Spring's Bright Spots~

It is spring!  The wait seemed like forever, through the long, harsh winter months.  Just as the weather seemed to smooth out, the melt waters came...  Our temperatures are trying to climb their way up toward normal.  We've even had a day or two that reached 70.  The mood of the town has brightened along with the warm spring sunshine.

3.20.19 Nika & my clearing~

With the nice weather - I was back working in the timber.  One of the things I've missed most, is those hours spent in Farah's saddle.  Being outside is one of my favorite things & I always feel deprived in the winter.  It was great to enjoy the spring sunshine, while cutting & chopping away.

Butch came down with the chain saw, to cut away some of the larger limbs.  Next, he used the big bolt cutters to remove sections of old, half buried barbed wire.  The longer days & mild evenings are such a welcome change.

3.24.19 - Farah

Farah too, has been out enjoying the Washington sunshine. It always makes me happy to receive a photo of her! Her winter gold is starting to change to the summer chocolate... The first year I've missed this event. Her tail is almost fully grown out again! It's taken almost two-years, I evened it up when I was there.

3.19.19  - Cedar Waxwings~

Last Tuesday, I heard a ruckus outside our bedroom window. I went out to the east end of the house. The neighbor's cedar tree was full of birds! I'd not seen a waxwing since years ago at the Homestead! They were so fast moving - it was hard to get a photo.  It was a feeding frenzy on the cedar berries.

2.22.19

Another critter I enjoyed back in WA - a really cute squirrel taking advantage of the dropped seeds, from Courtney's bird feeder!

On the home front, rock hauling has been our gig.  Butch did get most of the walkway to the Cabin done, before flood waters closed off the road. Instead, we picked up masonry stones for the edging.

3.20.19 Walkway~

 The insulation is done inside the Cabin & the paneling is going up.  I've decided on an interior trim color & can't wait to see what the corrugated steel will look like on the ceiling. 

Edge of the timber~

 I spent April first, planting daffodil bulbs all along the eastern edge of the timber.  Since they'd already sprouted, maybe I'll see blooms!  Light rain yesterday & today should help them settle in.  (I later found out they are Naked Lady bulbs.)

Late this afternoon, we got word that water usage restrictions have been lifted, except for the boil order.  One of the Glenwood's wells are on-line & the towers have been pumped full.  Now, we all need to use water, to help in the process of flushing the tanks.  A much-appreciated step in returning to normalcy.   

Our third spring & each has been completely different.  Butch keeps hoping that eventually his honey-do list will get shorter!  :-)

The Wait for Water~

 We wait daily - for any new news coming from either our town Facebook pages, or from the Glenwood School District.  City officials have been relatively quite when it comes to providing the community with information.  Most of us are relying on the GSD updates that are informative & give an idea of where things stand with regard to our fresh water service.  Mills County Emergency Management starting sending out updates on the 22nd.

3.27.19  Glenwood Water Treatment Plant

No end in sight?  That was the last part of the lead line in our local Opinion-Tribune newspaper, distributed yesterday.  Some of the statistics in the article are impressive.  Just the cost of hauling the water in, is $40,000. per day...

A new well is being drilled, but had a set-back last night.  (Click on the link to view the video.) They're going 350 feet down, it's not an easy operation & they're working night & day.  Once they have the water, it's supposed to take anywhere from 3-7 days for DNR to do the testing.

Our boil advisory is still in effect.  That makes it difficult for the local restaurants, but most, including the Gathering Place are still open & serving hot meals!  Here's another video on our news.

We've become a town of porta-potties & boxes of bottled water, along with collection points to return the empty bottles.  Smaller trucks fill up nightly & set up shop in town, offering fresh water for those who bring in their containers.  A huge help to the community.

I still have pots & the tub full of water that we were told to collect prior to the boil order.  A shower is about 30 seconds & glad to have it!

NE State Patrol~

Everybody is helping Everybody!  It's the greatest feeling to see so many doing so much for so many more!  One of my favorite video's is courtesy of the Nebraska State Patrol.  There is very little negativity here.  Even those who've lost everything, look for ways to lend a hand.

Some photos almost make us laugh!  Iowa State Patrol

Butch drove the choir on a 350-mile round-trip to Nebraska yesterday.  He said the damages there are as bad as we've seen...  Both states are planning a full scale effort toward recovery!  (The choir won the competition!)
 
Today, we're back to gray skies, but so far the rain has remained very light!  Things still don't look positive for the next couple days.  Next week we're to go back into the 60's & that should help - or not - if more melting comes down river?
#IowaStrong

The Flood~

Tinkle Branch was flowing bank to bank on the thirteenth.  It rained most of the following night & the temperatures had warmed.  Keg Creek was already at capacity & woody debris had jammed under the bridge on Vine St.

Vine St. Bridge~

Gavin's Point Dam in SD, started releasing huge amounts of water & everyone downstream was told to take precautions.  Word came Thursday afternoon, the ice on the Niobrara River had caused the Spencer Dam in NE to fail.  That released an eleven-foot wall of water. The Missouri was already running near to flood stage...

Log pulled from Keg Creek at the bridge~

When Butch got home, we drove south of town, following the creek. Water was completely out of the banks & spreading rapidly over the farmland.

Bridge at Kesterson

The wind was blowing bitter cold!  The temperature was around freezing, with the wind gusting over 30 mph. 

Keg Creek - Looking SW

Friday, the evacuation order went out. Anyone living between Interstate 34 & 29 were told to evacuate.  I hauled what few boxes we could gather & packed books for a friend who's farm was surrounded by creeks & levees.

March 15th water to the top of the Levee.  Iowa side of the Plattsmouth bridge - Photo credit - Silver Cloud Photography

 Levee's, not all repaired since the 2011 flood, started to fail. There was nothing to hold back all the water coming down the river... It was a sunny beautiful day, making it easy to imagine everything was normal. At least in town...

Glenwood Municipal Water Plant

Soon, a call went out for people to fill sandbags!  The City Municipal Water was in the area where the evacuation was in effect.  Over 400 people turned out & worked non-stop.  It wasn't enough...

Saturday, another sunny day.  Butch rented a dump trailer & started hauling rock for the walkway to the cabin & more for that driveway.  On his third trip, after hearing about the water he was seeing, I went along.  We arrived at the gravel company & told they'd been waiting for our arrival, before evacuating.  The road would soon be under water.

By day's end, the scope of the disaster was just too large to believe.  Photos like the one below started appearing on our local Facebook page. 

Photo credit Steven Bogert

Above is Hwy 29 north toward Council Bluffs, with the on ramp from Interstate 34 to the right.  You can see the campground to the right of the ramp.

Campground~

Sunday, since our exit to Interstate 34 was between the two closed sections, we drove west & parked off to the side of 195th, just shy of the bridge.

Steve's photo of 195th, north to Council Bluffs

The road along the hills is the one we took to Council Bluffs. You can see how the elevation of the Loess Hills protect from the Missouri flood basin.

West of 195th & Hwy 34~

Butch had to point it out to me twice, for me to see the railroad crossing sign.

Hwy 34 in the background~

Water was pouring through a culvert & this property on the north side of Interstate 34, was completely flooded.  The road had just opened, but was down to one lane in spots.

By Monday morning, even more water had flowed in...  Schools were open, volunteers were helping out everywhere there was a need.  Our local food bank was in full swing.  We were notified on Tue. to conserve water & by that afternoon, to no longer drink water out of the tap.

The City of Red Oak sent trucks full of water for the town.  Bottles of water started coming in from businesses in Council Bluffs.  As this week has progressed, the strength & resiliency of the mid-west people has been demonstrated again & again.  Homes around town, on wells, have offered water to anyone who needs it.  They have also put together a color coded plan - offering to do laundry!  The schools have had porta potty's delivered & all water conserving measures are in effect.

The latest news is that it will be at least 30-days before we again have drinkable water coming through the faucets.