Shadow of Memory #ShadowshotSunday

Taken September 19, 2012, at a tailgate market in Asheville, North Carolina.

(This is what we call a farmers market; as I recall, they differentiate between a permanent market and what is not (tailgate market).

At a tailgate market, also September 2012, at or near the University of North Carolina in Asheville.

My spouse and I visited Asheville twice; this was the second visit.  Here's a post about my first visit in 2010.

And another one. 

Oh, how about one more Asheville visit?  A visit to 12 Bones BBQ and how I acted like a weird person under the influence of Cheerwine. (which, just for the record, is not alcoholic).

I have fond memories of Asheville, and it breaks my heart to see what the tropical storm that was once Hurricane Helene did to the area.  Because I saw firsthand (in 2011) what floods can do, and our flood was only a fraction of what happened to Asheville, Chimney Rock, and other area places too numerous to list, I know they will have a long road to recovery. Not just from the physical damage (and mental damage) from the flood, but the aftereffects.  

I-40 was decimated by washouts and mudslides. It will necessitate major detours.    It's happened before, in 2009-2010.  But this time, even damage to secondary roads is extensive.

We can hope that the recovery benefits the region in the end.

Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for #ShadowshotSunday.

Flooded Park Skies #SkywatchFriday

On May 1, our area experienced localized flooding.  This local park has flooded a lot worse, but it made for some interesting sights.

Let's check it out.

Nice, puffy clouds,  Center bottom of the photo is a walking path leading into what had become the river.

Canada Geese (in the distance, look like dots) were enjoying themselves.

No one is going to park here (the bottom part of photo is the parking lot).

This picnic has been cancelled.

Later in the week, clouds gathered again, but the flooding was done.

One more view as the waters receded.

 By May 5, mud on the paths it had dried and left interesting patterns.  For a few weeks, this mud will be hazardous for walking if it's wet.

We escaped the worst.

 Joining Yogi and other skywatchers every Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

Friday Before Frost #SkywatchFriday

 Last Friday (October 29) spouse and I went down to Otsiningo Park, one of the local parks that had to close earlier in the week due to river flooding.  You could call it a Skywatch Friday double header, because there was an abundance of water reflection photos and fall foliage photos, and the sky was not that grim gray that so many November days feature here in the Southern Tier of New York.

Well, part of the time the sky wasn't that grim gray. At this time of year, the sky can change totally within minutes.  All of these pictures were taken within an hour of each other.

So I welcome you to sit back and enjoy.

Oh, that blue sky! 

Reflections, and a handful of ducks on the far shore.  That's a low spot, not a pond.

No one is sitting on the bench.  I wonder why.

This is a pond, just a wee bit bigger than it normally is.

Ducks and more ducks.

Not a good day for a BBQ.

Now, this is more like what a November sky looks like.

Joining with Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

And, for those in the United States with Daylight Saving Time, don't forget to turn your clocks back Sunday!

One Day in October #SkywatchFriday

If you read my blog post from yesterday, you'll know that our area of upstate New York, along with so many others, were hit by rain (after a record rainfall year) Tuesday, and the rivers had finally had enough.  Two of the local parks where I walk closed.

Wednesday morning, the sky looked fierce.

But I stood at the entrance of one of the parks later that day, behind the barriers.  I took this picture about 3pm, after the sun finally came out.  It looks so peaceful, but that water was covering most of the park.

As the golden hour approached, you could see the fall foliage change we are finally getting.

After sunset it looks a little spooky.

This has a view (towards bottom of left side) of geese swimming in the park.  This and the previous picture were taken from a flood wall at the entrance of the park.

Yesterday, after heavy fog burned off, we took a fall foliage drive.  I liked the reflection in this farm pond.

By yesterday afternoon the park had reopened as the water had mostly receded.  We took a short walk and I took this reflection photo.  My shadow is on the right side of the photo.

Golden light reflecting on water during the golden hour yesterday.

One final photo.

Joining Skyley and other sky watching bloggers for #SkywatchFriday.

Flooded Trees #ThursdayTreeLove

Every second and fourth Thursday of the month, Parul at Happiness and Food hosts a meme called "Thursday Tree Love".  A number of her readers live in climes where there is no snow, or, for that matter, trees that turn colors in the fall.  They look to bloggers like me to provide pictures of trees.

However, I have something more to offer my readers today.  Today, Parul is encouraging us to show a slice of our life.

On Tuesday, our area of the United States experienced a heavy rainfall, on top of an already record (I think) year of rain.  Fortunately, because last year was not overly wet, our two area rivers had capacity to absorb the rainfall. That is, up to now.

But, we are at the time of year now where trees are preparing for their winter hibernation and aren't taking up water the way they do when they are actively growing.

The rivers can't hold the water anymore.  Various areas in our county are starting to flood, just as the trees are finally turning color.

Parts of our area are prone to flooding, historically.  

The two parks we go to for walking are both flooded.  Here's one of them.  The water you see in this first picture is not normal.  The Susquehanna River is out of its banks.  To the left, you see a walking path that ends abruptly.

These two pictures were taken yesterday at one of those parks, showing both flooding and fall foliage. The river is out of its bank a lot more than it seems - here, it is up against a nearby flood wall. (How did we get the pictures?  By standing on the flood wall that borders the park.  Safety first.)

Here's one more picture, taken yesterday at the Vestal Rail Trail, which (mostly) is not prone to flooding. (2011 was an exception).

We had two bad floods, one in 2006 and one in 2011. If you go to my blog posts of September, 2011, you can read about it.  Floods nowadays are a lot worse.  We've been spared (so far).

This time won't be like that for our area, but any more rain, and, as the saying goes, all bets are off. 

Climate change is speaking to us once again.  

Will we listen?

Tomorrow, more flood related pictures as part of Skywatch Friday.

A Scary Sight #WordlessWednesday

I was planning another installment of the 2021 Scarecrow Contest our county held earlier this month (now closed), but I'm going to save it for another day because Nature had something even more scary in store.

Flash floods.

As of right now, our neighborhood isn't threatened by the rains we received yesterday.  But, heavy rains always bring me back to two neighborhood floods - one in 2006 and the other in 2011.  I don't know yet what I'm waking up to this morning.  If it isn't us, it's a different neighborhood.

We've had such a wet summer and fall and we've been under several flash flood watches already.  Yesterday, our county was put under a state of emergency.   As of last night, we were under a flash flood warning.

After my workday ended, spouse and I went down to a small park that fronts a creek as it flows into the Susquehanna River.  

You can see the rapidly moving river, all muddy, with debris floating down the river.  What you see as "lines" in the river are trees or pieces of trees.

It's misty which is why you can't see the sky.

Let's leave the park for now, and move on to our local scarecrow contest.  Here are more contestants.  This one is called the Harvest Goddness (that's the spelling on the contest website, anyway).

A happy pumpkin family.
 

Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The winner will be announced October 29.

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

After the Flood #SkywatchFriday

It's January 1 - a new beginning, a new year.

No Tournament of Roses parade.  But Nature put on its own show for us in the Southern Tier of New York this past December, with record one day snowfall, then a melting, then rain, then a flood on Christmas Day, then a freeze.

This is a story of a flood, a river, a freeze, a park and some geese.

These first pictures were taken December 27, when we could get near the park where we watch sunsets.  The sky looks the way it does because of my iPhone and the cloud cover.  In the distance, in front of some trees, a flock of Canada Geese are trying their best to break through ice.  They seem to be having a good time.  All of what you see is ice, not water.

Let's get as close as I can get.  I can't zoom in that much.

A little hard to see, but the river is back in its banks.  It's actually below the level of the ice left from the frozen flood.  The enlarged sun makes this look like a science fiction shot, does it not?

The sun broke through for a minute.  Quick, before it disappears behind the clouds again!  Again, what you see in the foreground is all ice.  If you have eyes keen enough to see black dots on the ice, those are crows.

By December 30, walking paths are walkable, although they are coated in dry mud.  The geese are still having a good time.

This may look peaceful but the ground has been scoured by the flood waters.  Driftwood is lying in several places.

No one will be playing or picnicking here for a while.

Joining up with Yogi and other bloggers watching the sky at #SkywatchFriday.

May we have a much happier 2021. 

12 Drummers Flooded

Be warned, this is not a happy Christmas story for the Southern Tier of New York.

The flooding I blogged about yesterday came to pass.  What happened was that we got 39-44 inches of snow Dec 16 into 17th, and then, Thursday, temperatures rose into the upper 40's and the snow melted (not all of it, but enough) and THEN we got rain on top of it.  We were luckier than people downstate, who got the warmup and the rain and also high winds.  And oh yes, then it all froze.

But still.

One of my co workers had to evacuate.  My son was under a "voluntary" evacuation order.  And my neighborhood, which was hit by massive flooding in September of 2011, held its breath.   Several major roads were closed.  One family owned hardware store in Binghamton, after various customers called asking for sump pumps and other flood damage supplies, opened their doors for several hours.  (And that, folks, is why "Buy Local" matters).

This was (about 1pm Christmas day) the park where spouse and I sometimes watch sunsets.  No watching today.  Not even the Canada Geese wanted any part of this.  Over to the right, where the screen is, is a ballfield. In the lower right is a road.

Today, about 11-ish, this is what the park looked like - not quite exactly the same view but it's the same ballfield.  The water was receding slowly.  You can see the high water mark on the screen - the little dots are leaves that stuck to the screen.  Also, several people are will need new garbage cans.

Several municipalities are still under states of emergency.

 But perhaps the saddest of the flood victims was this.  This picture was taken in late November at Otsiningo Park in Binghamton, New York.  This exhibit is part of a nightly drive through light show running through the first week of January called the "Festival of Lights".  Obviously, this picture of "12 drummers drumming" was taken during the day.

Part of the Festival was making donations (voluntary) at the gate for those in need.

But now, the park is underwater.  I saw a picture on the news with the lights perhaps halfway under water.  The river there has crested and should be below flood stage by tonight.

This time, my house escaped.  But I must admit, it was a nervewracking day.  Still....lots of gratitude.  We are here.  We are healthy.  We had food to put on the table this Christmas.  Not everyone does.

We have no idea if the flood damage at Otsiningo Park will be able to be repaired.  And, oh yes, the warmup/rain/freeze cycle is set to repeat on New Years Eve.

Some memories you just don't want.

2020 can't leave soon enough.

The Fellowship of the Flood - The New Normal

 Everyday, it seems, the news brings us news of more flooding.  Nebraska.  Oklahoma.  Arkansas.  The Philadelphia area.  Oswego, New York.  Uruguay.  Mexico.

More and more people are joining a fellowship they never wanted to belong to.

 

 In a blog post from 2011, I called that fellowship 'The Fellowship of the Flood'.  It's a club that you don't ever want to join.  Membership is automatic when you have experienced a flood.

The fellowship is millions strong, and growing daily.

But, for those who are members of the Fellowship, you know that the experience of being in a flood never leaves you completely.

Ever.

To this day, when I hear heavy rain, I become anxious.  And, after a year of (so it seems) almost constant rain, I'm afraid.  Afraid that we'll get the knock at 2am telling us to evacuate.  Or, worse, having to be rescued from flood waters that rise so fast there is no escape.

There are two groups of people you can talk to about your flood experiences.

Those who know.

And those who can't imagine.

I can't imagine what these areas are going through, because I know just enough (from personal experience) to know that I can't imagine.  My flood was not their flood.

That's the first thing to admit.  You DON'T know what those in (fill in the blank) are going through, unless you are there.

In September of 2011, after widespread flooding impacted many areas of our state, New York,  I find (going through those posts) of my feeling of gratitude.  That may or may not surprise you.


It is hard to tell people how to support others who are going through a disaster of this magnitude, but just being there to listen is important.

Then, there are the things people should and shouldn't do if you are moved to help.

Right now it's the everyday things people n the flood zones need.  Clean drinking water.  A place to wash their clothes.  Oh, how I missed having a place to wash my clothes when my neighborhood flooded in September 2011. 

A place to feel human again.

You may find you need professional help to move on.  You should not hesitate to seek it.  Even a year later.  Even more than that later.  It's not weakness. (A confession here - I should have sought help.  PTSD is a real thing.)

For those not affected physically but want to help, this is my advice - be very careful, if you are moved to give for flood relief.  Be careful who you give to.  There are many scammers out there. 

With our changing climate, we must learn how to live with floods. No, I'm not getting political.  I'm realistic.

It's not going to get better.