Several readers have inquired why there have been no postings of late. I haven't forgotten you, but life has been pretty ho-hum. Larry has been painting the exterior of the house for weeks now, and I've been consumed with auction activities. Nothing of interest to the outside world. Until this past Sunday.
It had been a quiet weekend. Following dog class on Saturday morning, I had set about doing laundry and continuing with some deep cleaning of the house; Larry had resumed painting. This continued on Sunday morning into the early afternoon, when I took to my bed to read, surrounded by all four animals, while Larry enjoyed some noisy sporting event on t.v. in the living room. At some point Larry made his way to town to pick up a few things, and I drifted off into an afternoon nap. I woke up about 3:30 to rain, not unusual in mid to late afternoon here during the rainy season, but I observed that it was heavier than usual and that the backyard was fast becoming a lake. I snapped a few photos, retrieved the dog dishes that were floating away, and set about preparing the pets' late afternoon meal, when Larry telephoned to say that he was stuck downtown because the road to Palo Alto had flooded down the way where it intersects with the Jaramillo Road. Edwin's house lies at the foot of where the two roads intersect, and it was flooded, he reported. He had tried to come home the other way, around the loop, but a small bridge just up from our house on the main road was out and the river was raging across the road. While we were talking, I noticed water on the floor of the guest bath and saw that it was seeping through a window beneath an overflowing gutter. I signed off, starting plugging up and mopping up, and then went to open the sliding doors to the terrace out back. When I touched the door, it was vibrating; and when I opened it, I heard what sounded like a train roaring. It proved to be the river raging behind our house, hurling boulders and whole trees downstream. The dogs ranged from being severely agitated to freaking out. Long story, but Larry didn't make it home until 8:00 that night after lying his way through a barricade.
Following the big flood in late November 2008, the government has expended considerable resources fortifying the river banks, starting with the Caldera River downtown. They had made it into only one of the mountain feeder rivers, however, and the Palo Alto River was still on the agenda. So there was widespread devastation in our area. Water flowed down the main road to town from where the bridge broke, and, additionally, the river overflowed its banks in our area, Palo Alto. Structures along the river were either flooded or were completely destroyed, including a fancy restaurant and bed and breakfast recently rebuilt at great expense following the last flood. Our area is closed to traffic except for residents (I had to go to the Mayor's office for a special permit to go to and from home), but the road is virtually impassable anyway due to all the repair vehicles and equipment.
Miraculously, we still have electricity. But our water system, the main location of which is higher up the mountain, was badly damaged. But we have a backup tank and pump, as well as four tanks that hold rainwater coming off the roof that we normally use for irrigation in the upper back portion of the garden. I think we're fine for a while. Nonetheless, Larry, fearing the worst, has become the water dictator. He turns the water off after our morning showers and toilet flushings and allows about an hour at night for subsequent flushings and dishwashing. He boiled up a huge lobster pot of water for drinking and cooking during the day and closely monitors my use of it. I'm down to using Wet Wipes to keep my hands clean.
The river came to within about five feet of our back fence, taking another chunk of our property, but there's a big drop off, and it didn't reach the top. If it had, the house and garden, which are downhill on the other side, would have been deluged. And we would have been in deep doo-doo inasmuch as flood insurance here is a thing of the past. As I write, there's the sweet sound of heavy equipment moving debris around, and I think our little river just moved way up on the priority list. That's a saving grace.
Incidentally, it has been reported that we got 14 inches of rain in a three-hour period on Sunday. Yesterday was bright and sunny all day, but neighborhood residents appeared dazed and emotionally drained.
Well, we were looking forward to a little adventure when we moved here.
(The photos are of areas a very short walking distance from our house.)
