Friday, August 3, 2018

A walk around the ranch post-apocalypse

There was a storm here Wednesday evening. It lasted about 30 minutes.
The power went out and stayed out for 22 hours because the electric company couldn't 
get into the area until Thursday morning, as the arroyos were running too fast and deep.
I shot this video as the rain was tapering off. It's very long (6 minutes) and I won't be offended
if you don't watch it, but I want to have the whole thing available for reference
so I'll know where to dig more ditches before the next big one.

I didn't describe the sandless sandbags very well. They're filled with something similar
to the stuff that's in disposable diapers, and they do work, despite how flat they appear in the video.
Here's a link to them if you're curious.

If I had the energy, I'd reshoot the same walk now, 24 hours later,
because you won't believe me when I tell you all the water is gone 
and the ground is dry in all but the low spots. 
Life in the desert southwest. 
Always an adventure.

p.s. JCC is just fine. The rain happened so fast, he didn't have time to get to the barn
and took shelter under a bush instead. Let's hope he learned his lesson.




16 comments:

  1. oh my oh my oh my, you are one tough cookie!
    The water looks lovely though.... wouldn't you want many more watercontainers, so you'll have some water for the rest of the year?
    And how lovely to see Alan calling out for you. I miss those boys a bit.

    love from Amsterdam

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  2. Wow! What a lot of water and a nice tour around your home. I get what you mean when you say "You're getting too old for this." Today is my last day of work and I'm retired finally.

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  3. You are without refrigeration and you haven't mentioned this?? Surely there are some good stories here. It is nice to see and hear the boys. /Gretchen

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  4. Almost to the tops of your boots there. Too much water too fast. Glad the power came back on as quick as it did. Lots of mucky mess, but all is well that ends well. Thank you for the video. Alan wants to play :)

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  5. Wait! You ended much too soon! What were those weird noises on the porch????!!! I loved the tour of your property.
    I'm thinking that you're not as fearless as years gone by because you are much wiser. Seems you had a good handle on things - I would have freaked!!! Very happy that you 'saved' JCC.
    ~ Linda K.

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  6. There might be a barndominium in your future Carson. You upstairs and the critters handy below. It's good that the desert gets a good drink now and then, but that's a bunch of water. So the frig repair guy won't be able to get in because of your road? Yup... you might be getting too old for this.

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  7. That's a lot of water and hail in a short amount of time! Yes, we aren't getting any younger...sigh...I know the feeling. Glad JCC is dry now!

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  8. So glad it only lasted 30 minutes and amazing how much water can fall in that short of time. Glad everyone is ok and good thing you are retired as if the power was out it would be hard to work.

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  9. I vote that you make deeper culverts! Don't want to deal with this again. Even if you don't get this type of rain again it is good to know that your culverts will take care of the problem! What if you were not at the farm when this happened????

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  10. Geez! The first thing I think of when I see all that water is, "I'll bet snakes are on the move looking for higher ground." Stay safe out there without Smooch to point out the waterlogged reptiles.
    Did you lose all the food in your freezer and fridge? Twenty-two hours is a long time to be w/o electricity!

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  11. Wow - must have been scary! Glad you all are ok, inclusive poor Johnny out there.

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  12. Relating to your situation - good to see you're no worse for the wear. We hit 21+ inches of rain here for the month of July - and it didn't get going really good until the 20th. Some kind of record. There was a several day stretch where it didn't stop. Doing chores was delightful, boots + shovel essential, and the iphone came in handy to document peak conditions for future ditch digging reference lol. (we are not too old - perish the thought!)

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  13. I laughed so hard at 4:25, I think I woke up the neighbors.

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  14. Holy moly that’s a lot of water! I know you needed it but whew! It did look like fun sloshing thru it, tho! Glad everyone is okay.
    Ethel

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  15. An American in Tokyo8/6/18, 2:17 AM

    Glad to hear you are all okay! I'll watch the video when I get a chance...

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  16. OMG! I would dig narrow deep holes everywhere to get the water into the earth!

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