Trying to make sense of the devastation

Though we made it through Irene here on the farm with nary a flicker of the lights our state, as you have no doubt heard by now, really took it on the chin. The flooding and destruction statewide is said to be as bad or worse than the infamously destructive (I learned yesterday) storm of 1938. Though winds here yesterday probably topped out with gusts in the 40+ mph range, we were already  buttoned up with all of the barns fully locked down so that was not a problem. Nor was the rain, at least not here at some 1000′ feet of elevation on the side of Mt. Ascutney. It is figured that we received rainfall totals here somewhere in the range of 5″ to 7″ between late Saturday night and approximately 4PM yesterday. Anecdotally it feels as though we’ve received similar rainfall amounts before, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that every single town in the region got the same amount of water, all at virtually the same time and the streams, brooks, and rivers were just completely overwhelmed.

I guess we should have known yesterday afternoon when we got a call from some customers of ours to help evacuate the two pet boys (plus a bunch of chickens and one very cute baby goat) they had at their house some 4 miles away that it was a bad harbinger of things to come. We’ve never seen a major flood here in Weathersfield. My old home town of South Woodstock north of us was flooded as well and the towns of Cavendish and Ludlow which lie just 20 miles east of here are a total mess as well. The city of Brattleboro which sits on the Connecticut River in the southeast corner of the state has the vast majority of its downtown under water too. The scary thing is that that all just seems like the tip of the iceberg. Generally speaking if there was a body of water running next to your road/town/building yesterday, you are waking up this morning in a world of hurt. The beautiful covered bridge we normally drive over every morning taking our kids to school in the village of Quechee was ripped to shreds. That it sat above a gully at least 25′  deep gives you some notion of the amount of water passing down the Ottaquechee River. The rather disturbing compilation video of that event can be seen here.

I think we are going to need ever ounce of positive energy we can muster in the coming months as our community and and those around us begin to rebuild. Many thanks to those of you who have reached out to check on us. Though we are fine for the most part and physically unscathed here on the farm many or our fellow Vermonters are in for many tough months ahead. Please keep our little state in your thoughts and prayers…