My parents are among the most avid readers of this blog – it's like visiting the ranch without all the hassle of traveling. Last week, my mom mentioned how much she loves watching the little videos I post and she suggested I make more of them. The snowball started rolling downhill from there, and the next thing I knew I was buying one of those new-fangled Flip cameras. Then I started thinking that a weekly video feature might be fun, and then Lucy agreed to help.
So let's get started. Roll 'em!
p.s. The smoke we saw is from a wildfire that's 20 miles away. We're not worried.
Showing posts with label wildfires. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildfires. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Neighborhood pyrotechnics
Some towns celebrate the New Year with fireworks. Out here in the middle of nowhere, we go for the real thing.
The call came in at 11:30 Thursday morning. It was my neighbor on her cell phone. "There's a fire."
I looked out the window and saw the smoke. Yikes. It was about 5 miles from the house but too close for comfort with the high winds that day. I grabbed a shovel, my camera and Smooch. We hopped in the truck and headed down the road to investigate.
The road to the highway winds around and up and down, and it was hard to figure out exactly where all the smoke was coming from. Just as I crested a hill, I saw something I never would have imagined seeing in this neck of nowhere...
A firetruck! Glory be and hallelujah. I parked my truck and left Smooch to monitor the west flank as I walked down the road to get the scoop.
As it happened, the pasture that was ablaze belonged to the local town clerk, who is my northern neighbor and very well connected. She managed to get five fire trucks there within half an hour. (Note to self: in case of emergency, don't dial 911, call the town clerk.)
I had never been up close and personal to a grass fire and was fascinated to watch how and what it burned. Despite the heat and flames, the cholla cactus remained standing. Figures. The one thing you want to get rid of survives.
The fire was caused by the knucklehead who drove his old pickup truck into the tall grass to cut down some trees for firewood. He got his firewood alright, pre-burned. And Nature got her sweet revenge by destroying his truck.
After chit-chatting with the town clerk and her posse of firefighters for awhile, the situation seemed under control and Smooch and I went home. The local tv news reported on the fire that night, saying it had grown to 30 acres. I'd venture to say that this was the first time in broadcast history that my neighborhood has been on the news. I had to laugh because the reporter struggled to explain exactly where it was.
The call came in at 11:30 Thursday morning. It was my neighbor on her cell phone. "There's a fire."
Cow: Hurry up and do what you can. I don't want any of my friends barbecued.
The road to the highway winds around and up and down, and it was hard to figure out exactly where all the smoke was coming from. Just as I crested a hill, I saw something I never would have imagined seeing in this neck of nowhere...
A firetruck! Glory be and hallelujah. I parked my truck and left Smooch to monitor the west flank as I walked down the road to get the scoop.
As it happened, the pasture that was ablaze belonged to the local town clerk, who is my northern neighbor and very well connected. She managed to get five fire trucks there within half an hour. (Note to self: in case of emergency, don't dial 911, call the town clerk.)
I had never been up close and personal to a grass fire and was fascinated to watch how and what it burned. Despite the heat and flames, the cholla cactus remained standing. Figures. The one thing you want to get rid of survives.
The fire was caused by the knucklehead who drove his old pickup truck into the tall grass to cut down some trees for firewood. He got his firewood alright, pre-burned. And Nature got her sweet revenge by destroying his truck.
After chit-chatting with the town clerk and her posse of firefighters for awhile, the situation seemed under control and Smooch and I went home. The local tv news reported on the fire that night, saying it had grown to 30 acres. I'd venture to say that this was the first time in broadcast history that my neighborhood has been on the news. I had to laugh because the reporter struggled to explain exactly where it was.
Monday, April 21, 2008
And Nero fiddled while Rome burned...
...or something like that. The boys could care less about the smoke. While it's disconcerting for me to watch, it's highly unlikely that the fire would reach us. But it would be foolish to ignore the possibility, as remote as it is. Should the wind change direction, I have my emergency plan in place. Thanks to all of you who have expressed your concern!
The winds are still in my favor
The fire is now at 1,500 acres and 30% contained. Two little towns at the base of the eastern slope have had to evacuate but those of us near the southern slopes are just watching the smoke.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
A room with a view
...but this isn't what I want to be looking at from my bedroom window - it's smoke from the Trigo Fire. The winds now are blowing at 25 mph from the west - that would be the left in this picture - which is good news for me. The fire is about 20 miles away, and as long as the winds don't shift and come from the north, I've got nothing to worry about. But I'll worry anyway because that's what people who live in the middle of nowhere do when there's a fire.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Weekend Update
The fire on the mountain is now 40% contained and I no longer see flames, just smoke. While the fire raged out of control, I rationalized that the BNSF railroad would never let the fire jump its tracks, which run 7 miles north of my ranch and 7 miles south of the fire. It's a primary east-west freight corridor, and a train moves through that area every 15 minutes. Surely my ranch would never be in harm's way from a fire on the mountain...yeah, right. Bottom line is if a fire ever started moving in this direction, I'd be s.o.l. as the only fire protection out here is my garden hose. And that's why I pay a fortune for homeowner's insurance.
So using a wood stove to heat the house might seem like an unnecessary risk, but so be it. The raging fire in my living room is safely confined in cast iron, and the radiant heat feels better than forced hot air out of a noisy furnace. The downside? Unloading and stacking the cord of wood I picked up yesterday. But that's just another line item in the normal list of ranch chores, and I really don't mind. It's good exercise and something to do outside when it's too cold to ride.
It's been too cold to ride or do much else outdoors for four days now, and I suspect that is why George seems p.o.'d. I was busy cooking, then gone to the neighbor's for most of Thanksgiving day, and since then, George has not been his usual affectionate self. He doesn't follow me around and walks off when I want to hang out with him. So today's priority after the wood is stacked is to spend some serious time with the burros. The sun is out and the temperature should climb above 40 if I'm lucky.
Neither the burros, nor the horses, seem to appreciate the sacrifices I make for them. By moving the horses' water tank into the barn this year, I had hoped it would not freeze over. Wrong. On Friday, I rearranged equine accommodations yet again so that the burros and horses would share a heated water tank. That, of course, involved digging a trench, running conduit, and dealing with water and hoses...in subfreezing temperatures. They might not appreciate my efforts, but I sleep better knowing their water supply is not frozen. And I try not to walk past the electric meter and watch the dial spinning out of control as the 1500-watt stock tank heater does its thing.
So using a wood stove to heat the house might seem like an unnecessary risk, but so be it. The raging fire in my living room is safely confined in cast iron, and the radiant heat feels better than forced hot air out of a noisy furnace. The downside? Unloading and stacking the cord of wood I picked up yesterday. But that's just another line item in the normal list of ranch chores, and I really don't mind. It's good exercise and something to do outside when it's too cold to ride.
It's been too cold to ride or do much else outdoors for four days now, and I suspect that is why George seems p.o.'d. I was busy cooking, then gone to the neighbor's for most of Thanksgiving day, and since then, George has not been his usual affectionate self. He doesn't follow me around and walks off when I want to hang out with him. So today's priority after the wood is stacked is to spend some serious time with the burros. The sun is out and the temperature should climb above 40 if I'm lucky.
Neither the burros, nor the horses, seem to appreciate the sacrifices I make for them. By moving the horses' water tank into the barn this year, I had hoped it would not freeze over. Wrong. On Friday, I rearranged equine accommodations yet again so that the burros and horses would share a heated water tank. That, of course, involved digging a trench, running conduit, and dealing with water and hoses...in subfreezing temperatures. They might not appreciate my efforts, but I sleep better knowing their water supply is not frozen. And I try not to walk past the electric meter and watch the dial spinning out of control as the 1500-watt stock tank heater does its thing.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Fire on the mountain
I've been watching the Ojo Peak fire since it started early Monday morning - it's hard not to watch it, since the picture window in my bedroom frames it. The flames last night were disconcerting, to say the least. Still 15 miles away...I think...the winds are pushing it eastward for now.
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