Can anything more go wrong?

First of all, I really need to apologize to all of you - I haven't been keeping up on reading blogs at all for many weeks. I guess it's been because I've been just a wee bit preoccupied with other things - like water and flooding and blizzards and worrying and sleepless nights and peering out the window wondering how high the water is NOW!!

I really hate to write about "downers" but I just have to this time. I have to let off some steam - vent, you know. Otherwise I'll explode - or cry - something.

Does anybody else believe that cars have personalities? I'm beginning to. I think mine is truly mad at me and I don't know why. All I've tried to do is take good care of it and now - well, things are not good. I bought my car new 10 years ago, a Chevy Venture van. This is about the fourth van I've had and would find it hard to go back to a conventional car anymore. Vans are just so much more roomy and comfortable and you can haul so much more "stuff" with them. And besides that, you sit up higher than a conventional car - and for those of you who drive in Minnesota in the wintertime, you know how nice it is to look over that snow that's blowing across the highway instead of trying to look through it. Anyway - I love my van - especially this one. So a few years ago when Ole asked me if I didn't want to trade it off for something newer I said no. I didn't see any need to - besides - why make car payments when you don't have to. I've taken very good care of my van all these years and all these years it's been there for me. Never dumped on me on the highway, never cost me any money except for general maintenance, etc.

Well, about a year ago I decided the poor little van was getting to a point where it wasn't a good economical decision to carry full coverage insurance on it anymore. It had aged to the point where it wasn't worth much dollarwise. You know how it is when you get old - you're just not as valuable. So I dropped the full coverage insurance and two days later a rock hit me in the windshield and put not just a chip in, but a big crack!! Isn't that just the way it goes. About two weeks later a sugar beet flew out of somebody's truck and of course landed on my windshield and I got another crack. I priced out a new windshield - well over $700 - so Ole decided because of the age of the vehicle I would just have to make do. So I did. And my little van purred along just fine.

Well, this winter when we were in Albuquerque one of Big Brother's friends, who is a glassman, told me he would replace my windshield for his cost - $230. So I jumped at the chance and had him do it. Obviously my little van didn't like having her parts replaced because she's been acting up ever since. We were driving down the street in a huge rainstorm (still in Albuquerque - yes it rains there) and my windshield wipers started acting up. They'd get to the top of the upswing and wouldn't go back down - just sit there and grind away. Ole said he would fix that when we got home.

Of course that didn't happen because when we got home we were flooded and Ole had a foot of water in his shop. He still hasn't been able to get back to work in his shop (some two weeks later) due to all the debris and slime. So I took my little van into a dealership to have it worked on and $200 later came out with a new windshield wiper motor. Two days later I was in town running errands, dodging all the dikes that are still up protecting homes and trying to find my way home through all the detours when my little van started to jerk horribly when it would shift from one gear to another. "Oh, no," I said, (well, actually I said more than that but I'll keep this nice) "now I'm having issues with the transmission!" And I KNEW that was going to be an expensive fix, and one that Ole couldn't do even if he could get the car in his shop. So I called Ole and he told me to get it over to the dealership where my friend works and have them put it on the computer.

Well, I did. And I sure didn't like the answer I got. Some little doohickey that sends information to the other doohickey and shifts some valve that does something else when the transmission shifts is bad. The mechanic's advice was to drive the car until it's dead because it will cost more to fix it (upwards of three grand) than the car is worth. The funny thing was when the mechanic took my little car for a test drive it ran fine. Now isn't that just the way of a naughty child? But he said the computer indicated the doohickey was bad and that it would act up intermittently until it just would quit working completely. Boy, that didn't leave me with a feeling of confidence - much!!

So I drove the naughty little car home and parked it in the garage. My car lives in a heated garage, never has to sit in the sun or the 40 below temperatures in the winter. Don't I treat my car nice? It really shouldn't have any bitches!!! BUT - a couple of days later we were going to church and it started up just fine, took us to church, down to the community pancake feed afterwards and then home again. Later than afternoon Ole backed it out of the garage to hose all the dirt out of the garage that's been accumulating. When he was done he was going to move the car back in and it was deader than a doornail. Wouldn't even grunt. Well, after much fooling around and testing stuff, Ole and Lars dragged out the jumper cables and got it going good enough to get it back in the garage. Then they took off the Wal-mart, bought a new battery (another $100) and replaced the old one.

So I very tentatively drove the 10 miles to town yesterday to hit the grocery store and (fingers crossed) everything went fine - this time. I guess my car didn't want the windshield replaced - just wanted to stay completely intact - wanted all her original parts because she's certainly been naughty since I did that.

Anyway - now I'm looking for a different vehicle. I HATE that. I especially hate the thought of car payments. We've always managed to pay cash for my cars, but of course ten years ago and previous to that cars weren't upwards of $30,000 either. And this time I want an SUV so I can sit even HIGHER off the ground so not only can I see over the snowbanks in the winter, I won't get my feet wet in the next flood!!

Yes, People, we're going to have ANOTHER flood. The prediction for Fargo and Moorhead is that it's to be even higher than the previous crest which was a record breaker. And I didn't think our river (Buffalo) would do much this time around, but every day this week the weather bureau has been increasing the crest predictions by 6 inches to a foot. Last weekend they said it would crest at 12 feet, which is barely flood stage. Last night, after changing things three times, they've upped it to 16.7 feet - which will put it back in our storage building, very close to inside Ole's shop again, and once more put our driveway under water.

What's going on here? Why is God testing us to this extent? I just don't know if I can take the stress of watching that water come again and not lose my marbles this time.

Things have got to change soon or I'm going to check myself into the state mental institution. Then I can just sing songs all day, rocking in my rocking chair and I won't have to deal with all this shit!!

Love Lena

It's What you DON'T See

I received the following in an email from a friend this morning. I feel it's definitely worth passing on. It says a lot about the people of the Upper Midwest.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Just a personal observation...as I watched the news coverage of the
massive flooding in the Midwest with the levee's about to break in Fargo, ND, what amazed me is not what we saw, but what we didn't see...

1. We don't see looting.

2. We don't see street violence.

3. We don't see people sitting on their rooftops waiting for the government to come and save them.

4. We don't see people waiting on the government to do anything.

5. We don't see Hollywood organizing benefits to raise money for
people to rebuild.

6. We don't see people blaming President Obama.

7. We don't see people ignoring evacuation orders.

8. We don't see people blaming a government conspiracy to blow up the levees as the reason some have not held.

9. We don't see the US Senators or the Governors of North Dakota or Minnesota crying on TV.

10. We don't see the Mayors of any of these cities complaining about the lack of state or federal response.

11. We don't see or hear reports of the police going around confiscating personal firearms so only the criminal will be armed.

12. We don't see gangs of people going around and randomly shooting at the rescue workers.

13. You don't see some leaders in this country blaming the bad behavior of the North Dakota/Minnesota flood victims on "society".

Enough said!

Love Lena

Okay, I think I can write about this now

I intended to sit down and write an entry yesterday, but I just couldn't. This has been so emotionally draining and so stressful you just can't imagine. Some of you will understand where I'm coming from, but many of you won't. Having gone through this twice before (1975 and 1997) I have found that I can handle the situation during the event, but following have a tendency to fall apart. I still have a very difficult time to watch the video and look at the pictures that were taken back in 1997 and not break down. Unless you've been through it you have no idea what the stress level can be.

It's over for Ole and me - the water is down - not completely back in the banks by a long shot, but a livable situation. We're safe and we skated by - again. We lost our well - it was submerged and we'll have to have it sanitized before we can drink from it. Minor detail. We came close to losing our sewer system, but we didn't. Minor detail. Our driveway is washed out and will need repair. Minor detail. Our outbuildings got water in them - the storage building was under three feet and Ole's shop had a foot in it. Everything was lifted up so no damage other than a layer of stinky, slimy river silt over everything. Minor detail. Lovely Daughter's mobile home had water way up on the skirting but didn't get water on the main level. Her propane tank rolled over but didn't breakaway or start on fire. Ole had the foresight to tie all three propane tanks down that are on the property. Lovely Daughter and Hubby bought a house in Fargo and moved in there about a month ago. So her mobile home is empty at this point, but no damage from the flood.

The BIG detail is that our house stayed dry and we didn't even have any seepage. Granted, our sump pump has been running heavy duty, but it's still running, and that's important. Ole is smart and has three backup pumps, so if one goes out he can quickly connect another.

So for all of you who have been concerned and are wondering where we're at in all of this - we're safe and dry.

Many of you are hearing all kinds of things and seeing pictures of the Red River of the North on the national news. I need to explain one thing. Ole and I live along the banks of the Buffalo River, which is a tributary of the Red River. So what's happening on the Red isn't happening here at this immediate moment. We had and usually have our issues about a week before the Red River develops its fury. But don't let that make you think that the water wasn't an issue in our rural area because it definitely was. Our property is approximately 7 miles as the crow flies from the Red River, and in years past (1997 and 1975) has been known to come across country to within a mile of our house.

Our rural area is going to have its problems when this is all over. We have a lot of roads and bridges that have washed out, let alone all the personal property that was lost in the rural areas. There were a number of homes inundated, along with a small town downstream from here (Georgetown) that is located where the Buffalo River joins the Red River. Georgetown was diked completely around the town to a level that should have kept the water out, but the dike didn't hold and the entire town went under yesterday. Helicopters had to come in and pick people off their roofs because the highway was washed out and the water was too deep so rescue vehicles couldn't get there overland.

The cities of Fargo and Moorhead are fighting for their lives. There have been numerous areas of the two cities that have been evacuated because of weakened dikes; to this point there have been 8 breaches, all of which have been able to be repaired - this time. The officials feel the river may be cresting at this point, but they expect the river will stay at this level for from 5 to 7 days. That's a long time to be holding all that water back. The highest crest prior to this one was 39.5 feet. The Red at this point is just shy of 42 feet, which breaks all records. And at this point we have another storm moving in by Monday which will possibly bring blizzard conditions.

One of the critical points is an area called Oakport. The entire development was diked and people had put up personal sandbag dikes in addition to the large earthen dike. They lost the fight and the development went under on Thursday. Someone's propane tank rolled over and exploded causing the house to start on fire. Of course, the fire department couldn't get there so the house burned. It was one of the few homes that hadn't been inundated.

All nursing homes have been evacuated, along with all three hospitals, many of them moving their patients to Bismarck, St. Cloud or Alexandria. Last night the sheriff's office and the jails were evacuated and the courthouse moved everything out of the basement. And as I said previously there are many neighborhoods that have been evacuated in both cities. There is a travel ban in the two cities - no travel unless you are associated with the flood fight in some way. Both mayors have asked all businesses to be closed unless they are selling things related to the flood fight. Interstate 29 is closed going both north and south and there are plans to close I-94 going east and west should it become necessary. And then there are the ice jams to deal with. Can you imagine trying to deal with all of this in temperatures in the single digits with snow on the ground?

I've pulled a couple of pictures from our local newpaper to give you an idea of what things look like.:

This is looking north over the Red toward downtown Fargo.



This is the Woodlawn Park area. There's a number of homes with water up to the roofline.


Just a sample of a dike in someone's back yard. And it wasn't high enough so they had to put sandbags on top of it. Note the hoses and the pumps in the picture. People are having a terrible time pumping out the seepage because of the cold temperatures. Everything freezes up. And if you've ever handled a frozen sandbag, you know they don't work very well. They're just like bricks.

Here's a shot of the house fire at Oakport.

Hope this gives you an idea of the mayhem - it's awful. I just hope the Fargo and Moorhead can hold their own and not lose the battle.

Love Lena

I've Got the Sump Pump Watch

It's 5 o'clock in the morning and I think my brain is fuzzy. I've been up since 2:30 a.m. for the second night in a row. Ole took the first watch so I could get some sleep as one of us needs to be up to make sure the sump pump doesn't quit until this water goes down a bit more.

All together now, one, two, three - Hip, hip, hooray!! The river has dropped a good six inches!! I'm here with my cheer leading skirt (uffda, that's an ugly thought) and my pompoms leading this cheer. I can't HEAR you - louder, okay? Just maybe, by Sunday, if the current rate of drop continues, we just might be able to drive a vehicle out of here.

And just think - Ole and I have been cooped up together under extremely stressful conditions since last Sunday (I think because I can hardly remember what day it is) and we haven't even yelled at each other. Now I think that's quite an accomplishment, don't you?

We actually had company yesterday!! Actually saw another human being!! Remember I told you in my last post that the Coast Guard had come into the area with air boats. You know, those things they drive around the Everglades to look at the alligators. Well, Ole and I were sitting in the living room drinking coffee and watching the white caps on our now lake front property when we heard this really loud engine. Neither of us could believe that there was actually a big truck going by on the highway as the water was just too deep and besides the road was closed. We went to the kitchen, looked out the window and just outside of our tree line we could make out a couple of guys dressed in orange coasting along over the ice and water. They rounded the north side of our tree line and proceeded on. I said to Ole, "Ole, go get dressed because I bet they're coming in our yard to check on us!" (Neither Ole nor I were dressed yet, still in our jammies figuring we had no place to go.) Sure enough, they rounded the bend and came right up to our house. They scooted that baby right up onto the ice in our front yard, climbed off that puppy and came up to talk to Ole. (By this time he was out in the front yard waiting for them.)

They were Coast Guard folks and were assigned to run the complete length of the river connecting with everyone that was surrounded by water to make sure they were okay or to offer them evacuation if need be. We still had water, electricity and sewer so they said we could stay because by this time the water had started to recede. But there were folks where evacuation was mandatory because they didn't want to have to come back at night to take them out. That's one problem - Ole and I both know from experience. Everything seems kind of hunky-dory, or as hunky-dory as it can be in this situation, during the daylight hours. But when it's dark out there and you can't see what's going on, it can get pretty scary. I know - I've spent the last two nights up watching and waiting. And believe me, when that daylight begins to creep up in the eastern sky, well, it's pretty darn welcome.

They scooted right up onto the ice and they were SO handsome, even if I didn't have a clue what they really looked like under all those clothes.

Well, things have gotten pretty hairy around here. As I said previously, we live along the banks of the Buffalo River, which is a tributary of the Red River, which is probably the one ya'll are hearing about in the national news. Yesterday, in an area just a few miles south of Fargo, the air boats rescued 11 families whose homes had gone under when their dikes broke. Believe me, it's no fun being in this water as it's only 35 degrees - barely above freezing. And even if you have rubber boots on to keep your feet dry it doesn't take long for the cold to penetrate.

The city is in a panic due to the fact that the crest prediction has been raised again. They're laying out city-wide evacuation plans "just in case." In 1997 the mighty Red crested at 39.5 feet, which is an awful lot of water. This year's prediction is 41 feet on Saturday and then holding there for about 5 days. That's a long time to hold all that water back. People are getting really tired and worn out and the worst is yet to come.

The rural areas have really been compromised. Roads and bridges washed out, etc., entire small towns infrastructures have failed and have had to be evacuated. It's going to cost a ton of money to fix all of this when the water goes down. The North Dakota side has already been declared a disaster area by Obama, so FEMA will be coming in to help out, but apparently he doesn't think the Minnesota side is as bad. Unfortunately it is, you just don't hear about it much because Fargo is the BIG city where the population center is. Us little "peons" on the Minnesota side will just have to fend for ourselves I guess. Our senators are too concerned about whatever happens to be going on in Minneapolis/St. Paul to give a rat's you-know-what about the outlying areas. Gov. Pawlenty finally managed to visit Moorhead a few days ago so he could get a photo-op and after a half hour visit flew off again. Oh well, so goes politics on all levels I guess.

Since Ole and I can't get out of here to take any pictures other than our own yard, I've pulled a couple from our local newspaper just to give you an idea of what's going on. This one came from just outside a small town about 6 miles from where we live. That's the highway that goes by our house. As of this morning - or during the night some time a section of it has been washed away.

The one below is from the development where 11 families were evacuated last night. Sad, isn't it.

Here's a little video I took yesterday when the Coast Guard came to visit. I didn't have my camera quite ready to video their arrival, so had to capture their departure instead. Aren't they handsome?????

Well, this is Lena, signing off from the Land of Sky Blue Waters (yeah, right). I have to go do something else to keep myself from falling asleep. Maybe I'll bake some cookies.

Talk to you next time!

You Know you Live in Hell When - - -

The river seemed to stabilize last night about 9 p.m. just tenths of an inch from the forecast crest. Between 9 p.m. last night and 9 a.m. this morning it didn't move. Then it dropped about an inch in the last hour, easily told by the ice hanging in the trees.

Yes, I said ice. Not only do we have all this high water, but it started to snow last night about 11:30, continued through the night and is forecast to fall throughout the day today. At this point we have about 5 inches on the ground.

The Coast Guard arrived (Coast Guard in MN/ND???) in the area last night with air boats and has already been called to rescue 17 families south of Fargo on the banks of the Wild Rice River. There's bound to be more as the Red River is currently at 35 feet and is forecast to go to 42 feet (record high - 2 feet higher than 1997). Flood stage is considered 17 feet, so that's a lot of water flowing downstream into a river that flows north and floods on the beginning of the channel before the whole river is thawed and open. God did that one backwards I think.

SO FAR we're holding our own. Our well head went under several days ago, but I had the foresight to fill containers so we would have drinking water. We'll have to have the well chlorinated when the water level goes down. As of last night we were within a couple of inches of losing our septic system, but we lucked out there with the drop of an inch this morning. That gives us just a bit more breathing room. And we didn't get the freezing rain that was forecast so to this point we haven't lost our power, although our sump pump is running every three minutes to empty a 35 gallon sump hole.

A neighbor to the south of us called me yesterday wondering how we were doing. They had lost their place that morning. There was no water on the main floor, but they had no power, no water and no sewer system.

Just heard on the radio that another house was lost in the Oxbow area and the family had to be ferried out by the Coast Guard. I'm afraid that's going to be happening more and more as the water moves north.

Oh, and by the way, we've collected ANOTHER 55 gallon oil drum!!!

Love Lena

How High's the Water, Mama?

It's 18.5 feet and rising - along with all the latest accumulation of junk that's floated in.

Here's a shot taken from the east side of our house.



And another from the backyard looking west.



And from the side of the garage looking south. My little log cabin garden shed has a couple of feet of water in it.

This is from our front yard looking east toward the highway. As far as I can tell the highway isn't under water yet. That's one of our trailers with a boat tied up to it. Ole has since moved the boat in closer to the house.

From our front yard looking toward Lovely Daughter's house.

A closer look at her front step.

And we are now "proud owners" of three more 55-gallon oil drums and a couple of tires that have floated in from somewhere.

Looking back toward our little island. Note all the trash in the water that we're going to have to clean up when this is done.

The rate of rise has slowed considerably. In past days the water has risen from an inch to an inch and a half per hour. It seems to have slowed down to about a half inch an hour this morning - so this is good! That usually indicates that it's about ready to crest. According to the weather bureau we're supposed to crest tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. But this flood has acted so strange that who knows what's going to happen. We also have a forecast for an inch or two of snow starting tonight. But at least that will need time to melt and not just run directly into the river.

I was reading on the county web page this morning that there are 120 roads in the county that are either under water or completely washed out. The county just to the south of us has 80% of their roads either under water or washed out.

So anyway, in a nutshell, the water is still rising but the rate of rise has slowed down. So MAYBE we'll escape again this time.

Love Lena

It's Been a Long Day

We're in the midst of a heavy duty thunderstorm right now with quite a lightening show. We've also got a tornado watch going. I wonder what we ever did to deserve all this. All at one time.

Here's the latest batch of pictures taken about 5:30 tonight. This is looking down our driveway toward the highway. Yesterday I moved my car out of the yard and onto the shoulder of the road. This morning we had to move it to even higher ground as I think by tomorrow morning the water will be going over the highway.


Not only does the water create a mess but all the trash that floats in with is has to be cleaned up afterwards. Today someone's fuel oil barrel (you can see it by the edge of the trees) and an old oil barrel came floating in. And of course there's a residue of oil in both of them that's floating on top of the water.

Even though the water is icy cold the doggers don't hesitate to get wet.

Here's our poor little mail box out by the highway. I had to have our mail held because I knew we wouldn't be able to get to it for several days.

See all the trash floating in with the water? This is taken looking back towards our house from the water on the driveway. Our front yard is full of equipment - a lawnmower, Ole's little Ford tractor, a car trailer, Ole's white truck, the old 4-wheel drive truck and a boat tied up - just in case.

We made a trip out about noon today in the old truck and I think that might be our last until this is over unless there's an emergency of some sort because the water over the driveway gets pretty deep out by the highway.

Here's Ole and the doggers going around to the back yard to check things out. Ole had just tied our propane tank to a tree so that it won't float away. Lots of things to think about that you don't ordinarily think about.

Here's the other corner of the house. See all the water between the house and the shop? It now goes over the top of Ole's boots. He's got to get his hip waders out!!

Glub, glub, glub.

Love Lena

Pictures

The water has come up several feet more over the last day. Fortunately we worked hard and got everything in our out buildings lifted off the floor as yesterday afternoon the water went into the storage building. It doesn't have far to go to get into Ole's shop. And our forecast is for heavy rain Sunday night through Tuesday. Is this Armageddon?

This is a shot of our driveway looking out toward the highway. We have to drive through 25 feet of water that's anywhere from 8 to 12 inches deep. I don't dare take my car through it so Ole brought our old 4-wheel drive truck that sits real high up to the house - you know - the kind you need a step ladder to get into - and we decided to go for a ride around the countryside to see what was happening both downstream and upstream.



This is called overland flooding and is what is currently surrounding the river basin. You drive for miles and this is what you see. All this still has to run into the main stream of the river yet.

This is our neighbor to the east. Her road is underwater for about a half mile. The bridge is in the middle of that half mile and is submerged.

Here's a closeup of her house. She sits on a little island. That's the way our house is set up also - we have our own private little mountain that we sit atop of. It's tough on basements though, and you better have a good sump pump and not lose power like some folks did yesterday.

Here's more overland flooding from a different direction. That's our little village in the background, but that sits up high enough so there's no water threatening anybody.

More neighbors to the east. Stony Creek runs by their house - and flushes into the main river. This is currently Stony Creek.

This is the neighbor to the south. He's got a real mess. He sits quite a bit lower than we do. Back in the spring of 1997 when we had a horrible, terrible winter and record floods in the spring, he took it upon himself to build his own dike.

In the state of Minnesota you have to have all kinds of permits and licenses to build a dike on your own property. The state wouldn't grant him the permits so he just did it on his own. The dike is 12 feet high. The heavy equipment was running night and day working in rising water to complete this dike and save his house. Somebody from the state got ahold of the information that he was building anyway and came out with the sheriff to stop him. The dike was almost done when they stopped him. He was short 2 inches of dirt on top of the dike and he lost his house. He got three feet of water on his main floor. Then after the flood was over the state was going to force him to take it down. He got lawyers involved and won his case and was even allowed to finish the dike.

That may be what we end up doing. More politics you know - - - but fortunately we don't need a dike 12 feet high - only about 4.

Here's another shot of the river over by his house. It's really ugly and is starting to form an ice jam under the bridge I was standing on.

Here's the railroad bridge right by our house. The water is touching the beams when it's normally about 15 feet below the beams. This is another impediment when it gets this high. During 1997 the water flowed over the rails. See the ice starting to accumulate on the upstream side of the bridge? That causes it to back up even more and the flooding gets deeper.

Here's the highway bridge that's right next to the railroad bridge - practically in our backyard. When the water gets deep enough it flows right over the highway.

Another shot taken from the highway bridge.

Say your prayers for me, Friends, so that we don't have to empty out our basement in preparation for water to come rolling in. The forecast is for a bit of a reprieve and a drop of a few inches before the rain hits. If we get as much rain as we are forecast we may as well hop in our boat and sail away because we'll be under water big time. When water gets this close to your home and you don't know when it's going to stop rising, it's extremely stressful.

Love Lena