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Mud
Season is a headache;
spring flooding is a migraine.
by Jon Cormier
Each
spring in the upper valley, as ice and snow melt, as
the ground softens and the rain falls, residents
need to brace their patience for mud season. There's
no way around it if you're from these parts; somehow
the mud will affect you. If you have kids or pets
that play and run outside, expect to do more
housecleaning and laundry -- and unless you like
brown cars, be prepared to make regular coin drops
at the local carwash, too.
I don't have kids or pets, so it's easier to prevent
muddy messes. But this prevention comes at a cost: i
stay inside. i came to the upper Valley to take
advantage of the mountains, lakes, and trails, but
during mud season, on the rare occasion that i do
venture out of doors, I keep to the pavement or
concrete. I don't enjoy being a couch potato, but
unless I come to terms with mopping, vacuuming, and
doing laundry, or until the mud dries out on the
trails, I'll be experiencing the outdoors via the
Discovery Channel.
federal disaster assistance is usually a loan that
must be paid back with interest. to learn more go to
floodsmart.com.
A more serious feature of mud season that some of us
in New Hampshire and Vermont have to contend with is
spring flooding. Snow and ice melt are common, often
overlooked causes of flooding, and it only takes an
inch of water to damage your property. If your
property is prone to flooding, or even if there's
only a slight chance your property could flood, you
may want to consider flood insurance. Flood
insurance is inexpensive compared to repaying
federal disaster assistance -- which is usually a
loan that must be paid back with interest.
By the time you read this, spring flooding probably
isn't much of an issue, if it's still an issue at
all -- I'm aware of that. But considering the heavy
rain and flooding that struck the Upper Valley and
surrounding area last summer and fall, and the
AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center's March 20th
announcement that a major hurricane is likely to
make landfall in the Northeast this summer, I
figured a little information on flood insurance
wouldn't hurt -- and might even save a reader or two
from some major pain in the temples. |
