The Crik Done Riz

The creek--the gentle, meandering trickle that normally looks like this:

after a night and a day of thunderstorms and heavy rains, now looks like this:

The longtime residents of this area say they have never seen that creek that high. I was standing on the bridge when I took those pictures, and normally you have to look down some 20 feet to even see the water. Today it was nearly up to the bridge level.

The water was so deep in some places

that Cody was able to swim in it.

By the way, that is the neighbor's yard, not the creek. I didn't let him within 100 yards of that thing.

The plant had to close two hours before the end of our shift, because the flooding had gotten so bad that the water had gotten into the high-pressure air compressor. Several of us were standing on the back dock watching the water rise, when I asked the plant manager if he was going to bring in boats to evacuate us. I was joking, but later I found out that one of my co-workers who is a member of the volunteer fire department had to leave. He said that all the rescue workers from this area were being called up. So far, I don't know of any deaths due to the flooding.

This is my back yard. Cody took this picture through the window.

Later, when I got home, I took this one:

And this is my neighbor's yard.

Lake Riverdale has returned!