Our home is right on the Iroquois River and, currently, the river is rising to a record high. It is going around 23 feet above normal, and we are due for even more heavy rains. Flood stage is 16 feet above normal. The engineers have said that if it rises 8 more inches — which is possible, as it has not crested yet — the cement bridge (that we live adjacent to) could float away. We are lucky so far, as we are on very high terrain… but the water is getting precariously high and close; neighbors, to the south especially, are lower down; unfortunately, they are getting inundated.
A little humorous poetry from Art Carney (from the Honeymooners Show many years ago) cheers me up a bit at this dangerous time:
When the tides of life
turn against you,
and the current upsets your boat,
don’t waste tears on what might have been,
just lay on your back and float!
Update (at 8:47PM Central Time, Feb.24th):
Thank you, everyone, for your heartfelt concern, good wishes, and comments. The river remains very high. According to charts, it has crested and is supposed to be receding very soon.
Last night, i spent a lot of time getting the container — that our sump pump was in — better situated; plus i drilled a lot of holes into side of the container (higher up towards the top). Our crawl space was dry — you can’t have basements with living on the river — but there was water in the sump hole about seven inches from the top of the gravel. Today, we had company coming over (including my mother-in-law… it is mother-in-law’s birthday, she is 93). However, i noticed a patch of water in one (apparently) low section of the crawl space some distance from where the sump pump is. Before the company arrived, i was busy frantically digging a trench for the water to flow to where the sump pump was. I put some PVC piping into the trench by the sump to help with the flow. It worked! The crawlspace is mostly bone dry… and the small wet areas have subsided well.
Our elderly neighbor — whom i take the mail to, since she cannot make it to the rural mailbox — said that her son stated that an elderly couple who lives not far from us, by an old iron bridge, was surrounded by water. They refused to leave. Their kids (now adults) called 911. Rescuers used a boat to try to get to them but couldn’t get through due to tons of corn stalks blocking the way. A man with a better boat was contacted and he managed to get through. However, the husband refused to leave! Only his wife evacuated. The next day, the husband changed his mind and they had to go in again to get him! Geesh!
My posting for Sunday will still occur. I schedule my blogs (and usually am about a month ahead).
Thanks again everyone! (We all need to do way better with the environment! Weather conditions are going bonkers, worldwide. When are we going to finally wake up?! When it is too late?)
Flooded River (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Flooded River (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Hope things work out for you.
Thank you, Francis! 🙂 I’ve always kept fish as pets, since i was 9, but i don’t want them swimming around in my living room! (Years ago, my cousin’s house got flooded terribly and the fish in his 55-gallon aquarium swam out the tank into the rest of the house!)
Today is Saturday. Is everything OK with you and your family?
Hope it doesnt get any worse for you.
Much appreciated! 🙂 A whole lot of people in many nearby rural areas and towns are flooded.
Thoughts are with you
I am so sorry–sending strength and positive thoughts your way. Living in FL, flooding is very much a reality at all times for us. I’m so sorry you are going through it!
Thanks much! 🙂 Yes, Florida is really bad for flooding. My brother-in-law bought a house there not long ago and the area is where flooding occurs now and then.
Wow! That is mighty close to your step… Hope you have an escape route if needed!
Dwight
Thank you! 🙂 Yes, but we have a lot of pets!
You might need a truck!
Hope you do not need to leave your home, my thoughts are with you, Tom. Remember you, your, family and pets are important so don’t wait too long.
Thank you, R! Yes, i know. We are wondering what will transpire. The County Engineers don’t even know.
Love the view, but get out before water gets in. All the best.
Yes, we are being careful! 🙂
I was 16 when we flooded, my one and only time — fortunately. We still have friends in Houston that trying to recover from last summer’s flooding. We will be watching for your updates.
Much appreciated, Ken! 🙂 I’ve been, in the distant past, through a number of floods in other parts of Illinois and Michigan… so i am a bit too familiar with flooding!
I hope you don’t have to float. More and more floods round the world; water levels rising. It doesn’t matter who or what is making it happen if human beings can do something to stop this happening by changing our life styles or whatever then we must do so. Good luck.
Yikes! Keep us posted …
oh man, scary; definitely keep us posted!! Amazing photography by the way!
Rut roh. Take care! I’m so sorry that’s happening and I hope it recedes sooooooon!
Best wishes to all, and for the moisture falling to reroute. Good advice on floating and going with the flow, within reason!
Wow, stay safe Tom! Keeping you and your family in our prayers and hoping the water will not rise much higher. I love your lightheartedness especially with The Honeymooners reference! LOL Cheers! 🙂
That water is way too close for comfort.
If positive thoughts could turn back the tide, you’d be in great shape, Tom.
Be safe!
Good luck Tom, I hope the situation improves!
Art Carney – such a character! So glad you are able to keep your sense of humor at a stressful time. Hugs 🙂
sending a prayer of protection…just in case…
Oh my! Be safe! Prayers for you & all around you 🙏
Hope you’re alright…looks kinds spooky
Hope the river calms down.
Sitting at home in the warm and dry across the world thinking of your plight hope the river passes you by and you keep safe.
May you all stay safe my friend.
I hope the water recedes soon.
I hope you get some respite from the rain and that people are coping ok.
I like the uplifting quote!
Uh oh! I hope it doesn’t get any closer. Not to make light of the situation, but I couldn’t help but notice how lovely your place looks and that pathway is beautiful!
Stay safe!
Thanks for the poem & stay safe!
it really looks dangerous and isn’t that far away, Thomas. Take care of wife and animals. I hope the best for you. Kind regards Mitza
Take care!
Hope the water recedes soon, Tom. Here in London it has dropped and the worst was avoided by water management from the UTRCA – most water they’ve seen since 1968 they say.
I automatically hit the like button – but of course I do Not like this!
There is something so scary about the relentless rise of a river. I do hope you stay high and dry and that your neighbours do not suffer too much. All the best!
Just like scifihammy, the fact that I “liked” your post had nothing to do with the circumstances – just reflexes. The prayers, on the other hand, are my go-to method in situations like this where I’m too far away to man a bucket, or paddle a canoe. You do your best there, and keep everyone safe.We’ll be thinking of you, and your neighbors.
It sounds as though things are going to work out for you. I do hope so. Floods are scary. I still remember my first, in the 1950s, when the Missouri River flooded. We lived in Iowa, and barely got out of Kansas City over the one open bridge before it was closed to all traffic.
Good for you, getting that sump situation taken care of, and being able to celebrate your mother-in-law’s birthday. I feel for that old couple — making go-or-stay decisions never is easy, and I think it gets harder for older people.
Keep your feet up, Tom.
Best luck with it. I hope for no disasters.
Thanks for the update and I hope last night’s rain is the last you receive for a while. It’s always so hard to watch as people make the decision to stay in their homes and put their safety at risk. I’m glad you guys are staying safe since the photos look like you would have had more water damage. Loved the quote!
Here’s hoping neither you nor your home gets their feet wet! 🙂
A town in the North of my home state has had over two years worth of rain in just the first 6 weeks of this year. Weather is getting worse all over. 😦
Wow! I hope thing work out safely for you, Tom.
Hope all went well.
Scary photos. I once lived close to a river that did that every few years. Glad you live on high ground and prayers for those who don’t.
Gnarly!