Flooding and Baseball

I've been busy the last week or so due to the flooding on the Missouri River. I've been documenting the rise of the river and flood preparations in our area through photographs for work. Spent Wednesday night this week helping fill sandbags--some of which were used to build a berm around a farm house on the river bottom near Running Water. Below is a photo of what is known as "The Bottom Road" east of Running Water, South Dakota.

The Corps of Engineers is increasing the flows through the dams on the Missouri River daily and the news here is filled with the efforts of citizens and the National Guard to protect property affected by the flooding caused by the increased releases from the dams. The flooding is having an effect on the local economy, as all of the boat ramps and campgrounds in our area are closed because of the flooding.

On a lighter note, Zane had his first Teener baseball of the year yesterday and they won 18-8 over Colome! He pitched one inning and didn't do too bad! He's hoping his cousin Chris who pitches for the local amateur baseball team can work with him today on his pitching. He's playing first base this year and loves it--so it's back to "living at the ball park" for the next couple of months!

It's supposed to be hot and humid the next few days--hopefully the rain will hold off until the farmers can get the soybeans in the ground. We had over 2 inches of rain last weekend--it's dried out over the top of the fields, but it's a sloppy mess underneath. Larry nearly got stuck twice yesterday trying to work up a field for planting. The corn is starting to really grow and some of the area farmers are starting to cut alfalfa--besides trying to get their crops in! It's going to be busy the next few weeks!!