HIGH WATERS RUN FAST

As you all know, it’s been a cool, wet spring and the high waters have caused all sorts of concerns for many people.  Here in Grand Forks, the city is built at the confluence of the Granby and Kettle Rivers so when the spring run-off gets going, those that live on lower ground along the rivers brace for some flooding.  The water was high a few weeks ago and with the rain this past week, the waters are up again.

We took some photos of the city park downtown to show the excess water and then one poor home that now has a lake in their yard.

We drove out to Cascade Falls which is near Christina Lake and took some great photos of the Kettle River at the falls.  The water is a muddy brown colour in the wide sections of the river but it whips up into a cappuccino through the falls. 

Even with the unsettled weather, we’ve been enjoying ourselves at home doing the things we like to do.  We are working on a front yard landscape project that has been a creative challenge.  Our plan was to dig up a section of lawn, plant ornamental grasses (the deer won’t eat them) and then cover the area with landscape fabric and decorative landscaping rocks.  Well, guess what you can’t get in bulk in Grand Forks?  Decorative landscaping rocks.  There is a place just east of town that used to sell rock materials but it appears that they are no longer in business and the only other option here is to purchase bags of rock at the garden centre.  Well, at $5 a bag, we would have a $475 rock pile!

So, the creative part of the challenge was to find a suitable material to spread between the grasses and we decided to try the black smelter slag that’s piled up along the Granby River.  The slag is from copper ore that was mined in nearby Phoenix and smelted here in Grand Forks.  http://wikimapia.org/10737404/smelter-slag 

It is similar to obsidian in that it’s very sharp, shiny and heavy.  Here’s where we get our supply:

We’re still hauling slag so you’ll have to wait until next time to see the landscape project.