Rain, rain, go away!

We've just had two days of record rains in the Chicago area. There's been widespread flooding, road closures, and wet basements. The nearby Des Plaines river, usually a small creek, is about ten feet higher than normal. We drove past it yesterday, and it was quite impressive. I'd hate to have one of those homes right next to it. Luckily our house is high and dry.

Lake Street in River Forest (Note the trailer in street)

This is the bridge that my commuter train travels over. The water is usually ten feet below the bridge.

Katrina Redux?

Its amazing that New Orleans is once again under threat from a Category 4+ hurricane. Hopefully Hurricane Gustav veers away from NOLA, but right now its right in the path of the storm. Mandatory evacuations will probably begin tomorrow, and so far, it seems like the city is much better prepared than last time.


The idea of evacuating an entire metro area seems almost inconceivably complex. I can't imagine something like that happening here in Chicago, short of a nuclear holocaust. Luckily, here in the Midwest, we're pretty insulated from major natural catastrophes. With worsening global warming, we should probably get used to more frequent natural calamities, I suppose.

Spring has Sprung

Well at long last, warm weather is here for good. We had occasional warm days followed by blustery days, but we've now had several warm ones in a row. The grass and weeds are growing nicely, and the flowers are blooming. No bugs yet either. The economy may go into the tank, burst least we've got pretty shrubbery.

Snow, Snow, Snow

I haven't seen this much snow since I saw March of the Penguins. For the past two weeks or so its been snowing almost non-stop. I've had the pleasure of shoveling our walkway and sidewalk over and over again. I say pleasure because for this southern-bred boy, shoveling is still a bit of a novelty to be savored. I may feel differently in a few years. Julia, of course, loves playing in the snow, and she's even tried to help me shovel and sweep the walkway a bit. Its very cute to watch.

Luckily my daily commute does not involve driving more than a few miles to and from the train station, otherwise I'd be more upset by the weather. Riding on the train, however, and looking out the window at the white landscape is quite enjoyable, as the snow definitely softens the hard edges of the industrial scenery. Even the roads are still white as many of the municipalities have literally run out of salt. Oak Park is only salting a few major roads to conserve its supply. Apparently there is a barge on the Mississippi with a new shipment of salt, but its being delayed by all the ice. How ironic. Its a good thing we don't have hills or curvy roads.