Into Each Life, Some Rain Must Fall....

Or, maybe a lot of rain.

On October 30th, it started raining here about 10:00 p.m.

Softly at first.  Then it began to POUR.

And, it poured and it poured.

By 4:30 a.m., it began to let up.

By then, we had over a FOOT of rain here.

Remember my boast about my new bed?

How it had worked with a three inch rain?

Two of those inches in a hour.

Well...after two inches an hour, for SIX hours,

it wasn't so pretty.

The water came pouring over the brick edging.  It rolled up the cardboard

and the newspaper we'd laid under the mulch.

It washed out gravel and picked up stepping stones, 

and stacked one on top of another.

It sheared off weeds and grass, from under the newspaper and mulch.

It washed debris against our not-so-sturdy new fenced area.

It washed stones from the Rio.

And, crushed granite, .....

....into the Rio.

It built up debris against the house and the fences.

3:00 a.m., Thursday, October 31, 2013

It rushed like this, through the circular drive, for many hours.

And, deposited about 4" of rain IN the garage.

We worked hard to keep it out of the house, 

sweeping it off the front porch as fast as we could.

That worked.

By morning's light, the waters had receded a bit.

But, it had done some damage.

It washed away some of the cart path.

But, the creek had gone down enough to be inside its banks.

Large trees, and a smoker from down the street, deposited on the 10th tee box.

These trees, slammed against a low water crossing bridge, must have contributed

to the water backing up.

We were SO lucky.  The water is out of the garage, with no real damage.

We can restore the mulch and the plants.

But, many of our neighbors had water rushing 

THROUGH THEIR HOUSES!

Carpets are ripped up, and laying in driveways.

Not sure how much wall and furniture damage there is.

But, as far as I know, nobody was hurt.

In other areas of this flood, that wasn't the case.

9:00 a.m. October 31.

People were being smart, and not trying to cross Cypress Creek here.

This was way higher than we had seen before.

So, today I'm grateful we are all OK.

We're looking into flood insurance.

And, we're buying some sand bags.

We had about 20" of rain at Patchwork Garden, in October.

That's plenty, thanks.

Did I mention, we have rain forecast for today?

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Water, Water....

We got more rain!

There was no water coming over the cart path, Monday afternoon.

Then, Monday night...or rather, EARLY Tuesday morning...the storms came.

LOTS of noise and a terrific light show.

And, two more inches of rain.

Not all that much.  But, it came fast, and with the ground already saturated, 

there was a lot of run off.

The Falls are roaring.

Did I hear you say....this woman is obsessed with this creek?

Well...yes, she is.  It is so nice to have it running....to HEAR it running.

But, we'll move on.

Look at the low-water bridge on Cypress Creek.

It wasn't impassable...you can still see the little curbs on each side.

But, it's really flowing.  See that bid log, wedged between that little island and the bridge?

It was washed down the creek.

This is really some powerful water.

Did I hear you say....we've seen this bridge before...more than once?

OK....So, we headed over to see what the Blanco River was doing.

Here is the crossing beside our neighbor Elli's daughter's B&B.

You can't see the bumper curbs.  No crossing here.

This is the kind of water that can pick you up, and carry you away.

This is the kind of water, coming over that edge, that pushes you under, 

and tosses you around.

This peaceful river, which has been so low that you could walk across the dry, rocky bottom

is now a powerful force to behold.

Maybe it is an obsession.  But, I never tire of the power of water....

to calm or to cause fear.  But, to always, always respect.

You have to pay attention to what is there.  Know which kind of crossing you have.

If you can't tell, then don't risk it.  

Remember to take heed.  Don't take that risk.   

Turn Around, Don't Drown...

~~Linda~~

Cross Over the Bridge....

We took a trip into town yesterday.  We needed to get some things from King's.
We took the 'back way'...across Cypress Creek.

Isn't that a pretty sight?  Just a few months ago, you had to look very close to see a tiny trickle, under the bridge.
Now look at it.  The rains have really helped.

The swimming hole is filling up.  This is spring water.  It comes from Jacob's Well....a well known deep spring, with underwater (dangerous) caves.  Cypress Creek winds around into Wimberley and then on to the Blanco River.

No swimmers this day.

Unless you count this Egret, wading along the edge.

This is a narrow, low water crossing.  We have to take turns.  The water is not too high to cross.

Maybe this marker is just standard.  But, I think it would be a bit scary to see water to the top.

Back home to work on the new bed.  I'll show progress, soon.

Our son asked if this place is ever going to be finished.

Well...uh...NO!
Crazy 'kid'....

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~