And so it begins…

The big flood

Suffice to say that I am very grateful that we live a fair distance away from the St. John River. Fredericton and surrounding communities - not to mention towns further up and down the river - have been dealing with massive flooding over the last several days. I have never seen anything like it. The downtown core is virtually shut down. People are being asked to avoid coming to work if they can help it to reduce the amount of traffic flow. I’m working from home today, while SpiderSam is enjoying an early weekend as his school is closed. I haven’t seen the street his school sits on since yesterday, but I’m certain it’s in danger of taking in water. It’s close to the river.

I’m down to one route into town from where I live due to the road closures, but that’s better than being trapped. We have food, clean water, electricity, firewood, phone and Internet. My family is safe and will sleep in their own beds tonight. This experience to me has been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

This flood, remarkable as it is in its presence, has taken a toll on the rural communities near us: Maugerville, Sheffield, Jemseg. Families having to leave their homes behind. Crops soaking under several feet of river water. Flooded basements. Livelihoods and routines interrupted.

My thoughts are of course with these families. I couldn’t imagine having to abandon my home, to leave it at the mercy of a natural disaster, and wonder what the hell kind of state it will be when I return. My heart warms at the thought of the tireless volunteers who are devoting their energy to making sure these people get out, get dry, and stay safe.

Here’s hoping the families affected by this can return home soon.

No better way to celebrate Earth Day…

…than to have a dead pine tree cut down.

First indoor bloom

We may have started the French marigolds a little early, but it was worth it just to see this bloom on a cool day in early April.

We started dozens of these in 2L milk cartons cut in half. The idea is to line the perimeter of the veggie garden with them.

That didn’t take long…

Our loot has already arrived from Vesey’s!