February Showers

Today started and ended with rain and in between…there was rain.  When I drove in to work at 6:45 am, Palmer Drive was already flooded and I know there was already flooding in the lower level of the Rath Environmental Center.  I turned around with a bunch of other commuters and took a different route once I saw how deep the water was across the road.  The frozen ground wasn’t letting anything soak in (not unusual for February) so the creek across the way was swollen and ultimately crested, causing Palmer Drive to be closed for the day.  A jet ski or canoe would have been more appropriate.I saw some cars stalled out in what was likely 3-4′ of water on Palmer Drive but I could at least get to the Horticulture Center.  I spent the morning at Franklin Middle School at their career fair along with another 50+ folks talking to the students about their careers.  I had four groups of kids in quick succession and it was nice to see that most had been to the gardens in the past as part of a field trip.  I hope they return as visitors, volunteers, members and donors in the future!  I had a productive afternoon and only saw Jim Jr. from Jim’s Carts ‘n Parts (Milton, WI) and we had a nice chat.  The photos here show our retention ponds at the Horticulture Center as full as they’ve ever been and if you look across the field in the bottom photo, that’s solid flooding from the creek almost across the field to the Horticulture Center.  We’ll see how the Rock River handles this mess and hope for a return to normal February weather.  I have to say I am glad it wasn’t snow as we would have had some serious removal challenges too!