It’s such a balance, the hoping for rains while also being very aware that any rains that fall while we’re away from the property have the potential to trap us out of the Village and away from our home and animals.
Up until this weekend, we’d been lucky.
Last year, though the arroyo flooded multiple times, we were always able to get through, one way or another (walk over the silt once the arroyo stopped running, drive through, or simply wait for the County to arrive to dig us out).
This year we faced super dry conditions followed by the late arrival of our monsoons which meant it took several heavy rains to saturate the ground enough to create some runoff.
And that runoff finally happened on Friday, just as we were on our way home.
The storm itself was quite awesome with all its lightening and thunder, heavy, dark clouds and pure downfall and we knew driving up after work that we were probably not going to make it home.
But we were hopeful, so we tried anyway.
Faced with a flooded Village and no telling when the county might make it out, we turned around and headed back to town to spend the night with a friend since both of us had to be back in town at 6:30 Saturday morning anyway.
So, we chatted and texted with neighbors to make sure everyone was OK and asked if someone could check in on the goats (the highest maintenance creatures on the property) until we could make it back home.
Fast forward 24 hours and we were back on the property.
Exhausted and a little stressed, but so very grateful to be home.
The animals, also a little stressed and happy to see us, were all totally fine (though muddy and a bit shaken) and the biggest damage to the property seems to have happened to one of our peach trees which snapped off a couple of (very large) branches.
If I had to guess, I’d say about 1/5 of the tree is gone.
(If there’s an upside to that, it’s that this is not the tree that is heavy with fruit this year…that one survived!)
Beyond that, everything is completely waterlogged and I’m betting the entrance of the acequia at the top of the Village is totally trashed and will need some attention (leaving us with some muddy reminders, but not much else for a while).
It’s OK, though, because the garden won’t need watering for a while anyway 😉
Let the clean up begin!
xoxo,
M
Glad your animals are all OK!
Us too! I could without that level stress again! 🙂
Wow! That’s a big storm to have done all that! The ducks seem happy though hahahaha. Maybe the peach tree will go into survival mode and crop heavily next year?!
Any news on the chicks yet? My broody has taken to her nest!! Angry and defensive 😉 I’m giving her till the weekend then moving her, with the plastic eggs we let her have, to the broody house and ordering some fertile eggs for her! I’m so excited and hope she stays on the nest!
I’ve heard it should recover just fine so I’m hopeful!
No news on the chick front though! So crazy! I hope your broody hen fairs better! Good luck!
Thankyou! I dreamt of little fluffy yellow babies last night…I think I’m a tad obsessed ha!
Ah! Fluffy yellow babies!!!
I’m flabbergasted that we still don’t have chicks!
Bummer about the peach tree, but glad the animals all made it through!
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Thank you! Yeah, I’ll take a broken tree over a hurt animal any day!