Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Boys and puddles












Well so much for snow. The biggest problem here yesterday was water. Worse than the floods of a few months ago. Ground floor is all flooded out and we have veritable rivers running all over the place and water popping out from unimaginable places. Spent two hours yesterday wet to the skin up to my knees in slush and snow digging channels for freezing water. I quite enjoyed it. Once you get past the stage of getting wet and you actually are wet, really wet, and if you are warm enough through manual labour, which I was, it all becomes quite enjoyable. A larger version of kids splashing in puddles. This has though changed our priorities though we regard to the house. We are going to have to do some serious thinking about cutting more of the trees down near the house and making some more permanent channels for the water coming out of the hill. Apparently some places had over 3 meters of fallen snow. Here in the valley the river and the streams are running high again and all the fields are flooded with slush. So I’m no climate change expert but from 1993 until 2000 nothing unusual happened now 2 or 3 times a year we get weather extremes and the extremes are getting more extreme and I think it is time to start taking things a bit more seriously than before. The house fortunately is in a safe position, not steep enough to risk landslides (being on rock) not flat enough to risk serious flooding, not in an avalanche zone and so on but the woods are getting more and more fragile, the water becoming more and more forceful the local authority more and more ostrich like burying their heads and shouting “Go away! no money! no money!” whilst squandering it all on ridiculous works. People really are going to have to start to think and act for themselves.

The photo is our house yesterday morning. I thought the colours were nice.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful photograph! Sorry to hear about the house flooding though! We had floods last week and a couple of towns were cut-off it was so bad. That hasn't happened here for a while and they couldn't cope with the emergency calls. A heavily pregnant new neighbour had to call her hubby from work to come rescue her from their house, 1mt up from ground level, because no emergency services were available. The water had reached her door step.

Athe

Woozle said...

It makes you wonder which direction things are taking. a meter of water is lot and getting rescued whilst preggers is not something you really need.
ciao
wzl

Anonymous said...

Thats a beautiful picture!!

Get the "climate change isn't happening" brigade to spend a few months out in your area.

Woozle said...

Now there's a thought. Special bed and breakfast deal, 'experience climate change first hand. Be the first on your block to get winched to safety by a rescue helicopter, be the envy of your friends and get washed to the sea clutching a floating log. Special deals on snow caves for children. Free hand warmer for every victim.' I could just make a packet here Mu.:-)