The Nashville Flood

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged.  I've been busy with those things in life that have to be done.  I'm finishing out our school year and get to pick up abandoned projects that have been patiently awaiting my return.  As most have heard, Nashville experienced a tragic flood in early May.  While we live in a surrounding county, we too experienced flood damage...thankfully not to our home but to my future art studio.  We have a building behind our home that was to someday be my very own art studio.  I have tinkered in there over the past several years but always had to battle cold temperatures in winter or bugs in summer.  My art studio took up residence, on a hopeful temporary basis, in the dining room of our home.  About half of my supplies, books, and projects still remained in the building till renovations could be made to seal the building for warmth and to keep critters out.  Anyway, on Saturday, May 1, the rain began to fall in great amounts and continued till most bodies of water were swollen and overflowing their banks.  We have a farm pond in our backyard behind the building that housed my art things as well as a few of my husband's tools.  As the water continued to rise, I began clicking pictures of how big the pond was growing.  We had never seen it this full in the 5 years we've lived here.  As I would take a picture, thinking "that's the biggest it's ever been," the rain continued to fall and the pond continued to rise.  Within 10 minutes, I would have to take another picture because "that's the biggest it's ever been"...thinking yet again, that was it's fullest.  Well, within the hour, the pond had risen about 10 to 12 feet.  That enveloped 4 vertical feet on my building.  I looked out our kitchen window numb with the thought of what was occurring inside the building.  By Saturday night, the water receded and at daybreak Sunday morning, my husband ventured down the look at the damage.  He picked up a couple of salvageable items then simply shut the door.  His comment to me was "You don't even want to know."  I couldn't bring myself to go down and look.  I knew that with 4 feet of water in the building, everything, EVERYTHING with the exception of the few items that hung on the walls, had been under water.  Later Sunday, the whole scenario started all over again.  What had occurred Saturday, the pouring rains, waters rising, areas flooding...it all happened again!  The poor people who lost lives in Nashville as well as those who lost their homes...I couldn't imagine the grief they felt.  My loss was frustrating but a mere inconvenience compared to so many.  Pray for the people that lost so much as they are still experiencing, and may continue experiencing for some time, the effects of the flood...clean up, tearing out damaged areas of their homes, the loss of their personal possessions, as well as being displaced during all of this. 

Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to blog about the flood.  Here are the pictures I took of our flooded backyard and building as well as the damage once I managed to look inside.

"That's the biggest I've ever seen it"

"THAT'S the biggest I ever seen it"

Now, just too shocked for words.

The Aftermath

 

Some of my art books used in the classes I teach.

My little wood burning stove entrapped by the debris