Climate change has certainly made an impact in our county. I do not ever recall the upsetting number of tornado warnings we recently experienced. Also, while most of the state was welcoming spring-like mornings, we woke up to snow covered lawns.

We are all familiar with the adage that says, “April showers bring May flowers.” However, the onset of April this year brought torrential downpours causing extensive flooding and road washouts. As I recently hopped over a series of puddles, I wondered if Noah had the right idea. Peeling off my soggy shoes and socks, I briefly pondered that it might be a lark to consider building an ark.

Not knowing anything about ark building, I went where many construction people go to acquire materials and knowledge. At Home Depot, an associate told me to go to aisle fourteen and look for Herb. When I inquired what I would need to build an ark, Herb quickly retracted his tape measure and sarcastically replied, “What you need is to have your head examined.”

So, even though Herb was not the font of ark building information I needed, I knew to go to my trusty backup, the internet. As many of my readers know, you can find anything on the internet. There are videos about everything from how to replace a motor in a 2003 Honda Accord to how to tie a Pitzen knot for fly fishing.

Using the search engine that I jokingly call Goggle, I found hundreds of sites pertaining to Noah and his ark. I scrolled through the list and decided that my first step would be to design an ark capable of weathering the seemingly endless floods. Although my ark did not have to be able to hold two of every animal on Earth, I researched the size of Noah’s floating vessel. According to Biblical references, Noah’s ark was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. Naturally, my next Goggle search was to find out what the heck was a cubit.

A cubit is a measurement that was used by ancient Israelites, Egyptians and Sumerians to measure length. It is the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Conventional wisdom puts it at 18 inches. It was used to measure Noah’s ark as well as King Solomon’s temple. Legend has it that a cubit was also used in the design of the Ark of the Covenant. That latter ark was a key element in the Indiana Jones movie franchise. As any devotee of the various history and discovery channels knows, the Ark of The Covenant is thought to have really existed. Some believe it is buried in one of many sites ranging from Oak Island in Canada to under the ruins of the Temple Mount in Israel.

Now knowing about cubits, I researched what wood Noah used to construct his ark. The Bible mentions that Noah built his ark out of gopher wood. The problem is that gopher wood does not exist. In fact, the only time it is ever mentioned is when associated with Noah. Maybe the name comes from the time that Noah asked his sons to “go for” wood for the ark.

About the time I realized that ark building was above my pay grade, I happened to look out my window. I saw the first tiny buds from our red maple trees. Within a week those buds will burst open signaling the coming of spring and summer. Soon the showers of April will give way to the May flowers emerging in our garden. I decided that the ark construction pipedream will be put on hold. If it happens to rain a lot, I will put on a pair of old shoes, squeeze into a pair of hip waders and open an umbrella. You might even find me singin’ in the rain.