Miracle Melon

This started out to be a pity plant but became a miracle melon.
My son asked me this spring "Mom, could we please grow a watermelon plant this year?" I told him yes we could try but it probably wouldn't grow. As a true testament to how many hot days we had this summer, he actually had 3 grow. C is holding his "small" watermelon which was very yummy.

Hot Enough for Ya?

Yesterday was the second day the weather was over 100 degrees and it's supposed to be another scorcher today. (Yep! Another day of 105 with tons of humidity.) It was even 92 degrees at Astoria - out on the coast. Thank God I work in an air conditioned office!!

Speaking of air conditioning. Tomorrow I get the compressor replaced on my poor little heat pump. Couple weeks ago, it was 92 degrees outside and 93 inside. UGHH!!!!!! When the HVAC tech came out to check it, he did something to help it run at least a little bit until we could replace it. On the good side, my tomatos, egg plant and peppers are LOVING all this heat. I actually got my first ripe tomato last night. I don't think I've ever had red tomatos this early before. (though how much of it has to do with me not usually getting my garden planted until 4th of July - I'm not sure.)

Flooding Post Mortum

The Castle Rock Fairgrounds were flooded by about 3-4 feet of water. (The kids were standing by the Cowlitz at noon on Wednesday right down by the puddle on the little parking lot. The water was probably several feet above their heads by Thursday morning. By Friday morning it was like this.)



My commute on Delameter on Friday morning. Just muddy and some water in the fields, but for the most part back to normal.

Cow pasture on Delameter and Cline - This is where that poor cow was standing for 2 days.

As you can see, the water has receded. Now begins the clean up and dealing with some of the mudslides and water damage.

Flooding Update

The rain is finally abating. Now it is lightly raining - not pouring anymore. By tomorrow it is supposed to start to dry out! Hurray we can definitely use it. The weather service said that Longview received 4.5 inches of rain yesterday (1/7) and Castle Rock measured nearly 8 inches in the last 48 hours. (Jan 6-7) That's a lot of rain people!!!

Reports I heard earlier were that it was the second highest flood levels SW Washington has experienced since the dikes went in. The Cowlitz River at Castle Rock was at 53+ feet which is 7+ feet above flood stage. (I wonder if the dikes weren't here if the flooding would be as bad as back in 1923.) Luckily, all the dikes are holding and the D.E.M. put 7 extra pumps in Lexington so they are ok. They have now cleared the evacuation orders for Toutle and South Kelso. The evacuation orders are still in effect for Woodland and the Greenacres neighborhood in Castle Rock - which is the older subdivision North of the High School. (One of M's best friends live there. We haven't heard from them so I assume they had to leave.)

I have been hoping to go to work / school tomorrow via the back way, but there has been a water main break on Coal Creek just above where we used to live so the road is closed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll have it fixed and the road open. The other challenge is I'm starting to see mudslides. (There have been 2 or 3 minor ones in the ravine at Delameter and a big one that keeps creeping towards the road down by the cow pastures.)

We'll keep you in the loop. The worst of the flooding seems to be over. We drove around a little bit this afternoon. I'll post them in a bit. (I think I just heard a transformer blow so I want to fill the bathtub just in case.) For you city folks...no electricity means no water pump for the well. Well, take care and see ya on the flip side.

Flooding Pics Part 2

1/7/08 Flood Pictures


1:30 - 2pm / This is Delameter about 3 or 4 miles above us. The tiny creek / ditch overflowed its banks and flooded these people home. The water is was just about to cross the road. Later I have the picture of the creek across the street from this. This is just above Crimmins Chicken Farm.










1/7/09 3pm - Mudslide on Delameter between Cline Road and Hazell Dell. This is the hill to the left when the big cow pasture is to the right. (Didn't get the road yet because it is set back aways but 100 feet up the road there are some areas that if they go will block the road for quite a while.)

1/7/09 3pm / Poor stray cow stuck out in the fields. It is totally surrounded by deep and flowing water. The water is supposed to significantly rise. They might lose it. There is a person way in the background trying to get its attention and lure it, but the water is so loud I'm sure it can't hear or is too scared.

1/7/09 3pm - Delameter Creek at bridge where Hazel Dell intersects just below the ravine. This is normally a creek that is 5-10 feet wide and maybe 1 foot high. It has completely flooded the valley and right up against the road. Those logs are huge and the culvert has accummulated quite a bit of debris in front of it.

1/7/09 3pm This is Cline Road where it intersects Delameter. (The cow is in the pasture to the left.) Judging by the fence posts, it is probably 3 feet deep at least and the water is rising.

1/7/09 - 3pm Delameter Road where Cline intersects. (You can see off in the distance on the right Bolars). It is easily 4-5 feet deep by the road. You can barely see the fence posts. Most of those wooden poles are 8-10 footers.

1/7/09 2pm - Upper Delameter Road - across from that little blue house that flooded. (Just up from Crimmins Chicken farm and about 1/4 mile before Delameter becomes Woodside. This creek is normally 1-2 feet across and 6-8" deep.

1/7/09 - 3pm M &B at the bridge in the bottom of the ravine (where Delameter and Hazel Dell meet)

1/7/09 1pm Cowlitz River at Camelot viewed from Lions Park.

1/7/09 - 12:30 Cowlitz River viewed from Hall of Justice in Kelso.

Flooding Pics Part 1

Here's some pics from today. . . I'll explain more about each so check back!!




Cowlitz River at Camelot Fishing Boat Launch from Lions Park.

Kids at 12:30 at CR Fairgrounds - river about 2 feet below parking lot

CR Bridge viewed from fair grounds - water up to the bottom ramp part of walking path on other side.

House on Coal Creek which was raging. (We didn't know that they had closed Coal Creek and blundered on through.)



Top of Delameter at Crimmins Chicken Farm - 1st big section of running water going across roadway which this doesn't really show (and was the easiest of the four we went through). After getting to the house, I decided not to chance it again and decided to wait it out at home because the last one was pretty hairy. We feel so bad for the poor Crimmins and Shuelke families. The heavy snows have destroyed most of their buildings (It looked like the Crimmins had 1 standing barn out of the 4 they used to have.) and now the flooding is going right through their farms. B is friend's with the Shuelke's daughter who said insurance won't cover any of it.




Delameter Creek starting to flood at the little bridge at the bottom of the "ravine" where Hazel Dell Rd. meets Delameter Rd. (This was 8am on the way into school.)

This is the same section at 3pm. The entire valley was completely full of water and it was about to spill over the little bridge.

This is the cow pasture on Delameter where cline meets Delameter - between our house and Bolars at 8am today (1/7/09). Notice the remenants of snow still lingering on the ground....
(sorry it's blurry, I was driving the kids to school and C took snapped the pix out the window)

Same field at 3pm.

More to post later.

I want to watch the news. The radio just announced a bit ago that there is a mandatory evacuation for south Kelso. Everything from the mall (exit 39) down through the industrial area (Foster Farms etc.) - basically down to exit 36. It's bad! REALLY bad! But we're safe, dry, and have power so we're just going to hunker down and ride it out.

Rain Rain - Go Away

To add insult to injury...
All that Christmas snow (the 2-3feet) has been melting and there has been a constant drizzle for the last week, so the rivers are rising and are currently a few feet below flood stage.

On the news this morning, the Dept of Emergency Management announced that the Weather Service now says that between Tuesday morning and Thursday evening (basically 3 days) we are supposed to have 7 inches of rain. SEVEN INCHES!!!! in less than 3 days! Aiamos!!!! I didn't go to Univeristy of Oregon! I'm not a duck! make it go away and come back some other day.

I noticed this evening while driving home that they already have the barricades out for several places on Delameter that will either warn of water over the roadway and or close the roads. The fields across from Bolars are about half full. (The river levels at Castle Rock are supposed to be about 5 feet over flood stage, but not as bad as it was in 1996 or threaten the dikes' stability.) So when they close Delameter below me getting the kids to school and me to work may be fairly challenging. I may have to do the 40 mile detour to take my kids to school. This all depends on whether it floods above me (a couple places where the Delameter Creek is pretty nasty or down at the bottom of Coal Creek) because I can't think of any other ways that won't be flooded. (keep your fingers crossed!!!)