Thoughts on flooding (from 6/11)

It’s rarely a good sign to see footage on your hometown on CNN. For the past several weeks southern Wisconsin has had an unusual amount of rain. This area has been lucky: farmers have been able to plant crops which haven’t been drowned out. In southern Wisconsin, most crops are either underwater or struggling to grow in sopping wet soil. Other farmers still have bags of seed sitting in their sheds, the fields too wet to plant.

This past weekend Nate and I packed up Jacob, the dog and a calf to trek to southern Wisconsin. It was the first chance we’ve had to visit my parents since my grandpa’s funeral in January. It was around Mauston when we first started to see evidence of the bad weather: ponds where corn fields should be, gullies on plowed hillsides and just a general feeling of “wet.” Even the air felt like it had more moisture. By the time we reached Plain and Spring Green, ponds had become lakes. Even just outside of Spring Green, where the soil is sandy enough for potatoes and irrigation, there were several acres of solid water where I’d never seen flooding before. Though my parents are in a valley away from the river and “low ground” their fields were soaked. Hay fields were flatbed by hard rain and very few fields have been planted. The lower, flat fields are mud holes and the side hills are too slick to safely take a tractor across them.

Even with the muck, Nate and I intended to enjoy our visit. Friday night was my sister’s high school graduation ceremony. With more than 170 students to graduate, Nate and I decided it would be too much for a toddler to sit through. We took Jacob to Kung Fu Panda instead, a very cute kids movie that kept the big kids entertained too. On Saturday the whole family went to the Iowa County Dairy Breakfast for pancakes and their famous loaded scrambled eggs. More rain came in the afternoon and overnight.

By Sunday morning I told Nate we better pack up and head home before the creeks spilled their banks and flooded us in. Mid-morning my brother came from his farm across the road to report his driveway was flooded. The creek flooded over a culvert and washed a big chunk of it away. He called the milk truck driver to tell him not to try crossing it. We traded the calf, a loaner for my sister to show this summer, for my little brother’s swingset. With the whole family packed up we headed back past deeper gullies and even more flooded fields. The worst hit the area Sunday night and Monday morning. My high school had one more week of school left, but is now closed for the summer. The middle school was used as a shelter for families with flooded homes. More than 40 families were displaced in one Spring Green subdivision.

As for my family, my brother found a load of gravel to patch his driveway enough for the milk truck to get in. It saved him from dumping three days worth of milk. My parents are worried if they will ever be able to get the spring crops in. With corn prices at record levels, no crop would threaten the livelihood of their dairy farm. Count your blessings and keep all those affected by flooding in your prayers. They definitely need them.