The Great Flood of 2015

We here in Oklahoma are accustomed to tornado season.  So much that the evening weather makes for riveting TV entertainment and the door to our bunker stays open 24/7. As usual spring hit hard with daily tornado warnings. But Mother Nature had no intentions of stopping there.  We have entered a new era known as the "500 Year Flood".  The rain has hit so hard and heavy that a local forecaster has coined the term, "turn around, don't drown".   He might be talking about our river land.

This was the road to our river land.  "No Swimming" either. 

You see, Oklahomans are great people but we still need the obvious pointed out to us.  The river land was a place we once played, rode ATV's, had birthday parties, Fourth of July parties, or just escaped to for country air and a change of scenery.  The scenery has certainly changed.  

This water way covers the road that lead to our spot.

We drove to high land to jump a fence so we could wade over to the flood and check the barn.

Big Dog couldn't keep himself from checking on the land and I couldn't let him go alone.  We have a barn down there that houses precious treasures (not really) and I needed to see for myself and assess the floating damage.

Nasty!  River or sewage?

If you look closely you can see the water line on the barn doors.  The water receded but it's back up as I type because the rain started up again and it's pouring cows and pigs.  Aside from it looking like a scene from Naked and Afraid, the barn was intact and my treasures were drying out.  With no way to empty the barn, we left it all there and continue to hope it won't wash away with the next down pour, and the next, and the one after that, and the one fore casted to slam us tomorrow and Tuesday.

Herny's boots filled with water so momma sloshed in to carry him out .

Most of our river land has floated south.  The more rain, the more flooding, the more land we will continue to lose.  Such fond memories, hard work and play all washed away.  Sniff, sniff.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Big Dog and firefighter friend, Shanon, bravely hung our official ranch sign in between torrential down pours.

Purty, ain't she!

Life goes on.  And that includes making our land legit with a sign that says it all.  I wasn't thinking about how we were going to hang the sign when I ordered it and I somehow couldn't agree to let Big Dog place an A-frame ladder on the bucket of our tractor to reach the top (you know you're from Oklahoma when...). The top was far from that accident waiting to happen anyway.  This is when being friends with a firefighter really pays off.  What do you get when you have one firefighter, Big Dog and a super duper high ladder?  A happy farm wife of course!  

Red inspects the water level and the potential harm the next rain can cause on her flock.

How are the animals?  High and dry for the most part...at the moment anyway.  The chicken yard is just inches from becoming an underwater chicken coop dive site.  The horses?  Well, I sure thought they were smarter than this...

A lovely view of our infinity pool overlooking a pasture with floating manure. 

Why in the WORLD do horses refuse to hang out in the loafing shed (or stalls) when they actually should?  Rain, hail, snow, sleet, wind, and they steer clear of it.  A rare but beautiful Oklahoma day and they are under it competing for it's shelter.  Drives me absolutely bat manure crazy!

A dog's life. Just another day in the swamps.  

Our dogs are loving this monsoon weather.  They might be confused for three flooded pasture fairies.  Nothings better than them getting in the house and doing that shake that they do splattering anything and everything within 12 feet making it look like a coke bottle exploded.  I don't need a floor vacuum.  I need a house hose.

Here floats Fairy Land.

Around here, within our 40 acres I mean, I fear it's the fairies that have had it the worst.  Their land is nearly completely submerged leaving no safe place for the fairies to stay.  Thank goodness they can fly.  This has certainly got to be record flooding for them and we sure hope they return (OK, so maybe I need to get out a little and engage in reality).  

Anyone up for a swim? I didn't think so.

For now, we are dry inside but surrounded by tall grass and running water on the outside and there is more to come.  As for me, I am hanging on to God's promise that he will never again flood his people (Genesis 9:11).  "Are you there God?  It's me, Noah's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grand-daughter."