It has been over a month since fate blew the Catskills a heavy blow with heavy rainfall caused by Hurricane Irene. Our community got lucky despite losing a few bridges and a few close calls in the aftermath - two residents were severely injured while cleaning up downed trees in separate incidents. As we checked on our neighbors and nearby communities, news spread that our young community garden and the native plants we planted for stream restoration didn't make it. It was a few days before I got around to seeing it given that our bridge was one of the ones that got washed out. Nothing could have prepared me for this though. In my mind the garden was still looking like this (taken on August 20th).
Then to see this.
And this.
And this.
It was heart-breaking. I couldn't look at it for too long myself to notice the silver lining that was present. Within days Alex had sent word out to the community garden that all was not lost.
She wrote:
And sure enough, I looked at the pictures I had shot while in shock and you can see for yourself the colorful life peaking out among the dull brushstrokes of mud left by the flood.
Alex also reported that two raised beds, a bunch of tools, most of the garden posts and fencing materials had survived the flooding giving us gardeners hope that the future of our beloved community garden is brighter than we (I) first thought!
One thing about gardeners, they are forever looking ahead. So while the garden may have had a pretty serious setback this year, we are determined to make next year's growing season even better.
Note: There are efforts underway to get things into place for next year. Keep an eye out for email announcements to help any way you can.
