The Flood of January 2009

On January 5th, reports of an impending flood stepped up activity on the farm. The "pineapple express" was on its way and we were going for a ride. We do have an SOP, (standard operating procedure) for flood preparation. It begins with getting the animals to safety, then on to moving equipment and "stuff", (lumber, buckets, signs, garbage cans, etc.), to higher ground. On Tuesday, we began with extra/pre-SOP chores, such as moving firewood. Wednesday morning we moved on to our SOP. We are usually cut off from the barns early in a flood, so by noon on Wednesday, we were home for the duration.

The most common question we get after a flood is, "isn't it good for your soil?" We all learned, in elementary school, about the flooding of the Nile River and that renewal of fertility as it receded. This is not the case for Fall City Farms. We are on the bend of the Snoqualmie River, surrounded by sloughs and creeks. Currents cross our farm from four directions. Our big pumpkin patch is where the river wants to flow when it breaches its banks. This inundation scours and scrapes our land and this time, it dug canyons and gullies, leaving that field torn and split. Acres of soil were washed downstream.

We are in the mode of cleaning up, buoyed and propelled to the end of those tasks by an incredible work force of friends, family and neighbors. We will have the energy for some creative juggling of our land use ... later. We will, once again, spend time listening and forcing ourselves to "think outside the box" and we will be back in business with time to chat and share stories.