The Fire Claims A Second Day

As we awoke to clearer skies and cooler temps, we imagined a better day.  It was not long before the smoke began to rise and it seemed like yesterday all over again.  In lieu of dramatic words, I thought I would simply let pictures tell the story of this fire that has held us hostage for now 48 hours.  Giving credit where credit is due, many of these pictures were taken by my daughter, some were taken by others and posted on FB.  I am deeply grateful to all those that shared pictures of what its like here in my little town.  The different perspectives help give a deeper understanding to what is happening here.  Thank you to all who shared your photos and to my daughter for getting out there and recording what will certainly be memories we will never forget.

 

An amazing picture - kudos to the photographer

The fire is not contained and with humidity levels extremely low, the battle will continue another day.  Over 5,000 residents of my town have been evacuated and nearly 500 homes destroyed.  No matter what tomorrow brings, my town is changed forever.  As are the lives of so many of it's people.

Timing Is Everything

Its almost 3am.  Ive been up for over an hour answering emails and thinking about this post.  Normally I am sleeping but I decided to play automatic sprinkler system.

It has been so hot and so dry here in Central Texas that the word desperate has creeped into our daily vocabulary.  We are desperate for the heat to break and desperate for rain.  I am beginning to wonder what comes after the word desperate.

The forecast called this week for temperatures well over 100 degrees each day.  And no rain. Just a repeat of all the days and weeks before it.  We have grown accustom to the idea that rain will not fall today or tomorrow.  We try to not think about how many days it has been this summer without rain.  I remember not long ago being hopeful that somehow, someway this long hot streak would break.  I don't feel that hope much anymore.

So last night, I was thinking about watering this morning.  We are now on restriction and can only water on Wednesdays and Saturdays, we water all day long and it seems to change little.  Everything is dry and in various stages of dying.  I was thinking about how many days I have hand watered or moved a sprinkler over the past month and a half.  I thought about those around me that had the ease of automatic sprinkler systems and how nice and green their lawns looked while mine struggled.  Mine was desperate.  Yesterday, I mowed what little grass we have watered. It was like mowing dirt.  Dust went everywhere.  Its a very sad thing to experience.

That's when I decided to play automatic sprinkler system.  I set my alarm for 12:30am (well into Wednesday morning in case the law did a drive by) and then went outside to start the sprinkler.  I know there are those lawn enthusiasts that would say you should never water at night.  It is probably bad for the grass.  They may be right but I know watering during the day, when the temperature is close to that of the surface of the sun, is also bad for the grass.  So we will try something different.  Seriously, when you are desperate for water, what can it hurt?

The sprinkler has been going now for two hours and having just checked it, I can see no standing water on the ground.  How dry my piece of this Earth has become.

I will move the sprinkler to another location in an hour and delight yet another piece of my Earth.  When the light of day arrives, I'll hand water the tomato plants, sunflowers and peppers.  That's all that remains of my garden.  I pulled the corn plants and half of the tomato plants to focus on the new starts that will struggle through the rest of July and August in hopes of a yield after the heat of this summer releases us from its grip.

It wasn't a bad idea to get up in the middle of the night to play with the sprinkler.  The world is quiet and the air cooler.  The perfect time to be outside.  I think both the grass and I will get something out of this bright idea of mine.

God Is In The Rain

In the year of an exceptional drought, life is different. Sure we go through our days, meeting deadlines, taking care of responsibilities and preparing for the next but in a drought, life is different.

During my summer break from work, which happened to coincide with this exceptional drought, I have seen a different summer. Beyond the obvious dry grass and dying landscape that is Central Texas, there is a constant thirst. I have grown used to dirt that has become powder and mornings that consist of watering everything from gardens to trees. In a drought there is a preoccupation with water. And there is that constant thirst.

As temperatures rise to the century mark and above each day, the air becomes less comfortable to breathe. People and pets move a little slower if at all. Summer becomes the enemy and the night our savior.

I have driven past corn fields where the crops have baked in the summer sun. Corn plants that should be tall and lush and green have dried and died in the hot Texas soil. I have seen fields plowed under early as hope of a yield was abandoned. A drought touches everything and everyone. It is a game changer.

Every morning I fill the bird bath which has become like the watering hole in an African desert. I have seen every living creature in and near my yard come for a drink. Lizards, wasps, squirrels, cats, birds, opossums and raccoons. Every living thing, plant and animal alike has an exceptional thirst this year.

But every now and then, as it did yesterday, the rain will fall. Sometimes its only for a moment, sometimes just a little longer. In the year of an exceptional drought, seeing rain is magical. It is a "get out and let it hit you" moment. It is a "be a child again" moment. It is a "see it for the first time" moment. It is summed up in a single word, glorious.

Some years are just like that. Some years are just a drought. Some years everything is just more difficult and there is that thirst for what used to be. What we need to remember is that all droughts eventually end. When the rains return and that life giving moisture is absorbed, life will find it's normal rhythm again.

While droughts are remembered with disdain and a physical shudder, their mere existence makes the promise of rain, the smell of rain, the taste of rain all the more sweet.