1998 - Addison County, VT - we couldn't get off our mountain for a month. The rain came, in forces, and our mountainside river exploded with furry. I was young, it was summer. Come fall i would be home-schooled for the first time. I found comfort in that concrete decision. To get to the grocery store, took about an hour, which was a usual 15 minute drive. I stayed at my mama's side for most of the month until our mountain road opened again.
I can't remember if our power was out or not. It was out a lot at my childhood home, nestled in the mountains. I remember the flood came between a few summers of drought. We had a dug well and had to haul water in buckets from the neighbors, shower at their house or in the river if you wanted a cold good-morning rush. One extreme to the next.
The summer Irene hit was the first summer we lived on this land. The first summer of our marriage. Our little brook out back rose and traveled with anger, but never enough to carve out a new course. We didn't get hit in our part of New Hampshire, like Vermont did.
7-28-14: 3.5 inches of rain in four hours time. The brook made a new course. It rose over our sugar lines down by the road and plowed through anything in it's way. About a foot from going over the road, instead of through the culvert. We were eating dinner, i looked out and said: "Oh crap, my kayak!"
We wandered out there watching this little water-way explode through our mess of things in the back yard. Luckily Jason is back home every night now. Luckily we built our house and sugar house way-way above flood level. Luckily the brook is small, so even when it does get all crazy on us, it's not too bad.
It certainly made for quite an exciting weekday night. We finished our dinner out back, watching it create new paths. We moved the kayak and canoe's up out of the way. Husband wanted to go down the brook in them. No way.
Luckily it didn't rain anymore that night. By morning the water was back down below the sugar lines. With the only signs of new directions and new paths being sticks and debris gathered on the beat down grass that the water traveled over.
During this, i thought a lot about my friend on the west coast and the crazy wild fires that have taken over her summer. This little "flood" so, so minor compared to her evacuations with two small kids, not knowing if your home would be there come morning.
Mother nature sure is a scary lady at times.
I love the similar timelines, 98 & 14 - I have vivid memories of 98 also - for the ice storm that winter/spring that basically shut down the eastern ontario region for 2 weeks (where I lived). I recall having to convince my parents to drive me in to school the second week as I didn't want to miss any more school, as we had missed a bunch the fall previous due to teacher strikes. We had no power for 2 weeks, roads pretty much closed due to downed trees, power lines, generally being skating rinks, etc. But it was winter, we heated with wood, and had a wood cookstove in the kitchen in addition to the electric stove/oven, so we were golden (in my memory). This recent fire/evacuation made me remember that time and wonder how much more stressful it must have been for my parents than I remember! :) I love your mention of your husband wanting to go down the creek with the canoe/kayak! Sounds exciting ;)
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