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| Photos of Bracebridge Flooding Taken by Muskoka Photographer Fred Schulz |
THE FLOOD OF 2013, THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER
FRED SCHULZ COMES THROUGH WITH SOME REVEALING IMAGES OF BRACEBRIDGE FLOOD
When I got back to Birch Hollow, late this afternoon, after returning from a lengthy motor-trip around the district, to check out the flooding situation, particularly of the Muskoka River, south and north branches, I wandered lazily over to The Bog, for a wee respite with my canine companion, Bosko. Here then, as a powerful contrast in nature's moodiness, was this beautiful sun drenched woodland, rising in light and shadow, high above The Bog, now fully free of its snow cover, which was here only a few days ago…..before the torrential rain of last week; and the heavy winds that helped dry up the acreage of lowland and forest, on the upper bank of Muskoka Bay, here in Gravenhurst.
Admittedly I felt quite guilty, that here in this large lowland, that filters a huge volume of annual run-off, from many abutting urban neighborhoods, the creeks were greatly reduced in their water flow, and the cataracts I could hear from a great distance, late last week, were nearly silent in the enclosure of matted grasses and mounds, created by the rotting stumps of long since fallen birches. To stand here, on the embankment of The Bog, looking at this gentle landscape, seemed so distant from the wide-scale flooding only a short distance away, even close to the urban area of our community. This is a drainage area where you would expect flooding to occur, but this afternoon, it looked more vulnerable to an open flame, than as a place that might soon flood over, even in the next event of heavy rain expected by mid week.
It was a remarkable change in only a short drive, between Bracebridge and Gravenhurst. The flooding of the Muskoka River has yet to peak along its watershed, and many residents of low lying areas, have already been seriously affected by rising water. Some have been unable to stay in their homes and cottages, and their electrical services have been shut-down in the most seriously affected areas, to avoid the dangers this exposure to water can create.
Standing here, overlooking this quiet scene, is actually quite unsettling, when only twenty minutes earlier, I was watching as the the dam across the Bracebridge Falls was being breached by the cascade of water flow, pounding down through the rapids by the old Woolen Mill architecture, rigid white, against the natural shoreline of the opposite side.
From watching whitewater racing down, and crashing over the dam, gouging deeply into a turbulent Bracebridge Bay, to then, calmly watching chipmunks and squirrels darting about in this sun illuminated woodland, seems unfair to the humanity suffering a little further north. Here is an example of "peace on earth." There, it is "rage unclenched." But then this is the diversity of the Muskoka region. The wild mood swings. The sudden intensities of wind and storm. The prevailing calm, replaced by the encroaching front. The thunder and lightening, and torrential rain. The sudden change. The sunny pastoral scene, that moments later, looks as if we have been provided a glimpse of heaven, all at once, without having had to die to reach it. Muskoka is full of enchantments, just as it is naturally unique and at times, very unpredictable. The poets who used to visit here, in the 1930's were allured by its strange essences, of loveliness yet danger, all within seconds of each pinnacle of experience.
I once again have to thank the master photographer, Fred Schulz, for coming up with some amazing photographs to document this historic natural event, as it affects the Town of Bracebridge, and so many residents along the river course, who have been adversely impacted by one of the largest run-off anomalies in modern history.
Today, I will leave this blog in the capable hands of the true story teller…..my photographer colleague, Fred Schulz.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those folks in peril.
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