Water Water Everywhere

The season of wet is upon us. The thaw had started melting snow enough to flow into my basement through the cracks that are spread every year by the ice. I was hoping that it would be a slow thaw so it would only trickle in and dry up but that is not the case. This morning on my way out the door I peeked down the basement stairs only to find a growing puddle starting to wrap its way around the foot of the stairs.

Luckily, we are prepared for this so I grabbed by handy dandy wet/dry vac and got to work on tackling the pooling waters. I filled the vacuum and had to cart it over to my wash sink to empty it before I even got the majority of the water sucked up. This was my fault as I had drained out my sump hole the week before and forgot to empty the vac. Round two allowed me to get the rest of the water off the floor and from behind the pipe where it collects after coming in the crack in the wall. Being the considerate fellow that I am, I emptied the vacuum so my wife would have a fresh start for tackling the mess throughout the day.

The weather forecast calls for a steady rain throughout the day, diminishing later this afternoon. That means that we will still be clearing water out of our basement well into the evening. Hopefully it only stays on the one side of the house and does not back up the storm and sewage lines into our wash sink. Either way, we will both be stressing all day about it and with the warming trend we are having it will probably be a frequent event for the next month or so. ARGH!

from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.