Part 3-BACK TO ALMOST NORMAL-BUT ON ALERT

All we want to do is get back to normal.  All we want to do is prune our trees; disk the fields; plant the seeds; clean up the yard of so much debris created from the two weeks of high winds.  All we want to do is to be able to sleep without half worrying a wall of water will be coming our way.  I want to unpack my car of the emergency items.

I guess, according to our wonderful Butte County Sheriff, who has guided us through this mess from the very beginning, says he can't lift the emergency notice until the Oroville Dam spillway; emergency spillway; hydro plant; and tons and tons of debris from the spillway breakage is fixed.  Gosh, have you seen the pictures of the damage?

Look at how small the people and equipment are-in yellow

It is almost hard to wrap your brain around the images as to how large this gorge is that was created next to the broken spillway.  It is almost hard to image the amount of gravel, dirt, rocks are piled at the base of the spillway dumped there from the raging water.  How can "man" fix such a huge earth disaster?

New worries-all the snow hasn't started to melt in the high country. When it does, more water will be coming down all the waterways into Oroville Dam.  I just have to put that out of my mind.

This will be the last segment of our experiences with the Oroville Dam evacuation.  We will be on alert, to be ready to evacuate, for a very, very long time.  And we thank all these people who have been working on this dam, day and night; 24/7 to make us safe.

What we have decided to do is-farm.  What we love to do; what we need to start doing soon, because the short window of putting seeds and plants in the ground goes by too fast.  

Nature doesn't stop because of an evacuation.  We saw it will be 71 degrees by the end of this coming week!! We have lost almost of month.  First with the 2 weeks of high winds and downpour of rains.  Then the week of the evaluations.  And a "limbo" week of the unknown-not knowing. What we have decided to do is just start living and stop worrying.  

It is out of our hands.  Farmers have always been positive thinkers, we always believe that there is another season; another opportunity; another day to start again.

We are starting again.  I have my bucket of seeds and bulbs.  We are pruning the trees.  We have disked the fields yesterday.  There isn't anything finer than to smell the fresh dirt disked in the fields.

On to living and dreaming of beautiful things growing here at Windmill Farm.  

Come back again and start seeing what is growing; what is being remodeled; what is being built;

new baby chicks; new farm classes being taught; just fun things happening on our small farm in Northern California. Stay tuned!!