Forest Fire

On July 25? we had a huge lightening storm which started numerous fires in S. Utah.  Unbeknownst to us one of the fires was just over the mountain from our small town.  I have bad asthma and so am always on the look out for forest fires because that means I need to leave the area so that it doesn’t do damage to my lungs. 

I wasn’t feeling very good for a few weeks but didn’t know exactly why when I happened to look out one of our windows and saw a fire at the top of one of our local mountains.  I got online and discovered that it had been burning for weeks. 

On Aug. 20th my nephew, Stefan, and I set out for my sisters house.  I knew that since this fire had been set by lightening and it had been let to burn that they were just going to let it burn itself out unless it got close to buildings.  Unfortunately as Stefan and I were driving we saw another fire off in the distance.  This fire was visible for hours and it was a lot bigger than the one we had just fled from.  We had planned on stopping for the night but the town where we wanted to stop was engulfed in smoke.  There aren’t many towns in the Nevada desert.  So we just drove straight through. 

I was away from home for about five weeks.  The fire near our town came down the side of the mountain.  The Fire Fighters cleared a fire break but our town eventually had to evacuate and several buildings were burned. 

Some families had the fire stop just yards away from their homes.  It was frustrating knowing that my community was going through that while I was sitting safe miles away.  I was worried about my family but they were just outside the evacuation boundary but were on a 15-min. evacuation standby.  My mom and husband had to have a pass to be able to get into our community. 

Eventually the fire was put out and the air cleared.  By that time I had been to the Doctor a few times because of lung damage. 

They put me on antibiotics and steroids.  My voice was gone and when I coughed it was croupy or a whistle.  Eventually I was able to come home but the damage to my lungs had been done.  I’m still not feeling good but after four months of antibiotics and steroids my bronchial tubes are starting to loosen up.  Last weekend my husband and I took a ride to the fire area to see up close what had been burned.

It is amazing to me how brave and how hard the Fire Fighters work.  This year there have been 412 fires started by humans which burned 2289 acres.  721 fires started by lightening, burning 107784 acres.  107 prescribed  (fires started by the Fire Dept. to burn off old brush) fires, burning 19687 acres.  We are so grateful to the Fire Fighters who put their lives on the line to keep the rest of us safe. 

My son, Sean, has trained to become a Fire Fighter and can’t wait for the day when he can make a living protecting others.  As a mother it is scary to think of him working in such a dangerous career but he is doing it because he loves people and want to protect them.  Thank you to all of those who serve in their communities to help, serve and protect.

Signs of Spring!

Every once in a while we get a glimpse of the coming spring. I thought that I would go in search of proof. Aha! Buds on our beautiful Globe Willow trees.

One of the perks of living in this beautiful valley are the views of Kolob. It seems like everyday the view changes because of the season, time of day, weather, etc. Here you can see some sun shining through to highlight one of the fingers (Kolob Fingers, aka, Fingers of God). There are Five fingers that show (the local indians called them the Five Fingers of God) but from our house you can only really see 2-3 of them. If we drive East towards New Harmony, all five come into view. One of the best views from our valley is at the cemetary. Sometimes I will drive over there, park and just enjoy the glorious view. We are so blessed to be able to live here.

I feel the earth move under my feet...

Bob was getting ready for bed and I was downstairs on my laptop when I felt the earth shake. I checked around and heard Bob get up doing the same. We had a small earthquake! What is cool is that I got online to see if I could find out something about it and found a website that has a computer generated message. This was just minutes after the quake. Cool.

Earthquake Details
Magnitude 3.1
Date-Time
Monday, March 23, 2009 at 05:43:26 UTC
Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 11:43:26 PM at epicenter
Location
37.398°N, 113.175°W
Depth
0.2 km (~0.1 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region
UTAH
Distances
15 km (10 miles) S (178°) from Kanarraville, UT
15 km (9 miles) SE (128°) from New Harmony, UT
19 km (12 miles) NNE (31°) from Toquerville, UT
104 km (65 miles) NE (50°) from Mesquite, NV
226 km (140 miles) NE (53°) from Las Vegas, NV
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 1.1 km (0.7 miles); depth +/- 11.2 km (7.0 miles)
Parameters
NST= 18, Nph= 18, Dmin=24 km, Rmss=0.61 sec, Gp= 58°,M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=1
Source
University of Utah Seismograph Stations
Event ID
uu00003407
This is a computer-generated message -- this event has not yet been reviewed by a seismologist.

If you are interested here is the website: http://earthquake.usgs.gov

I was surprised to see how often earthquakes happen in our area. I remember how fascinating my college Geology class was and I guess this was a good reminder of how amazing the earth is.

Oh yeah, as far as we can see everything here is fine. I guess I will look around more in the morning. I'm just glad that Mom was asleep.

Snapshot of My Life - February - Hammock

One of my favorite places is my hammock. This picture doesn't look like much but it is winter. This is the place I can go to relax and unwind. I take a book and sometimes blankets and rock myself into a calm relaxed state. When Bob and I met I lived in an apartment with a small balcony that was too small for my hammock. It sadly lived in storage. When we got married we moved into Bob's condo whose balcony was also too small for my hammock. Since we have such a large family we bought a house. The Real Estate Agent called me to meet her at our new home where she would turn over the keys. I was so excited! I called Bob and asked him to join us. We waited....and waited...he was over 30 minutes late. I couldn't believe it! Finally the Agent gave me the keys and left.

FINALLY Bob pulled up in our new driveway with a big grin on his face. I couldn't be too upset at him because we had just bought a beautiful new home but I was a bit annoyed. Bob can sometimes get involved in something and forget where he is supposed to be. He is my absent-minded professor. Anyway Bob was so happy and said that he had a surprise for me. He opened up his car and pulled out the parts of my hammock! I hadn't been able to lay in it for over two years and he had gone through our garage, which was piled high with boxes to the ceiling, and found all the parts to the hammock so that it would be the first thing in our new home.

Needless to say, I wasn't annoyed any more and was so amazed that he remembered how much I wanted to have a place for my hammock. We have sat and layed in this hammock and had long talks with each other, kids and grandchildren. I have been known to fall asleep in my hammock and wake up with an insect bite where my face and hand (separate times) were so swollen that I had to go to the hospital for antibiotics (I'm allergic to about everything that bites). It hasn't stopped me from spending time in my favorite place. I guess it's worth it.

Snapshot of My Life - February - Nature

I love the beauty and mystery of nature. Winter has it's own beauty as well. It can be cold and lonley but it can also blanket the world in silence that makes me ponder life and it's beauty. I remember walking to school (during College) in the early mornings when I was the first one on the snow and it was such a spiritual feeling to listen to the silence and witness the beauty. Later in the day the snow is marred with tracks and dirty so it is nice to witness it before life stirs it up.

This morning I woke up to lots of snow. It was different from our previous storms, the snow was heavy and weighed down the branches of the trees. We have four beautiful Globe Willow Trees in our yard and they are beautiful all of the time but especially with this heavy snow. I couldn't help but grab the camera and take pictures.

I love the following quote, especially when you consider the author:

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

- Anne Frank