Firsthand weather report

"For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snow-storms and rain-storms, and did my duty faithfully; surveyor, if not of highways, then of forest paths and all across- lot routes, keeping them open, and ravines bridged and passable at all seasons, where the public heel had testified to their utility." ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden.

Abnormal weather continues. I'm only guessing, but we probably had another couple inches of rainfall in the last 12 hours. A flash flood warning is in effect for Nashville and the rest of middle Tennessee. Our family decided not to attend church this morning just to be safe.

This morning I put on all my rain gear and went for a walk to check it out. Buffalo Creek, which flows under a bridge about 400 ft from the house, was only a foot from the bottom of the bridge. This is a spot where normally a person could easily walk under the bridge. Walking to a safe spot next to the flow, I inserted my walking stick and it went to a depth of about 4 ft at the water's edge. A little over an hour later, a walk to the end of our driveway revealed that the creek had reached the bottom the bridge. Anyone who found themselves in this water today would surely be swept away.

The ephemeral stream that defines the middle of our hollow is also flowing strong. This streambed is normally dry and only flows 2 or 3 times a year. At the steep bowl that forms the top end of the hollow there is a waterfall that forms the headwaters of this unnamed ephemeral stream.

Even in the rain, a walk around my trail through the hollow felt good. The ground was squishy and moved under my weight on the steeper slopes. The forest is completely saturated with rain and the excess flows off down the hill into the ephemeral stream. The air is filled with the sound of the water rushing downhill through the streambed, cascading over rocks and logs, urgent in its going, pushing leaves and sticks and soil down the hollow. At the end of the hollow, this flow will go into Buffalo Creek and on to the Harpeth River and then the Cumberland River.

Henry David Thoreau in 1856

I wish that I had pictures, but I was unwilling to risk my iPhone in this weather. Perhaps some day I'll be able to get one of those rugged waterproof cameras like I carried while canoeing in Canada this past summer.

"Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snow in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary." ~ Henry David Thoreau.