Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Snake Handling and Sand Bagging


This is getting creepy. Sunday I was up close and personal with a 5 foot snake draped over my front door and yesterday this was at our backdoor. I'm running out of exits. This must be a metaphor for something.


Yesterday, a late lunch run into Rocheport for food, depositing packages at the post office and picking up a proof a printer had left me at the General Store resulted in a tetnus shot, a dousing in DEET for ticks, sunscreen, shovels and playing in the biggest sandbox I'd ever seen. The Missouri River is rising and the town was madly sandbagging (many with the memories of the flood of 93 still fresh in their minds) to save some lower lying houses, including the home of our friends Liz and Chris. Shown are photos from yesterday afternoon. The water is expected to crest today or tomorrow, I think.

This is the creek a couple of weeks ago and then yesterday:



The first shot was taken from inside the building you now see underwater:

1 comment:

Karen Miedrich-Luo said...

Bethany said, "Wowee Kazowee!"
Karen says, "Have you bought your regional field guides yet?" That snake looks unhealthy to humans!

We have had days and days of rain and thunderstorms and I'm praying for months and months of the same. While GA and FL burn and smolder, my eyes are ever so grateful for our weird weather. Should I bring malaria medicine when I visit? Take heart, though, Carriers of West Nile Virus (culex mosquitoes) are washed away by flood waters. Flood mosquitoes, though vicious biters, do not carry west nile virus. Nevertheless, deer carry bad ticks, snakes are venomous and armadillos carry leprosy. Although the stress of city life probably kills more people than any of the above, Be thankful you won't run into any armadillos or killer bees!