Well, we have the high water. Lake Ontario is at a record level currently . This is bad news for those of us with water front property. So we have missed a few days of work, lost our furnace, had our patio begin to wash out and lost our dock that I had to swim out in 40 degree water to retrieve.
We are stressed out, we don’t know when the next wave of water will come rushing over the walls at Lake Ontario, the storm drains are full and can’t take even the slightest bit of rainfall.
The entire house and waterfront are currently sandbagged with tarps 2 deep and about 3 high. We have moved hundreds of bags at about 50-60 lbs per bag for the past few weeks. So here are a few thoughts.
- I still trust science. The IJC has raised the water level on Lake Ontario. Listen to the data. They raised the lake less than 3 inches, but we are up over 4 feet. Even if they had lowered the lake by a foot, we would still be flooding and having property damage. A record amount of rainfall is to blame here. We don’t ever want to believe science, and that saddens me.
- Our home has been flooding, and streets and yards are being destroyed, but it’s nothing like what the monster waves are doing to homes on Lake Ontario – These homes are actually being destroyed
3. Our things can mostly be replaced if we have damage. This, even with the water is our dream home and we aren’t going anywhere so the idea of fixing things is not a big deal to us. Yet.
4. Friends and family have come to our aid. I hate asking, but I love when they just show up and put in some work, deliver pumps, move sandbags, tar the roof, etc!
5. The thing is, I would not trade it. I know this seems crazy. the number of people who have said “this is why I don’t live on the water” just don’t get it, as if some sort of victim shaming is going to make me feel better. The thing is we get sunrises, sunsets, lake breeze, ice fishing, hockey playing, campfires on the water, kayaking and all of the other amazing that comes with living on the lake. So if once every 50 years we pull out the pumps and stress for a few months – I’m cool with that because this is as we have said, our dream.
This weekend we hosted the families for Memorial Day. The pumps were running all day. The dogs got covered in mud. The day before was spent working and doing anything possible to get the house ready to host people. It worked, we hosted, and it was 100% worth it. This is where we want to be, and nothing would change that.
Emerging Trail 