Fire Update

 I may be posting about this for a while as the fire is 0% contained. You simply cannot extinguish it in this kind of mountainous country. The latest report as of last night was 577 acres. 

This was taken about 10 miles down the 2 lane paved road.

As I sit here for a moment on the deck, to type out this update, the smoke is strong and the sound of multiple chainsaws echo across the canyons, but the sky is still blue east of the fire.

DH and I made a trash run this afternoon as we have to haul all of our trash out to dumpsters about 3 miles away. I had broken down a ton of boxes and filled up the bed of the pickup. We live on a forest road and once you leave our property, it's just 1.5 miles to the pavement. We noticed 2 groups of vehicles parked off the forest road and stopped. They were hotshots. One contingent was from the local village (32 miles) and the other was from the Hila (the South part of the state). 

The fire still seemed to be quite a ways away so we thought it was odd that they would be set up so far east if it. But our road is the best road between the fire and they are being proactive. They have a better chance of fighting it if and when it comes down through these canyons.

On one hand, it's reassuring to know they have a plan and on the other hand, it's concerning that they think it may move this close.

We stopped at the neighbors (7 miles) when we saw him outside. He's been here a long time and has seen a lot of fires. The head of the incident management team stopped by and the 3 of them gathered over a map 

and made a plan.

On the way home, DH said, "Time to fire up the cookie factory!" 😂  It's what I do.

So a double batch of Cowboy Cookies, 2 batches of Granola Bars, and Peanut Butter cookies coming right up. 

I told our girl that my mind instantly began to calculate how long it would take me to make dozens of firefighter- worthy quilts, but I quickly decided that cookies and granola bars would just have to do. 😉

Oh, and if I can get to town, I'll bring back ingredients to make Buckaroo Bundles. Those are portable. But DH just came in (he met up with Dominic - the incident manager - to drive around in the buggy and give them some intel about the area, water sources, and trails) and he said there were over 20 people on each crew. Yikes! I may need to step up my game. 

Today I'll go out and help DH clear some more trees and brush. I can pray while I'm doing that.

A Little Bit of a Crazy Day

 DH and I had made plans to be away overnight tonight. We had planned to leave the house at 4 a.m. But Thursday morning we were awakened at 4 with a fire alert. We have an app on our phones that keeps us informed of fires. And it wasn't just a fire. A medi-vac plane had crashed into a mountain, just under 8 miles from us and 4 people were lost. Such a tragic accident. This is in a Wilderness area and it is wild and rough, making recovery and fire fighting efforts extremely challenging. There are no roads and only foot traffic is allowed. We could see the smoke from the deck Thursday morning.

By the time dusk had arrived, we could see the flames and the information we had indicated that the fire had grown from 35 acres to 150 acres. 

The winds picked up and gusted all night. There were 125 personel on site, but there wasn't anything that could be done overnight.

DH assured me it would take a few days for the fire to reach us, with the terrain being so rugged, if at all, but I just did not feel comfortable leaving our property. 

The fire began 8 miles from us and the winds were blowing it our direction. If evacuation orders were given, we had to be ready to load horses and Skeet, documents and leave out. 

Just the day before, one of our Jungle hens hatched 3 baby chicks

And Thursday evening Allie Oop gave birth to 5 kittens

DH has done a lot of clearing and just recently, including yesterday, he's been cutting trees and brush to build roads around the property for a fire line. The track came off the skidsteer and we cut some wood to wedge between the teeth

After a few attempts, he was back in business

All prayers are welcomed...for the families who are grieving their loved ones, for the safety of the first responders, and for the livestock and families in the line of the fire. 

Not much sleeping last night. 

No new information this morning, but it's just before 5. 

If I Could Bottle This Up...

 Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder

                                  -E.B. White

Garden Progress

 Lately, these have been my dance partners

I've been spending lots of time behind the shovel, getting these new raised beds filled

And ready for planting. DH brought me 5 skid steer loads of dirt

And 3 tubs of horse manure

We didn't want to collapse the center supports so that's why he didn't dump the dirt directly into the beds. I filled 1 bed and it took A LOT of shoveling and it reminded me that I am no longer a spring chicken.

Once I had the dirt shoveled in, I topped it off with a combination of shavings from the chicken coop, horse manure, top soil, peat moss, and vermiculite. I'll add a layer of mulch after everything's planted. And yes, DH offered to help numerous times, but I really welcome the workout, I just have to pace myself and he's been helping friends brand.

The kids came out on Friday and it was all hands on deck to finish filling the rest of the beds

Three 8 x 4 x 2 beds hold A LOT of dirt and I partially filled them with cardboard and wood scraps and branches. But I think the hard part is done and I can put the shovel away for now.

I love it when the kids come out and spend the day and it was fun to introduce little E to gardening

When she spends the night, she finds a little something under her pillow - I knew these would be put to good use

All that black dirt just brings me so much joy and hopefully that's being passed on to the next generation

We got a few things in the dirt

Being this is our first shot at gardening here, it's going to be a trial and error year, but I'm excited to watch everything take root.

                                    

And this happened on May 1st with an added 0.3" the following day. It was slow and gentle and we are so grateful. 

It's been a dry, warm winter. Our only moisture has been two 6" snows - one in December and one in January, but I'm optimistic and yes, I'm one of those people that walk out to their garden in their jammies with a mug of tea first thing in the morning to see what's grown overnight. 😊