I Did Another Thing

Y'all would be proud of me.  Today, I did another thing.

OK, it wasn't as much of a thing as the last thing I did, but it was still a thing.  Just not a thing thing.  But I still did it.

And what was this thing that wasn't really a thing I did, you may ask?  Well, I'll tell you.

As most of you know, we've had a bit of rain this spring.  It all started with the flooding back in February, and hasn't really slowed down.  Much.  I've been watching in the paper and the local EMA page on FB about how high the water is down at the lake.  They've got the levee road closed, and people riding ATVs up and down the dam constantly monitoring things.  This week the paper reported that the water is much, much higher than normal for this time of year, so on my weekly trip to town, I drove down there to see.

This is the emergency spillway.

It has just about one more foot before it is overflowing.  The last time that happened was in 1991.  Now, I realize that if you aren't familiar with this lake, you don't have any perspective on this.  You don't know what normal looks like.

This might give you an idea of how high the water is.  See the posts in the middle of this photo?

They're normally on dry ground.  If I remember right, each post is 12 feet tall.  Or maybe 16', I don't really remember which.  Yeah... Across the way there is the public swimming beach.  It's completely flooded, as is the boat ramp.

That guy was launching from what is normally part of the parking lot.  The picnic table and the swing are usually well away from the edge of the lake.

Finally, this is the beach Cody and I used to go to when he was little.

Those steps normally end on the beach, not in the water.

The good news is, the water has gone down just a bit since yesterday.   Someone posted a photo showing the water starting to trickle over the emergency spillway.  Today, there was about a foot of concrete showing.

 It would seem everyone in town was driving down to see the lake and how high the water is.  The few moments I was there, it was one vehicle after another, all pulling into the little park above it.  People getting out and taking pictures, just like I was.

Hey, when you live in a dinky little down like this with nothing really to do, you have to find your entertainment where you can.

I mentioned to one lady that I'd never seen the water this high, and had never seen it overflow the emergency spillway, as I'd only moved here in 1994.  She said, "Oh, it's something when it does.  There is water everywhere."  I kinda want to see it, but I also kinda don't.  The river is also way high, and more water would be very not good indeed.

One more thing, during Thursday's storms, there were 14 tornadoes in Mississippi alone, and 33 in the last week.  Just in Mississippi.  There were 89 total across the U.S.  I know one thing, I'm ready for spring to be done.

Can we move on to Hurricane season now?