Well, my last post was prophetic…we not only received the remnants of Hurricane Fay, but we were treated to Tropical Storm Hannah on Saturday. Four to six inches of rain fell within twelve hours. The National Weather Services posted a flash flood watch over our area, which meant nothing to this city kid until we walked Shadow that night and saw signs down the road that said our road was closed! They were off to the side, and the sun was out and the road clear, so we walked the two miles to the creek. It’s a little spot on the road where two forks of a brisk creek meet, converge under the roadway, and exit the other side. The flooding that must have occured was evident. Huge trunks and branches of trees had been pushed up and over the road bed, weeds were flattened, and the water swirled with angry, strong currents. The creek must have risen a good five to ten feet to make it up over the roadway. We hiked back to our own little stream, Clearwater Creek, and that had flooded its banks too. Stones as large as softballs were hurled downstream while we watched. I have new respect for storms and flash flood watches. I am learning so much. This is stuff that you don’t learn while navigating the wilds of Manhattan.
I spent the rainy day going through all the seeds I’ve been collecting. Now I have huge jars of echinacea, white and yellow daisies, coreopsis tinctura, dianthus, and gaillardia. Next year we should be able to plant flowers everywhere!
We harvested all the sunflowers last week, and they are now hanging up to dry out in the garage and on the porch, but I need to be careful. We had a mouse in the basement (which, thankfully, Pierre got!) but I don’t want them attracted to the house. Once the seeds are dry, I’ll be sure to quickly compost the rest of the stalks.
