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.  

Up a little more.

There is no forgiveness in nature. -Ugo Betti

3-11-16, Looking west from the back steps. 

The little area of turned soil is home to snap peas, arugula, garlic, and red onions. The peas and arugula have been in about two weeks. Did not plan on them being underwater for a week or more. Poor things. 

We were down graded from 24 ft crest to 32.5, which is great. Six inches in the garage means I don't have to move the washer and refrigerator out. Everything is up on blocks. . 

More tomorrow. ;-)

Water UP

The river flows at its own sweet will, but the flood is bound in the two banks. If it were not thus bound, its freedom would be wasted. -Vinoba Bhave

March 7. 2016

The water has risen and will continue to rise until it breaches the first bank, then climbs up the second and begins its trip around the house and into the garage.  This is the result of a good rainy season, and snow melt. Warm rain melts snow. Most of these actions are just physics. 

This is the same shot from the same place on the
bank thecircle is all you can see of the little bush.
The arrow points to the left fork of the tree above,
  The arrow is pointing to the part at the top of the
picture frame that is actually out of site above.

It is also part of how things work for humans to put off some of the last minutes things until they absolutely have to do them. I had about 1/2 of the stuff up, and because of the draught and the mis forecasting that has been occurring as of late, I certainly did not think we would be getting enough water to concern me. OOPS. 

The Sacramento river is now expected to crest at somewhere around 24 feet which puts a foot of water around my house. This means that both Fred, my landlord and I have already spent two days getting things up. Now there is the task of moving my washer, garage fridge, and other big heavy item that cannot be submerged at all to higher ground. And this will be happening tomorrow instead of Saturday as we had planned. It is a lot of work, but it forces both of us to liquidate stuff. Here are some photos to give you reference points. 

To the right of the hummingbird feeder at the bank
is whereI stand to take the photo of the tree
and little bush.  I am standing, for this shot, on
the third step from the bottom of my back stairs. 

What you see across the river are the flood gates for the Yolo bypass. The bridge has a two lane road, and a train track that runs to and from Woodland. 

It a couple of days the water will be a long expanse of water and the flood gates will remain closed. However there is a drop-off on the other side so some of the water will flow under the gates and sound like a waterfall. Stay Tuned! ;-)

There is a stump to the left  in the photo
 above, and I have Agapanthas planted here.
Usually it is a 15 foot drop to the water.
This is looking straight down.