"Blue Skies Smilin' on Me . . ."

Post Irene the sky is so blue you could get lost in it. Down below there is a lot of flooding around here. A town about 5 miles from us got officially 6.32" of rain, but it was still raining when I saw that report so we probably got more. It will take our property a long, long time to dry out so once again it will look like a jungle before I get it mowed again. Sigh. One area will definitely take a while to dry - our lower pond overflowed on one end onto the lawn.

Down the mountain in Hallstead on the Susquehanna River, according to the news, several houses are in danger. It always floods along one side of Main St. where Salt Lick Creek flows behind those houses into the river, so I imagine even the road is flooded now. I'm not going out until tomorrow, by which time I hope most of the flooding will be off the roads. Some bridges were damaged badly by flood waters with trees and other debris roaring along but nothing near our house.

We were supposed to go to a picnic and concert just across the state line in Conklin, NY Wed. evening, but the park where it was to be held is now a lake. It's another place that floods easily. Lots of roads blocked off there. Conklin was one of the hardest hit places in the area during the flood of 2006. Many homes were demolished and never rebuilt, but a group called CHOW has taken over some of those lots to grow food for the needy. Come to think of it, I wonder if the rest of their harvest is under water?

We just had a slightly hilarious adventure here. We lost power for two hours, during which time the sump pump couldn't run. I guess water backed up in drains, etc. because it didn't flood the basement floor. When the power came back on, I heard a lot of gurgling in the kitchen sink (I hadn't used it), then Dave came flailing out of the downstairs bathroom with water gushing all over the place. It had backed up in the shower stall drain and flowed across the floor, out the door and onto the hallway carpeting. I opened the basement door to see it was raining inside; it had gone through the floor and was falling in the basement.

Even as it happened, I couldn't help laughing (to myself - Dave was steamed) but the sump pump soon caught up and everything was okay again. At least the bathroom floor got washed, but the carpeting is still wet this morning. I have the fan blowing on it.

So, we've had an earthquake and a hurricane in one week. I think we've had enough for now. I'm very happy that "nuthin' but blue skies do I see."

A Wet Weekend for Us, but Little League Will Go On

Hurricane Irene is supposed to skirt NE PA, just bringing wind and rain, but nothing like they'll get east of here. They are predicting as much as 7" of rain though!

Thankfully the Little League games are far enough west that they shouldn't be too affected, but just in case, they've pushed up the schedule so they'll play earlier and the consolation game is cancelled. The Keystone Little Leaguers from Clinton County, PA were welcomed home with a parade yesterday. Their hometown people supported the kids like they were astronauts or something. It was great, and the kids are too. They won't be in the finals today, but they played much older than they are.

I'm reading a nonfiction book about the family that founded the Chicago Tribune so it's slower going than the mysteries I've been reading. Good book; I'm really enjoying it. Why is it that so many very wealthy families have so many strange people? Some of these are real doozies.

I probably won't be online tomorrow because of winds and rain, so see you Monday!