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Be Careful What You Ask For!

By
Real Estate Agent with Bradfield Properties 532238

With one of the most serious droughts in decades here in Central Texas, pushing two years, grass not only crunching but powdering when you walk on it, giant cracks in the Houston black soil  here on the place, grass growing in the bottom of the year-round creek that's been dry that long, a lot of people, myself included, have been praying for rain.  I was on the verge of organizing an official Rain Dance. 

Then, on Friday, it started.  11 inches later, this was the view off of our front porch. 

 

September 11, 2009 Flood

 

Understand, the creek that rose this high?  Isn't visible during normal (not drought) times, because it's down in a draw. The hundred year flood plain is at the fenceline - you can see a fence post in the middle between the pecan tree and the peach tree in the central right part of the photo above.  (The photo below is my husband canoeing in our front yard before the creek REALLY rose - the fenceline is the one above, from a different angle.  Joey, the dog in the photo, thinks he's lost his mind.)

I35, a couple of miles down the road, had all six lanes closed.  We couldn't leave the place, anyway, because our 1/4 mile long drive was under water, as well.  When we DID get out, we couldn't leave one way on the county road because the water was over the road at one place and had torn away some of the road.  Fortunately, there are two other ways out.

We're discovering the joys that occur when the leach field is 18 inches under water for any period of time.

And the rains kept coming.  They're still coming, in fact, a little, though there is hope of drying up in the next few days.   I'm SO glad the drought has broken, and we'll get through this, but remember,

 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR!

 

Phil Canoing in Yard

Comments(11)

Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

Your blog ending is so true. I do , on a more serious note hope that all works out well for you and the damage is not too extensive. Best wishes

Sep 14, 2009 01:35 AM
Edward Bachman
EXIT REALTY SOLUTIONS - Kingwood, TX
Your Kingwood TX Realtor

Tricia, when I need someone to pray, I know who I am calling....If you have any spare time....maybe you could ask for a cool million for Edward???

We to are happy for the MUCH needed rain.  I hope that you did not suffer any serious damage.

Sep 14, 2009 01:37 AM
Brian Schulman
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Lancaster PA - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster County PA RealEstate Expert 717-951-5552

Tricia, I hope the water didn't get into your house - it looks so close!

Sep 14, 2009 01:40 AM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

"We're discovering the joys that occur when the leach field is 18 inches under water for any period of time."

Ouch. 

These photos are the visions I have when someone says they would like to see a tropical storm or hurricane end a North Carolina drought.

Sep 14, 2009 01:44 AM
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator

THat is a lot of rain!  The news said last night that we barely got .1 inches in Bee Cave yesterday, but I know we got well over an inch. I wonder where their water gages are set.  It's raining again this morning, though they said it would all be gone over night.

Sep 14, 2009 01:50 AM
Tricia Jumonville
Bradfield Properties - Georgetown, TX
Texas REALTOR , Agent With Horse Sense

It looks like we've lucked out, but we won't know for sure, of course, until everything settles down.  (Big worry is the septic system/field.) 

The water stopped one step higher than it is in the picture, still not in the house or even on the porch because we're on pier and beam foundation.  We WERE talking about building a house like they have down on the coast, on stilts, to make sure this doesn't happen again and to take advantage of the lovely view from our current attic window.

Sep 14, 2009 01:52 AM
Tricia Jumonville
Bradfield Properties - Georgetown, TX
Texas REALTOR , Agent With Horse Sense

Donna, last count I heard was 14.5 inches from a neighbor's rain gauge, and that was while it was still raining.  

 

Sep 14, 2009 01:54 AM
Richard Shuman
The Only B.S. I Have is from the University of Massachusetts - Lake Mary, FL
Real Estate Broker - Orlando Area - Love Referrals

From time to time, that happens here in Florida. After a period of no rain, it rains so fast and hard that the ground can't soak it up fast enough.

It always seems to be one extreme or the other.

Sep 14, 2009 01:56 AM
Richard Weeks
Dallas, TX
REALTORĀ®, Broker

Tricia,

It is too bad that such destruction came from such much needed rain.  I do like your caution statment at the end.

Sep 14, 2009 02:33 AM
Carl Winters
Canyon Lake, TX

Tricia: We have had a nice rain here at Canyon Lake, Thre first rain that came was slow and easy and ended up to be almost nine inches. After that we have had 1/2 here and there. It really has been a perfect rain, no flooding like some people and yourself.

Oct 07, 2009 01:21 PM
Tricia Jumonville
Bradfield Properties - Georgetown, TX
Texas REALTOR , Agent With Horse Sense

Richard, that's Texas weather, too - drought, flood, drought, flood.  

Next Richard, it is, but the plants are SO happy now! 

Carl & Ceil, we have some friends who lived in Canyon Lake for years.  Had a stone house below Canyon Dam, up on a cliff overlooking the river, about 20-25 feet up.  A few years back, we were down there helping them remove everything from the house that wasn't stone (the stone stood up very well) after it flooded up to the ceiling.   

 

Oct 08, 2009 12:46 AM