greybeard
Well-known member
First of all, my sincere thanks to all here who offered help, especially to Callmefence, who Monday afternoon while I was at my sister's as a refugee, offered material and labor to help me get my place back in order. For a variety of reasons, none of which were valid I guess, I did not reply to that generous offer untill today when he queried me. My apologies, for whatever they're worth. Had so many messages and little internet access and I had no idea at the time what I was going to find when all the water went down, but still, I should have found a way to reply to such a generous and genuine offer to help.
The whole thing is like a dream now, didn't happen, couldn't have happen, but it did happen. I lost track of which day was which and had to look back on my phone messages to even remember which day we left here.
It was hard, really hard, laying there in bed before dawn Mondayy and hearing the cattle bawl, then go silent..looking out thru the downpour with a spot light trying to see what was going on in that chest deep water. Hard to sit still as logs, barrels and I don't know what hit against the side of the house as the current carried it along.
Questioned myself over and over why I didn't do things differently, better. Sunday afternoon, between the downpours when water dropped on the low place of my road, we moved my wife's car to high ground right inside my back gate. Why didn't I load everything from my shop on my trailer and park it there too or move it off site?
Why didn't I cut the fences early Sunday night and let the cattle on the West side get out into the higher ground in the National Forest and deal with gathering them later? Why didn't I at least bring that week old calf up on the porch--it's closed in with picketed handrails all around and gates. It would have gotten hungry, but would have survived. Why didn't I take my truck out and the tractors and park them behind wife's car?
All I could think of was the highest I've ever seen water here since 1964 and it had never gotten more than a few inches deep where my house is now. Even the historical (at that time) flood last May 30 didn't put water in my yard or shop, and only closed the roadway out for about 45 minutes. I never for a minute expected the river to get so high that it started flowing back thru the culverts under that crossing and then flooding every thing in sight except 2 hills. I never for a second expected the level and velocity of the water to be so great it washed/floated cattle over the TOPS of the fences.
Within an hour of moving her car, the rains started back up hard and what had been a few inches of water in the low crossing became 4' deep and 40' across and it didn't go back down until Tuesday morning when the river had crested and started falling. By Monday morning, that water was probably 10 feet deep, and you couldn't tell where that crossing was, it was just solid water over the entire property and out into the national forest as as I could see.
Wife and I Sunday afternoon late, put everything in the shop that could be damaged, up on shelves or blocks, and I remember thinking "This won't be needed and I'll have to pull it all down in a day or two" but 4' of water showed me the real futility in that and the error of my judgement.
Why didn't I do it differently? Because I was arrogant, an old tough Marine that had survived everything God and Nature had thrown at me.
I was crying this week tho, when I again saw that Bear Creek volunteer fireman that swam and waded deep running water and helped us get out. I didn't know then,. but he had been in a boat on another water rescue the night before when a pine top floated up and flipped the boat and he came close to drowning himself, but he was right back at it when I called the next morning. Could wife and I have made it out thru that turbulence by ourselves? I don't know. Maybe, but he's a heck of a hero in my book.
The severity of things hit home for real when Tues afternoon, I learned my friend 2 miles up the county road had drowned helping gather his brother's cattle and getting some things out of brother's flooded house. We attended his funeral Tuesday morning. Standing room only and people standing out side listening. He will be missed. One of the last old time cowboys around here, horses and dogs type, good horseman and roper that had a nice roping pen we all had gone to every weekend to watch the activities. 69 years old and his family is one of the old families that have been here for generations. None of them have never seen or heard of water like this either.
It's been a humbling, learning experience, and I will never again doubt who is really in control, and can only be thankful that God took pity on wife and I and allowed the loss to be minimal.
Again, thanks to all who called and sent texts and prayers.
The whole thing is like a dream now, didn't happen, couldn't have happen, but it did happen. I lost track of which day was which and had to look back on my phone messages to even remember which day we left here.
It was hard, really hard, laying there in bed before dawn Mondayy and hearing the cattle bawl, then go silent..looking out thru the downpour with a spot light trying to see what was going on in that chest deep water. Hard to sit still as logs, barrels and I don't know what hit against the side of the house as the current carried it along.
Questioned myself over and over why I didn't do things differently, better. Sunday afternoon, between the downpours when water dropped on the low place of my road, we moved my wife's car to high ground right inside my back gate. Why didn't I load everything from my shop on my trailer and park it there too or move it off site?
Why didn't I cut the fences early Sunday night and let the cattle on the West side get out into the higher ground in the National Forest and deal with gathering them later? Why didn't I at least bring that week old calf up on the porch--it's closed in with picketed handrails all around and gates. It would have gotten hungry, but would have survived. Why didn't I take my truck out and the tractors and park them behind wife's car?
All I could think of was the highest I've ever seen water here since 1964 and it had never gotten more than a few inches deep where my house is now. Even the historical (at that time) flood last May 30 didn't put water in my yard or shop, and only closed the roadway out for about 45 minutes. I never for a minute expected the river to get so high that it started flowing back thru the culverts under that crossing and then flooding every thing in sight except 2 hills. I never for a second expected the level and velocity of the water to be so great it washed/floated cattle over the TOPS of the fences.
Within an hour of moving her car, the rains started back up hard and what had been a few inches of water in the low crossing became 4' deep and 40' across and it didn't go back down until Tuesday morning when the river had crested and started falling. By Monday morning, that water was probably 10 feet deep, and you couldn't tell where that crossing was, it was just solid water over the entire property and out into the national forest as as I could see.
Wife and I Sunday afternoon late, put everything in the shop that could be damaged, up on shelves or blocks, and I remember thinking "This won't be needed and I'll have to pull it all down in a day or two" but 4' of water showed me the real futility in that and the error of my judgement.
Why didn't I do it differently? Because I was arrogant, an old tough Marine that had survived everything God and Nature had thrown at me.
I was crying this week tho, when I again saw that Bear Creek volunteer fireman that swam and waded deep running water and helped us get out. I didn't know then,. but he had been in a boat on another water rescue the night before when a pine top floated up and flipped the boat and he came close to drowning himself, but he was right back at it when I called the next morning. Could wife and I have made it out thru that turbulence by ourselves? I don't know. Maybe, but he's a heck of a hero in my book.
The severity of things hit home for real when Tues afternoon, I learned my friend 2 miles up the county road had drowned helping gather his brother's cattle and getting some things out of brother's flooded house. We attended his funeral Tuesday morning. Standing room only and people standing out side listening. He will be missed. One of the last old time cowboys around here, horses and dogs type, good horseman and roper that had a nice roping pen we all had gone to every weekend to watch the activities. 69 years old and his family is one of the old families that have been here for generations. None of them have never seen or heard of water like this either.
It's been a humbling, learning experience, and I will never again doubt who is really in control, and can only be thankful that God took pity on wife and I and allowed the loss to be minimal.
Again, thanks to all who called and sent texts and prayers.
