Normally I wouldn't rush into the house to get my camera to take pictures of 2 boys in boats, but this is not a pond, this is not a lake, it is a big open space, fairly deep to collect excess rain and boy did it collect it last night.
And then I drove down to the end of my street and saw this.....
And then I drove to downtown Naperville on my way to Trader Joe's to pick up more tulips (will explain later). Driving via downtown Naperville is not my usual route to Trader Joe's but it seemed wherever I turned, there were street closings due to high water. When I drove into downtown this is what I saw there....
The rushing river is almost level with the bridge...and the waters are rising into City Hall...
Oh Lord, there must be hundreds of flooded basements....thank God I escaped, but if the electricity would have gone out, I think I might have been underwater...the sump pump hardly stopped running last night.
But amidst all this I came across this delight....
After seeing nothing but grey skies and rain for 2 days, Samantha was a breath of fresh spring air. She was dressed from head to foot in bright eccentric colors for her friend, Taylor who is currently enrolled in a photography class at our local college. Taylor's assignment was to take pictures of a "personality" and Samantha was more than willing to oblige.
I had Taylor and Samantha pose together for me....such cute girls. And so willing to let me take their pictures.
While I was having fun with the girls, along comes a couple of runners, students from the college, running through all the water. They ran through so fast I wasn't able to capture them on camera, so I asked them to do it again so I could take their pictures. Without hesitation they turned around and ran right back through the water....
Oh to be young again....And for those of you that are hesitant about asking to take a stranger's pictures, most everyone is more than willing and thrilled that you asked. They feel quite happy to pose or run through water again.
But the ones who seemed to be unfazed by all the water were the ducks....
So the next time you wish for rain....maybe you better specify just how much.
"Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear." ~ Unknown
Until next time.....
Well it looks like all that rain you were missing last summer came at once! I am glad you didn't get flooded and I hope there isn't too much damage caused by it.
ReplyDeletea fabulous post Deanna; wow you sure got a downfall and glad you were directly affected. Lovely photos of the young ones and all so willing. I also liked the saying at the end, shame there is no-one to credit it though, someone thought it up and it's lovely...
ReplyDeleteoh, that's a lot of rain at once. i had read a bit about part of mich and chicago, too. yikes! the boys in the kayaks, the boys running thru the water - what fun! making the most of it! and 'personality' is all that!
ReplyDeletewe got tons of rain last night, too . . not as much as you, but the cow pastures were flooded and I kept expecting to see calves surfing down the rapids of the creeks that run through their fields. and us runners will do anything in extreme weather. we're kinda nuts that way. ; )
ReplyDeletei love the kayakers - those are great. happy that they waved for you. wow, i hope things recover ok. that is terrible. ( :
ReplyDeletestay dry & warm. we had rain as well & it schedule for this evening too... i hope for no flooding. please. ( :
Hope your home is high and dry and without water damage. I don't know if there is anything worse than water damage, other than wind. Great photos.. Wishing all residents in your area the best!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe I have ever had this much fun on a tulip buying trip. Glad to hear you stayed dry.
ReplyDeleteAs we now live in a somewhat flood prone town, I view rain much more cautiously. I've never seen a house with a basement in Australia, I guess they add problems of their own, especially in the rain.
ReplyDeleteThose young people are having so much fun in the rain! Love the runners and the guys in the kayaks. The girls were so sweet to let you take their pictures.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't get much more rain. I saw on TV that 3 cars fell into a sinkhole in Chicago today.
Goodness that reminds me of last July when we got 5 inches in 45 mins, but you know the whole time I was reading this I was thinking about our law here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stupid_Motorist_Law Now I know that isn't you, stupid but goodness going in your car to photograph the flooding you are a brave lady or maybe a little nuts. :) Hoping for blue skies tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, that's a lot of water! Hope it has stopped now. The running shots and the two girls are so great. And I really enjoyed the boys paddling in the canoes on your street. Bet that's a sight you don't see very often!
ReplyDeleteWHOA! You did get some rain! Hopefully it receded quickly!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I heard it rained a lot in Chicago but I didn't realize there was this much! That is crazy. Glad you avoided the flooded basement!
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't realize you had so much rain there! I should've figured though since it's been snowing and snowing here. What a great group of photos...lucky you to have such willing subjects! I wish I was more brave about carrying my camera around. Last year I brought it to a big greenhouse and felt kind of weird about the whole thing. Hope you have a good weekend and that you don't get anymore rain!
ReplyDeleteOh my good ness! What a lot of rain you had! Makes me think of a flood we had in Aurora once when I was young. So now hope your rain is over with for a bit at least. This is a lovely series of shots, and glad you did not get flooded out!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an adventure! I absolutely love the portraits shots of Taylor and Samantha and Samantha's fabulous rainbow outfit. Happy weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Deanna. I'm so glad that your basement is still dry! In Minneapolis we ended up with six inches of snow. Ugh!!! This truly has been the longest inter ever. Thank goodness for grocery store flowers! Stay safe!
ReplyDelete"WINTER" whoops
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness such rain! but what wonderful pictures you have captured of it. Visiting you from Liberate Your Art. I received your lovely postcard this morning, thanks so much. Miriam.
ReplyDeleteDeanna!! Go home! ;-) Blizzard here, but wouldn't you know they couldn't even let us have school two hours late. Business as usual. Really sticky snow though, so should make some good pictures this morning. :-)
ReplyDeleteWOW! Look at all the water! And I thought having snow was bad :) Great pictures! Stay dry and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Stephanie
The Today show this morning was showing all of the flooding there. Glad you got out and had some fun taking the funny pictures. Most people would have just stayed at home and sulked. All great shots!
ReplyDeleteOh...glad you didn't flood at your house.
ReplyDeleteWe could sure use some of that rain here. Had a little, but not enough. Of course, as you know...in Texas it's usually feast or famine, when it comes to rain. We've had a lot of famine lately, though.
Have a great weekend. Be careful driving around.
Oh, my! You may have gotten a bit too much moisture. The enthusiasm of the young makes me smile!
ReplyDeleteOkay lady - we have friend's who live very near downtown Naperville on S. Sleigh Street. She works in the bookstore at NC!!!
ReplyDeleteSmall, small world.
Their basement had over 6" of water in it last night.
Good Heavens, Deanna! Where did all that rain come from?? So happy that your sump pump continued to work and that the electricity stayed on for you! eek! what a storm that must have been. It has been a terrible week though, I agree and am so sad about both tragedies.
ReplyDeleteWow glad that sump worked ! What is up with the weather we have had extremes here in UK too. i love young people they are so open and up for things....
ReplyDelete