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A couple of weeks ago we got almost 4 inches of rain in one afternoon, and big parts of our neighborhood flooded. It was the outer banks of one of the hurricanes that hit the gulf coast, and we are just so thankful that we did not get a hurricane. The week after we continued getting several hard rains, and our own backyard stood under water for a little while, but because we have raised it up with dirt and coquina, the water quickly receded. Thankfully we have four steps up to our home, otherwise the rushing water that came in from the street, when the ditches overflowed, would have been able to do great damage. Around our property we are basically surrounded by a lake, and we have neighbors on our street, who still have a couple of cars under water.
The View From Our Backyard
So, let's give you and update on the land the lake. Almost our entire 1.05 acre of land was under water, after the first big rain storm and the subsequent showers. It was a sad sight, but it was not unexpected. We have official wetland on our property, but we also knew that our buildable lot had a tendency to be under water. We are not quite ready to fill yet, and so far the only filling we've done has been composting all of the palmettos that we have been taking down, and then we've received two truck loads of free wood chips.
The Land Under Water
While it was sad to see so much of the property under water again, it was not unexpected. The road is just about 10 years old, and we have heard from other locals that the road has been completely under water a few times as there is a large area of wetland on the other side of the road as well.
As for our land, we have talked about the island in the past. When we first bought the land, it flooded not long after the purchase, but little by little we managed to create an island where we could work. Thanks to the work we've done, this island is intact, our amazing Troy-Bilt Wood Chipper is not under water, and we have a much better workable area, so we could start working the machine again if we wanted to.
Our Island
So far the water has receded quite a bit already, and on the deepest side in the wetland the water has receded about 3 inches already, so we'll wait at least two more weeks before we return to do some work at the Land.
We did not have a whole lot of plants growing, but we did have some okra, a few potato plants and some sweet potatoes. Amazingly, the okra is still standing, and we're still seeing lots of sweet potato greens, although we suspect any sweet potatoes may be rotting under ground.
The kids have been dreaming about having a swing over the water, and they sure got it.
Our small xeriscaping area is still partly under water, but I'm hoping the water will evaporate within the next week, and if the plants survive, I'll put out some fill and raise the plants a little so they will survive the next surge of water...if there is one.
The good news is that the two loads of wood chips have made a great impact on the area, where they are, and we have already prepared an adjacent area for more free wood chips, so this is on our to do list.
You can read more about the land and our story below.
The Land - Our Story - Part I - Dreaming of Potential
The Land- Our Story - Part II - The Island
The Land - Our Story - Part III - The Video
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