It had not rained so much here since 1982. Consequences of such excessive rain were the priorities at work. I neglected to procure pictures of horticultural topics while the first of the problems associated with the weather began to develop two weeks ago. I was unable to transmit new pictures last week because of disruption of telephone service. Now that I am able to share new pictures, I find that a few are redundant to some that I posted two weeks ago, and none are any more horticulturally oriented than a few unidentifiable logs and an unseen redwood tree. Well, at least they demonstrate why I was too busy to share horticultural pictures on Six on Saturday.

1. Mudslides blocked a few portions of the main road into town at various times. None of them stayed for long, but they took turns. Shortly after one got cleared, another one slid.

2. Sinkholes were mudslides from below rather than from above, and ruined portions of roads that were not under mud. I nearly dropped the camera here to hastily grab Rhody.

3. Floods got deeper than since 1982, and took trees that were big enough to leave twigs two thirds of the way up the right and upstream side of the pillars nearest to the middle.

4. Logjams collected some of those trees that would otherwise be on beaches near Santa Cruz by now. Ironically, that is a municipal water pumping station across Zayante creek.

5. Fallen trees are particularly dangerous within forests of the tallest trees in the World. This one took out about twenty feet of the trail. I will share two more pictures of it later.

6. Rhody was exhausted from exemplary service to his similarly exhausted crew through many days of the rainiest weather here since 1982. He is enjoying sunnier weather now.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

34 thoughts on “Six on Saturday: Excuses”

    1. I panicked when I stopped to look at the pictures I took and noticed that Rhody was in them. As you can see, he went right to the edge of the collapsing pavement. He was supposed to stay behind me. The weather here is not as dangerous as it seems to be. Neighbors within the flood zone are aware that their homes are within a flood zone, so use the lower levels of their homes only for parking, and simply drive their cars away before such floods. News shows the worst of the damage. Some of those businesses that were flooded or seemingly destroyed in Aptos and Capitola were there prior to the floods of 1982, and will be back there within a few months.

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  3. We’ve seen TV reports in UK of your awful weather. When they mentioned Santa Cruz, I thought about you and hoped you were all safe. It looks tough. Better times to come, I hope!

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    1. It is bad only because we are not accustomed to it. The Santa Clara Valley gets less than half as much rain as the coastal side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, but experiences a similar degree of damage and flooding, merely because it is the same degree of divergence from what is normal.

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    1. The pictures are very localized. I have not gone anywhere. Many of the roads remain blocked, so travel is not so easy. News typically shows the worst of it, and makes it sound worse than it really is.

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    1. Yes, that is why I panicked when I noticed that Rhody was in the picture of the sinkhole. The pavement collapses as it loses support from below. Some of the mudslides could not be cleared until they stopped flowing. Rhody is enjoying the pleasant weather now, and is happy that his crew is not so exhausted.

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      2. Weather that is normal for other climates would be devastating here. Hurricane wind would easily blow down trees that have contended with wind here for thousands of years. Snow would strip them of their branches. Heat would roast their foliage. Most people who are here now are from somewhere else, so it is annoying when they complain about the weather here.

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  9. You really did have a rough ride! I’m glad the mudslides were no worse than what you show — there were quite a few bad ones between SLO and Ventura that closed all the roads for several days! And I’m glad you didn’t have to rescue Rhody!

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    1. Rhody really startled me as we walked near the edge that was breaking off! He did not understand why I yelled at him to sit as I walked around to get him. There are some serious mudslides near here that closed major roads, but I do not need to contend with them. Those who must contend with them do not consider them to be unusually serious.

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      1. Poor Rhody!!! I’m glad you don’t need to contend with the mudslides that closed major roads. They seem to be doing a great job of repairing quickly what can be done quickly to get things going again!

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      2. Yes, I am impressed with the efficiency of opening roads. It annoys me that some complain about such inconveniences, particularly since I know how much effort it takes to open roads.

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    1. Goodness, that picture is difficult to look at. I thought he was behind me. When I yelled at him, he just sat still until I got there. His crew was so exhausted that he dismissed them from their petting obligations while he tended to his cuddling obligations. As you can see, it was quite stressful.

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