The continuum

As the floodwaters recede here in the valley, the waters rise out west. West of the Red River Valley is the prairie pothole region. In places like Devils Lake, the standing water level has been rising for over a decade. Birds benefit from it, but cabin owners do not. Farther west, flash floods occur in the steep ravines of the badlands. At least one man fell victim to the Mouse River near Minot.

Back home, things are quiet. We pick up the trash transported downstream from who knows where. There are liquor bottles, beer cans, and blue plastic tarps. Even the strongest flood can't scrub all of this junk away; but we have our share of beauty too. A pair of tundra swans stop by on the way to their namesake breeding grounds. Cormorants dive for minnows in the cold river. The spring air is filled with goose music. Life goes on as it always has, since before humans were here to watch it.

The second crest

There will be a second crest on the Red River. There is still a significant snowpack left to melt, and April rains are inevitable. While we wait for the next wave, the receding waters allow us to see what the first wave swallowed. This news comes from the Grand Forks Herald:

Authorities believe a rural Climax, Minn., man found dead in the Red River was swept away in floodwaters as he tried to cross a washed-out stretch of road in a full-size pickup.

Polk County deputies located the body of a drowned man on Sunday evening about 60 yards downstream from where his four-door 2003 Chevrolet Silverado sat up to its windows in about four feet of water, investigator Nathan Rasch said.