Rain, Rain ... Enough Already!

I keep a daily weather log. It’s a habit I picked up from my Dad, who was a mariner for most of his working life. It’s vitally important for a mariner to know the weather forecast, learning how to observe the current conditions and noting the public forecasts.
I note that, every day during the last 3 1/2 weeks, the weather forecasts / logs here, and across Atlantic Canada, have included: cloudy, rain, showers, drizzle and fog. Folks are getting “sick and tired” of the wet conditions, some are getting depressed, while others are complaining about flooded conditions -- such as on farmers’ fields and golf courses. Golf courses?
I believe the farmers have a valid problem; some of them can’t get out to plant their crops, while others are noting that their bees are unable to leave the hives to pollinate the blossoms.

The streams and rivers around here are quite large, but not at all like some of the large rivers across North America.
Here are a few examples of people who are facing life-altering situations:
-- The Saint John River has flooded near Fredericton, and the damage seems to be minimal at this time. But the flood threat may return at any moment.
-- Lake Champlain, in northern New York, is up to 8 feet (almost 3 metres) over its regular level, and is flooding towns such as St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montréal. Canadian Forces personnel are still helping local teams with sand-bagging an evacuation procedures.
-- In Manitoba, the annual flood threat of the Red River has lessened over the last week, and the Winnipeg Floodway has been doing its job remarkably well. However, the situation along the Assiniboine River is much more serious: Government officials have had to break holes and the dyke at the “Hoot and Holler” turn, deliberately flooding parts of those rural areas, in an effort to prevent catastrophic flooding further downriver.
Over the first three days, the good news is that the rural flooding has been less than anticipated. Residents were given the time and the resources, including Canadian Forces and civilian volunteers, to send-bag their homes and lead evacuations. But they have no long-term guarantees that their homes will not be flooded.
-- In the U-S, the “Mighty Mississippi” is showing off its power in the state of Louisiana. Here, too, government officials, this time the famous Army Corps of Engineers opened the gates of the Morganza Spillway to relieve the pressure of flooding areas down the river, including the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This means that the floodwater has been sent pouring through the main parts of “Cayjan Country,” thereby posing a threat to my “cousins” and their entire culture and way of life.
These folks – from the areas mentioned above – DO have something to complain about. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them.

Flooded golf courses? I think not. Stop complaining. Get up and do something positive.
Take as your model all the volunteers who assisted Cape Breton Highlands National Park staff over the past week to repair the world-famous Highland Links golf course, to have all 18 holes playable for this coming long weekend!