The 2nd Ever Greatest Flood of the Mississippi River June 2019

We survived the great flood of 2019!  There was so much rain in the midwest this spring that both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers reached flood stage.  Although we are closer to the Missouri River, the Mississippi River water got us.  The river water came from Portage des Sioux and the Marais Temps Clair marsh area.  It was the first time the locals had ever seen Black Walnut flood from just the Mississippi.  Although the Missouri was well above flood stage, it never reached the dreaded 36.5 feet (which would mean it would flood our property).  They said that flooding to date had always come from both rivers, never just the Mississippi.  So on Wednesday May 28 the locals were starting to move heavy equipment to high land.  Greg Wehmeyer stopped by and said the water was coming and it would be best to get the house ready and head out of town, as the roads would soon flood.  I could see that boats were being moved from their marinas to the Black Walnut Trail Head parking lot.  There was lots of movement of farm equipment going on up and down Black Walnut Road! 

On May 29 David was in Florida but decided to fly back home that night so we could get the house "flood ready".    So on Thursday May 30 we moved everything in the basement to shelves at least 5 foot off the floor.  On the main floor we got everything off the floor, moved lots of drawers and rugs upstairs, pushed the couches together and laid the large furniture on top of them.  We rolled the drapes up and put everything in the pantries up on high shelves.   It was a frantic time because we didn't know what condition our house would be in when we came back, and we had no idea how long we would be gone!

We said goodbye to the house and off we went! We decided that Moxie the dog should go to her Rover nanny Courtney for safekeeping.  We stayed at an extended stay hotel near Westport Plaza for the next week, but early on Saturday June 1 David and I drove back home to see if the water came yet.  To my surprise, no water on the roads yet, but you could tell it was coming as the Suntan Beach Bridge on Hwy H had water almost to its edge.  David didn't seem surprised by the lack of water on the roads yet.    We discussed how long to stay at the farm that morning and I said 4 hours.  So David mowed and I did some weeding and more moving of things to the upstairs.  Well I started getting nervous about the water on the road, so after 2 hours we got in the car and drove out and back to our hotel.  I wouldn't come back home to stay until June 14, but David did boat in the weekend before, thanks to neighbor Roger Wilbrand and his trusty boat and truck!  David and Moxie stayed at the farm that weekend while I went to Dallas with Lesley and Mlyiah to visit Miles and Liz.  For the last week of the flood we stayed at a Hampton Inn in Chesterfield Valley, thanks to Miles and his Hilton discount.

Here are some pictures of the flood.  We are hoping it doesn't happen again for many many years!  The video below shows the marina at Tower Line Road and Black Walnut Road at the top of the hill.  After boating in, people used their four wheelers or gators and drove down the Katy Trail to their house.

Flood water reached almost to the barns!

Mullanphy Road just behind our house.

The "marina" on Tower Line Road near Hwy H.

A view of Tower Line Road from Roger Wilbrand's old red truck.  This is just before the intersection with Black Walnut Road.  Many people boated to here from Suntan Beach to get into Black Walnut.  They then had to drive down the Katy Trail because Black Walnut Road was flooded in several places.

Mullanphy Road just behind our big barn after the flood water started receding.  

This was taken at the end of the flooding, but Greg Wehmeyer's driveway was flooded for a long time yet.  

Boating up to Tower Line Road from Suntan Beach.  The intersection of Tower Line and Hwy H was the last road to dry up and was impassable until about June 23.  

David Shearrer looking at the flood waters on Tower Line Road and Hwy H.  Probably wondering how he is going to get to work on Monday.  He had to boat, hitch rides in trucks, bike and eventually walk across this water to get to work.  

A "marina" on Tower Line Road.

A sign put up by a resident warning gawkers to keep out.  We did worry about looting while we were flooded out, but felt better when we heard that the police were checking IDs of anyone who tried to enter Hwy H.  

The Old Barn and Garage Come Down

 Friday July 12, 2019

Well it was a bittersweet day.  The old barn had to come down.  Its foundation was beyond repair and we used its metal roofing for the big barn, so it was just a matter of time.  We also took down the rickety old garage that swayed with the wind, the concrete base of the old grain silo, and we filled in the leaky old cistern in the back of the house.  It was a busy day but the yard looks so much better now.  Already had one neighbor, Jan Kriesmann, call and say how good it looks!

A "before" view of the old barn and garage in front of it.  Both these came down, as well as the round concrete pad for the old metal grain silo which was long gone (destroyed by a wind storm).  There isn't usually water behind the barns.  This pic was taken during the Great Flood of 2019 when the Mississippi River flooded Black Walnut.  Luckily, the water never got to our barns or our house, but it got close.

Dan Machens, Dane Shearrer and David Shearrer (l to r) watch Dennis Machens take down the barn.

Phil Shearrer and Dane Shearrer watching the barn come down.

David Shearrer, Dane Shearrer, Dennis Machens and Dan Machens (l to r) trying to see if they can save the hay trolley.  

Tending the Blackberry Seedlings

Saturday July 13, 2019

In early spring we planted about 50 blackberry seedlings along our back road.  They have come along very well and are ready for some support!  So today we (well actually David) put some stakes in the ground and ran some wire as support.  I made some wire spacers and tied up some of the longer branches to the wire.  Now David is giving them a nice drink of water on this hot day.  Hopefully we will be enjoying blackberries in a year or two! 

A Wedding at the Farm!

Well it is a bit late, but we had a wedding at the farm!  Miles and Liz got married here in August 2015!  It was a beautiful, memorable, fun day!  We were so happy for the new couple!  Here are a few pics.

New Front Porch...Round Two!

We thought we had the front porch complete about three years ago, but despite sanding and priming the new wood, no stain or paint would stick to it.  We also had some issues of sagging, so we decided to re-deck the front porch...again.  We saw a beautiful deck made out of tigerwood at the home show, so we were motivated to use it on our front porch.

We had to make a big decision about whether to use the original porch railings or not.  We found them in the old smokehouse several years ago, painted them white and put them on our old front porch, but we always felt they made the porch look like a big cage.  So we have decided to use some old iron porch railings that we salvaged from a farmhouse down the road from us that was torn down last fall.  I've been painting them "oil rubbed bronze" and they are looking good!  David also used his saw to cut off scroll work that we felt dated the railings.

Its been a two month process and we still aren't finished because I have been traveling to Dallas to visit Miles and Liz and David has made trips to Boston, Florida and San Francisco.  I'm sure it will be complete one day soon!  And I thought you would enjoy seeing a pic of the front porch's original condition.

Pretty Farm Skies

The sky at the farm can be a beautiful sight.  Here are some pics that we have taken recently.  Enjoy!

Big Barn New Roof

Our second major project during the summer of 2014 was putting a new roof on the big barn.
Here is a before pic.  Notice how some tin is missing.  The other side of the barn roof was even worse.

So, the boys and David and even Grandpa Phil, tore tin off of the small barn to use on the big barn.  They then repaired and replaced the old tin on the back side of the big barn.  Doesn't it look great!

 The "finished" back side of the big barn roof.

This pic is out of order, but this is Dane and David doing the repair work.  

 The front side of the big barn roof was a different story.  The boys heaved large panels of metal roofing up the ladders to David, who then screwed it in place.  See David tethered in so he doesn't fall off!

 This was a hot, heavy, long process!

This pic makes me nervous!

 Here is the finished front side of the big barn roof.  Notice the skylights!  David put some clear plexiglass roof panels between some of the rafters to let sunlight into the barn loft.  It looks nice and bright up there...pics to come!

 The almost done roof with the new metal roofing.

The finished back roof with the repaired tin.