The Power of Water...

By now, you've probably heard that there was a flood in

Wimberley, Texas,

There was a lot of damage....destruction...along the 

Blanco River.

I've shown you the beauty of that river before.

The giant Cypress trees turn beautiful colors in fall.

And, under most conditions, the river flows gently along.

But, Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend, it turned into a monster.

We hadn't had much rain that day. We've had lots of rain here, but that day

wasn't bad, in our area.

But, to the west, in Blanco, it rained a foot of rain, in a short time.

All that water went into the river, and the river rose thirty feet

in less than an hour.

Houses that had stood solid for fifty or sixty years with no flooding,

were no match for this tsunami.

Debris...houses, cars, trees, boulders...came rushing down,

washing away everything in its path.

People's homes were damaged, destroyed, or simply washed away.

People lost their lives.

internet image. source unknown.

The deluge topped this bridge by at least ten feet.

The beautiful Cypress trees, which have stood for hundreds of years, 

were bowed over and shredded.

We pray for those who have lost so much.

We hope for them the strength it will take to get through all this.

We do what we can to help, with funds, time and energy.

Meanwhile...this small town of Wimberley is still 

A Little Bit of Heaven.

Stay safe...

God Bless...

~~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~~

On River Road

The Blanco River winds it's way through Wimberley.  During the summer, it was very, very low.  It was mostly a river of limestone, all along the way.  Here, on River Road, there is a one lane, low water bridge.  It acts as a slight dam, as well as a way to cross the river.  Even here, there were rock islands sticking up, during the summer.  I was lucky to get to stop long enough on the bridge to capture some fall color.

Looking the other direction on the bridge, you can see some shallow rapids, where only trickles of water were a few months ago.

There are many cypress trees giving us color here in Wimberley Valley.

This is just one of the many reasons we love this place.