And that would be Flood. Even worse is Flash Flood.

We are still dealing with the after effects of the storms that rolled though our area the weekend of July 1st. Everything is still very damp and the mud is everywhere.
So we were very unhappy when the alerts popped up on our phones July 10th. We had already made the decision that our logs needed to be moved to a safer location. Somewhere the over flowing creek won’t get them.  On the south end of the property, the bank is quite high.  If that ever floods, we are done for.

So now they were calling for three more inches of rain.   It was supposed to start on Wednesday, the 12th at 8 pm.  We had to get the logs moved NOW.  Could not afford to lose any more of them.   We thought about getting out to THF on Tuesday, but we were all so tired and just not in the mood.  That turned out to be a huge mistake.

I got out of work at 4 pm and was home about 30 minutes later.  We changed into work clothes and boots and headed out.   It was hot and muggy out by the creek but the work  had to be done.  The first logs we tackled were the ones we just inoculated.  They had to be moved across the stream and down to the south end, but keeping them separate from the shiitake logs.  These 75 logs would be set up on A frames like the shiitakes, but they will not require any soaking.   Oyster mushrooms show up when they want to.  So far, no one has figured out a way to force them to flower on a schedule.  It will be interesting to see how it goes next year.  So far our totem experiment had not produced any mushrooms.  It could be because we used the wrong type of tree.  It was just one that fell down and Ron didn’t want to waste it.

The plan was to load up the wagon and have Jo and Ron go across with them.  Jo would stay down at the far end and help unload and set up the logs.  I would stay at the tent for now and work on getting everything up and out of any potential flooding.   Once all the logs were across the stream, I headed over myself to help move the rest of the logs.

Already we were feeling the heat and effects of the hard work.  We had moved just 5 loads of 25 each and were already exhausted.  We had to keep going though.   This had to be done.   It was pick up each log and load it into the wagon, then Ron drove them down to the other end where they were unloaded and stacked again onto pallets.  Did I mention we had to move the pallets too?

When it started to sprinkle at 730 pm I almost danced for joy.  It was a brief bit of coolness.  Didn’t last long enough though.  And the logs kept moving south.

Finally, finally we were done.  And we came to final count of about 100 logs lost during the previous flooding.   I would still like to find the time to walk further downstream to see if I can locate any more of them.  Or our water tank.  That was another casualty.  We have not needed it just yet, but will next year when we have to not only water our newly planted juneberries and fill the log soaking tanks which will now be “miles” away from our water source.   We already know that using open buckets or large tubs to haul water in our wagon results in lose of a good chunk of it.   So that means we will need another water tank.  My budget is shuddering as I type.

The logs were all moved and the three of us were sweaty, dirty, wet and exhausted.  Extremely hungry too, so a quick trip to McDonalds was in order.  Am not sure the one we chose will allow us back in.

And, of course, the rain did not come.  On one hand, that was good news.  No worries about losing anything more and dealing with even more mud.  But it was annoying too.  All that work and it was not needed.  At least not now. But we now don’t have to worry the next time we hear the dreaded words “flash flood”.   Well, not worry as much.  Personally, the next time, I will pack Ron up with a hammock, rain jacket, waders, and food then send him on his way to THF.   He is after all, the man with plan and I am confident in his ability to thwart Mother Nature.