, and the two geese at Fred and Clara's, continue to swim and feed between the houses and the river. I hope they will wait until after the second river rise to build nests and hatch ducklings and goslings. There is evidence of raccoon activity everywhere including these paw prints.

 

Sadly, not every creature made it to higher ground in time. There are so many dead worms on the ground! This slug was another victim probably living quite happily under a log somewhere. It simply could not move fast enough to escape. Almost 4" long and as thick as my thumb. It is now food for other creatures. 

The Trees are the happiest, all of them leafing out in that bright green color that we have not seen in a while. I can't plant my vegetable garden yet, and I am not sure if my peas and arugula are surviving under the water,( I think I will be surprised if they are ) but I can wait for the water to finally recede in April. Meanwhile, I am humbled by the play of death and survival that surrounds me. A reminder of our temporary existence. 

Receding Water

Water is the driving force of all nature.
-Leonardo da Vinci

The water is receding. There are places Chalupa and I can walk that do not have water on them, only in them. Sounds simple, however I would rather hear the ground squish under my feet than the sound of sloshing water as I move carefully through it. The birds are signing with joy, scared a couple of ducks this morning, and the air smells divine. I should have a bumper crop of Black Berries. I am glad I took pictures yesterday, the photo op's are gone today. 

My Landlady, Clara was out taking a few pictures of her own this morning and we chatted for a while.  One of the conversations was prompted by my saying, in my ignorance: 

"It only floods once a year, has it ever flooded twice?"

"Oh, yeah, it usually floods in April, and yes, it probably will come in again"

Kinda dashed my positive outlook, lol. Because we will be having 70 degree weather this weekend into next week it is likely we will have a quick snow melt and the reservoirs will fill, and they will have  to start releasing water.  

The big logs strewn about the yard are soaked and impossible for me to even move. The water in the back is still deep enough to be a caution. However the majority of this influx should out by Friday and we can start cleaning up. 

I have a about an inch in the upper garage areas, which will be gone by tonite. The foundation is still bubbling, but not sounding like a water fall draining into an underground cistern. Might be hosing that out tonight when I get home from work.

I should be hosing out the main garage tomorrow. Bummer it may happen again, huh?

And that's the soggy news for now. More tomorrow. 

Reflections

String theory has the potential to show that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe - from the frantic dance of subatomic quarks to the stately waltz of orbiting binary stars; from the primordial fireball of the big bang to the majestic swirl of heavenly galaxies - are reflections of one, grand physical principle, one master equation.  -Brian Greene

It is a gorgeous morning. Sun, birds signing, reflections in the water. Bubbles everywhere are a tell-tail sign that the earth is drinking it all in. This why I never want to live anywhere else. I am still hoping for another Great Blue Heron to visit.

Just a post script

Errors are not in the art but in the artificers.  -Isaac Newton

I receive a copy of the blog postings via my business email. So I have a chance to look at them a day later with fresh eyes and I cringed tonight to see how many mistakes I have made. Obviously it has been a few days since I checked my business email. Typos of all sorts. My own rule is "Always have a second pair of eyes proof your work" No second pair of eyes for these blog posts, huh? I apologize for the errors. My father, the journalist, had this face he would make in a situation like this: eyes rolled up, head tilted and his tongue hanging out to one side. I need to slow down, I have been slamming these out. 
 
M

A nice long drink.

The most lasting and pure gladness comes to me from my gardens. -Lillie Langtry

I like this quote because it is so how I feel. I am an artist, but my soul is a gardener. And when I look at all this water, despite how much work it creates, I rejoice for my garden. 

And now for some pictures:

This is the north lawn of my house. The lawn and path lead out to my other vegetable and herb garden and the area I fondly call the back forty. The top Photo is yesterday afternoon about 5 pm. The bottom picture was taken about 10 am today. This whole set is before and after photos.  

he fig tree area is familiar to friends, I have gatherings under it in the summer. It is a low spot so it filled in as soon as the water was high enough to get over the high spots. 

I have my car parked in the driveway just above the high water.with about two feet to spare behind the back tires. 

Moving down you can see how much water came in and eventually flowed into the garage, hence the need to get everything up off the floor that I could. 

 The front of the garage at 5 was wet but not flooded. I now have about 6 inches of water. 
The river level changed in less that 24 hours from 22.9 to 23.9.

This what the mess is. All of those are fairly big logs of cottonwood. They will get soaked and when the water moves out they will stay in place. This will probably be close to as high as the water gets give or take an inch or two.

And last but not least, before I went to bed last night I walked out on the back porch to see how much the water had come up. I heard this loud splash like a huge branch had fallen into the water. I was looking for ripples when I heard it again. BEAVER! They can be really destructive. But I saw him swimming down there and felt privileged anyway. 

I am Grateful

Storms make trees take deeper roots.   -Dolly Parton

March 13, looking south., ground level.

I look out at all the water, and I think "This is going to be a mess when it recedes, but it is so worth it for the trees." They are getting their first real drink in about four years. and that is worth everything. This morning when I walked out on the back porch, I could hear the sound of the water rushing under the flood gates on the other side of the river. Our own little Niagra. 

When I got up, and was making coffee, before it really got light, I heard ducks. I saw a drake and two girls yesterday, swimming in to check things out. In 2011 I had a Great Blue Heron walking around in this same area. 

March 13, looking south west., ground level.

The messy part is that a pile of fire wood, that we thought was to heavy to topple, did. So when I looked down yesterday afternoon and saw a bunch of wood floating slowly north, it took a minute - then I looked left and sure enough that pile was gone. We have huge tree trunks bobbing their way north too. The elliptical shape lower left of the photo above is about a third of a tree trunk, and just like ice burgs. a lot of it is submerged. 

March 13, looking west., ground level.

This shot is looking west. You can see a few logs floating in the water. Happy trees. After the water recedes, and the ground dries out a bit, Fred and I will both be stacking wood to take up to the biomass plant in Woodland. 

March 13, looking north west., ground level.

By tomorrow, as the water begins to crest this area should be under water too. I am not sure how much. The last time it came in it did so so fast that I woke up and was surrounded by water. We had about two days warning. We scrambled. I get to watch it happen this time which is a luxury. I find the whole process fascinating. The air smells wonderful, the birds are happy, the trees are glowing. Spring is going to be explosive!

Tomorrow should be the crest. 

Addition to March 12, 2016

Just a video I took this morning for the friends that don't do FB. which apparently won't work on this blog. BUMMER. FB: 

https://www.facebook.com/mary.ferris.378

March 12, 2016. about 10 am.

More Water

All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.   - Toni Morrison

March 12, 2016

I am glad I know what to expect. The first time the water came into the yard like this was a Christmas Eve in 2010. I knew it was going to happen, but having never experienced it before, I was in awe. it was about 2:00 am, and i was coming back from the bathroom, looking down from the house. Then I noticed some dark shapes moving around down in this same open space. Raccoons! It had just flowed in when I saw them. Mom was looking for grubs and other goodies. The two kits, however, were having a blast playing in the water. It was one of the best Christmas presents ever.

March 12, 2016

If you have been here, then you know that the property goes left and right for about 150 ft. This year we are only getting about 6 inches to a foot of water to cover it all. I am grateful for the trees. The clean up however can be labor intensive, but not as time sensitive as this up surge was. The wind usually blows in from the south west which is about where the flood gates are. Any thing that floats is likely to get blown in, pushed around and possibly deposited when the water recedes.Just as a reference: The house sits at a diagonal to the cardinal point on a compass. The corners are North, South, East and West. 

Onward and upward.