1MAY2012 @ Decatur, NE - I was on the water at 0600 facing a cloudy/foggy/windy day.  At noon I pulled in at the Hansen farm - brothers Jim and Kenny - and occupied the front porch of Donnie Kaufmann's riverfront home.  Last year Kenny's house stayed 8" above the flood, the maintenance barn sytayed 2" above the flood and Donnie's house was about 24" under.  I'm occupying the porch because the house interior smells.  Oh yes - they have stripped the house, removed the bottom 4' of wallboard but there is more to do.  It is clear that all the floor plywood will be taken up and who knows what else.  So I layed myself down on the dusty front porch at 1230 and slept for two hours.  So ... it's good to be rested.
Do not think that it is wonderful, though ... just know that it is better than being out.  Out means being in a strong wind that is filled with dust and grit.  The Hansen brothers are concerned that the tender corn shoots will be sandblasted off and killed.  Add that additional problem to the litany that you already knew farmers constantly face.  Back to me though, I'm covered in dust; a rub across the back of my neck delivers a black hand-full.  The porch is screened and does face east, so I'm in the shade ... else I would call this as bad as it could get.
So why not leave?  Well, consider the wind.  Blowing upstream, I probably required an hour to paddle the last mile and overall this morning I averaged only 2.5 MPH when the wind was not as strong as now.  Later today (1700 on) even stronger winds plus rain is expected.  So a porch out of the weather and logging 17 miles against a strong wind sounds better than being out.
Darkness came and still no rain.  Earlier the wind subsided, though, and made me wonder at the sense of staying here.  But stay here I did and as the night went on I was glad and glad again.  The storms that raged all night were nothing one would ever want to be out in.  At one moment I looked east and saw the sky lighted out for maybe 20 miles.  That's a lot of lightening.         
Today I paddled from river mile 691 to river mile 674, a distance of 17 river miles.