I commented at Jude's this morning about the fire in Central CA, about 4 hours away (Gifford Fire).
We opted out of a walk at 'city park' today, since it is 106° and the sky was hazy (again).
Came out of the grocery store and spotted a new fire immediately, much closer to home (Canyon Fire). Just since getting home, it has jumped up to 600 acres. There are many evacuations and lots of smoke. However, it is far enough from our home - so, WE ARE OKAY.
I can't help but think J. picked a good color for this August. He wanted the "Dundee" stamp to remain showing. 🙂 I think I have 2 cloth diapers left, one pure white and one indigo dyed. This one was dyed in tea. We like it.
I thought I heard on a news report that the fires are still burning. How can that be, when we've had rain and snow? Well, I'm sure it helped with the fire suppression at any rate.
Now we've had rain and snow and mudslides (and threats of mudslides in certain areas). There has been a lot of talk about what burned and where those toxins may go because of the rain. There was already "boil water" notices.
I think it will be a while before things calm down.
Just a quick post. What a difference a day makes! Same vantage point as yesterday during the Hughes Fire. There is some brown haze, but is actually pretty clear considering.
We're good.
Air quality isn't great, according to me. But, it could be so much worse. I can't even smell the fires.
There have been two more smaller fires since last night, and both seem to have "forward progress stopped" - which is something I always scan Watch Duty for or listen for in video reports. There were a lot of helicopters flying over last night.
It's still windy. The crows are playing. This always makes me pause and smile.
What works for you when you need to pause and regroup?
I was going to just post this...beautiful, talented, inspirational Emma Kok. I thought I'd just posted this one song in the past, but I couldn't find it. We have listened to her so many times, I can't count. I've gone down the rabbit hole and tried to learn/understand her physical condition and the problems it could cause. How she can sing like an angel with a paralyzed stomach. I've even watch those crazy ridiculous videos where voice coaches analyze singers. I learned so much about singing as a skill. I listened again last night to feel inspired once again. We are obviously impressed...every.single.time.
In other news...a new fire today, closer to home. WE ARE FINE.
The photos can't really capture the distance...but, the fire is across this whole valley. It's a big valley. I'm not super concerned that it will get to us, it would have to burn up a lot of "city" to do that. With that said, I have stuff still 'partially ready' and am watching the local news live feed and Watch Duty is always open these days.
Out back, after deciding that we would not go walk or grocery shopping...I helped our building's maintenance manager learn about Watch Duty, getting the app up and going on his phone. Such a small - but huge thing to share...but something I can do (even having no idea how to work a smart phone). His relief to have this resource was palpable.
Take care everyone.
There's a fire glow out of our sliding door...that strange orange of fire season.
Anyway, the "Hughes Fire" - started at 10:42am and immediately went from 50 to 500 acres. Now, at 12:59pm it is at 3407 acres (but the news just said 5000 acres!). Our phones have been going off like mad again.
I'm cutting back, for now on links here...but you can check Watch Duty or Cal Fire...watch the live feeds on KTLA Channel 5 or right now I have on CBS - KCAL. There are lots of places for updates, but as of this post...WE ARE FINE.
I'll update here. as needed/able.
I really wanted this post to be just Emma Kok, but life barged in. Isn't that how it happens though? Just when you least expect Something...something happens. We fall, we rise, we are burdened, we are lifted up.
*last note: I reposted "Scaling Back", which had been in draft form. I'll leave it at that for now.
How do you handle the expected surprise shifts in life? What do you do to stay centered?
May you hold onto strength when needed
May you dig up new strength resources when you run low
Leaving offerings, this time bracelets, at the bridge.
When an email is a gift...
My book friend sent an alert that in 2025, Goodnight Moon would be making its debut on a USPS Stamp. How wonderful!
At the bottom of this notice, one is directed to the post below...I got lost for a good long while.
Which lead me to the Substack "Looking At Picture Books" where I read along, studying the words and illustrations...and went on to read every comment. So fascinating.
The sun was absolutely not this big! However, I love that it photographed this way.
You can kind of see the air quality in this pic. Not the best day, but still okay. I walked as far the "fence change" as we call it...where the wooden split rail shifts into white fabricated fencing.
My Goodnight Moon explorations led me to this. I thought of Liz.
Goodnight Moon | Rabbit hOle Team Rises to the Challenge of the Great Green Room
Offerings...a beaded bracelet...one of the rocks someone placed on a fence post (there were a few) and hard to see - fluffy bird feathers trapped in the rough wood. This last one really caught my attention, as I've never seen feathers here in the past. So, then my mind goes to the Why? Why are there small feathery fluff feathers stuck in two of the posts? Was it a natural occurrence? Did an animal or bird of prey play a part in this happening? Mmm...?
The constant green, moisture and trickle of the river stands in deep contrast to the dryness in the air, the browned plant life and the devastation from the fires. The air is the quality of brown haze that I tried to capture in my latest weaving. I love when the shots hold the shadows of the bridge.
This is that weaving, the one I started and basically wove mostly in one night. "Pacific Pallisades" or "Sea, Fire, Sky" or?? The sea sits quietly, beautifully along the bottom...sea, sand, growth ~ calling us to remember. Earth and growth then meets the rage of the flames. A reservoir waits. I think the fire reads as fire here. I wanted to weave it as layers, not shapes or exact representations. So the fire and the scorched earth is added in as layers of reddish, yellow and brown/red. The sky holds haze and smoke and blue shining through...because the blue skies will always return. I used the found, rusty nail to hang it from. It the end, I like it quite well added on after the weaving was done. I awoke this morning with the idea to finger crochet the hanging string. I like how it thickened up the string to hang it from. A single strand, plain was to thin. This one small Ah-Ha made a difference, to me.
All of the Goodnight Moon explorations reminded me of the small blanket I'd made years ago and my own copy, which I thought was the one gifted to me by my mom when I was 13. I went looking. Instead, what I found was this copy is from almost 45 years ago when the two young women I'd babysat for years (when I was 9-14 years old), threw me a baby shower and gave me this book. Sweet. I also found the rest of the Goodnight Moon fabrics.
What favorite memories do you want to keep and savor?
UPDATE: We are fine. My sister is home, still iffy at her place...but home. sigh.
Back out today...our walk before grocery shopping...the path along the the wash - a part of the 'river system'.
It was a walk of gratitude for a beautiful day and NO WIND! It was warm, birds were singing, the sky - bright and clear. I just couldn't get enough of it.
I used to have frustrations with how the camera couldn't quite capture the correct colors or distance...how there are now floating things - smudges on the camera lens. I no longer care. I am not a photographer, in the professional sense of the word. I can't capture wide-angle shots or close-ups of the birds I love. But, I can be reminded of these moments, which helps me hold them a while longer.
Today I liked how the camera makes the path seem extra long and things far, far away. How the camera warps reality for a moment...making me think and appreciate even more.
Have you tired of this overpass bridge view yet? Yah, me neither. Today I look at the shadows of the dense shrubs, making a path of their own. I remember how we met two lovely, friendly, happy dogs - Winnie and Penny running along with their person. Part way up in those shrubs is a concrete drainage path. The dogs raced up there and gleefully ran parallel to the man below. I shared with J. what I'd learned on The Lookout you tube channel about building on hillsides and providing those breaks in the plant life, which allows for maintenance and fire breaks. These are pretty small ones and probably work more for water efficiency and erosion control. But, just the fact that I'd learned this during this time of fire made me happy. Information is power, right?!
I was so thankful to be OUT, to not feel threatened by fire, as I have the past week. It was beyond beautiful. sigh.
I had started this newest weaving...and then I could not stop! I stayed up late, surrounded by yarns and my loom...scissors and needle...I just wove and wove. I got lost in the process. In fact I got so lost that I wove right past adding the rusty nail in to hang it from! I was in the process of considering if I wanted it woven in, as I'd done the stick the last time or if I wanted on the top edge and how I would accomplish that. The next thing I knew...I was close to done! So, now it WILL go on the top edge and I am still not sure how. There is something so glorious in this mistake, in this kind of total immersion. I hadn't felt creative in days, so I truly, deeply welcomed this madness.
We paused for long moments discussing tree types and which are more fire prone (palms and pines as you see here)...we stared and shifted position and considered what kind of bird this was...sitting all fluffed up. Its shape making us unsure. As it flew off we could see, Scrub Jay.
I wonder how long it will be before I don't look at everything through the eyes of fire? J. was gifted and read this book Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World months back and has been talking about it ever since. He's even got me noticing the WUI, especially since these recent fires. So, when I look at the views, I notice even more how the homes meet the mountain...and I wonder what will become of us and the land...and us with the land together.
I'm still unsure if I like the Oak Stick woven in or not. I guess I'll learn more when I add the Rusty Nail to the new weaving. Perhaps it will give me a better sense. I brought home a new stick that presented itself to me. Last night while weaving, a word came to me. I'd been thinking about the Word Cloth recently...but this new word disappeared from memory as soon as it arrived. As I sat with the cloth today, the possibility of a new word came to me. I considered a placement for it and it fit in every open space there is. Now, that's a word worth keeping! More on that soon.
We paused to notice the tiny daisy (?) flowers and posed for another shadow photo. He claims I take so many photos, all the same...I claim they are not the same because they capture each different moment in time. Today's photo tells the story of us, with a Fairy Circle of Daisies in our hearts. 💕
We came home to a gift in the mail...a thoughtful and delicious gift. Thanks! A part of that gift is a tiny handmade blown glass bluebird and birdhouse. A MUG SHOT was born! I had been looking at the mug recently and thinking: I wonder what will come to the Mug next? Will I have another creative idea to photograph? After all, the first 4 were such givens, but also such gifts. And then I looked at the tiny bluebird...the Bluebird of Happiness, right? And I thought, no matter what if your own little home doesn't hold happiness - your cup will truly be empty, even if it is materially full. Think about that one, eh?
On ECM's video toady, she talked about how stressed and grief filled folks have been and how that has contributed to short fuses (tempers) and so on. That hit home, so I made an effort to focus on love in all of my interactions today (well most of them, that one checker at the grocery store is really a piece of work...voice trails off, reins pulled in...).
How do you regroup? How do you take care of yourself in challenging times?
9:07 PM: I'm watching the "Breaking News" on a new fire. Upgraded to a first alarm, updated 9 minutes ago. 25 MPH winds, sustained. Gusts @ 44MPH - been gusting nonstop for the last few hours over Ventura County. All of these fire field notes will be irrelevant within minutes.
We just drove by there the other day when we went to La Conchita to gift the quilt. We reminisced about the local Harley store there, where he bought his beloved bike all of those years ago.
Plus, a whole new perspective on the clearing of the wash near city park. Was that brush dry enough to burn? Mmmm....
🤞
Live Coverage: Latest on SouthernCalifornia fires as region braces for more powerful winds
No evacuations or structures threatened at this time. Not predicted.
9:43PM: When you're up tracking a fire...you learn new things. The Ventura area is under a PDS Warning. I had no idea this term existed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WE ARE FINE @ THE TIME OF THIS POST
NOTHING IMMEDIATELY ON OUR HORIZON, ASIDE FROM BIG WIND
A boring update (thank goodnes for boring, eh?)
Greetings all. Over the past days, we have been notified that our power may get shut off.
So far we've been fine and have had power continuously.
Today's warning is that it is "likely" that our power will get shut off. You've seen them before, but the photo above shows the string of power towers behind our building. So, I imagine the threat to be quite real if they are to start a fire.
------So, if I don't respond, that may be why------
I ran out today to pick up a few non-perishable food items and to stop by our local California Automobile Club office. It turns out they stopped printing the "Tour Book" a year ago. Supposedly, they could not keep it properly updated. Everything is online now. I have used those Tour Books for my whole adult life. Another tradition and useful tool, gone.
Minor Annoyance
I wonder which straw will break the camels back and I will be forced to get a smartphone?
Minor Annoyance
I still am happy without one, but I can see the usefulness of them.
Anyway, for now we have power and no fires nearby.
People were out and about...racing around in the wind...driving as awful as always. Cutting other drivers off and basically being d.u.m.b.
As I watch a car cut in and out of two lanes of traffic, I think what's your hurry? Where's the fire? - and I'm reminded that that old cliche could be a real truth here. Even if I doubt it, and feel that they are just being rude...one never knows, eh?
Minor Annoyance
I had to call about the gift card we got, that stopped working after one use - with more than half the money still on it. Supposedly they will send me a replacement in 7-10 days.
Minor Annoyance
An appointment needs to be rescheduled when we can drive in without fear of not getting back home again...a 'taking care of business' call needs to be made to address other important stuff.
I'm not in the mood for those calls...
They feel like a Minor Annoyance, even if necessary.
Minor Annoyance
Minor Annoyance
Minor Annoyance...
WE ARE FINE
What feels truly important? What does one do with the minor annoyances?
May you live your life as best you can
May you recognize what you can, need to, want to do and do that
May you also be okay with flip-flopping around in certain moments
*NOTE: WE ARE STILL FINE. MY SISTER IS STILL EVACUATED. MORE SANTA ANA WINDS WILL BE COMING BACK UP AGAIN MONDAY, HOPEFULLY NOT AS BAD AS THE ONES EARLIER THIS WEEK.
If interested, please go watch this, it is quite powerful...like our winds.
Hurst Fire (the one closest to us): 4 evacuation warning areas closest to us... all Level 2 (yellow - 'set') warnings have been lifted.
Coming home from grocery shopping, I tried to get a photo for some perspective. The palm trees were really moving. You can barely see the smoke over the mountains and the air, while "moderate", really hasn't seem to bad in my area.
Another mistaken phone alert. This one corrected in a second alert. Okay. good.
There was a new fire this afternoon, the "Kenneth Fire" (not close to me, in The Valley, a bit close to where my sister is evacuated)...went from 20 acres to crazy in a very short time. Currently 959.7 acres, 0% containment - still active, forward progress stopped (Yay!).
It's a mixed bag tonight. Good news in some ways and yet, the knowledge that a fire could pop up at any time, anywhere.
Southern California Fires - Morning Report - 1/9/2025
I appreciate his education, employment history, use of layering the maps, explanations, non-panic manner (although not sure about the monotone ideas on goats!!)
The fire closes to us, the Hurst fire, remains at 855 acres and all evacuation orders remain the same. So, we are still next to those 4 Yellow Level 2 "set", but we are still not under any specific orders.
There is still some wind, not as strong right now though.
I continued to organize and put things in easy to grab, reasonable places in case of a change. I updated the "To Go" list and made a double for the fridge, so it would be more visible for us both.
WE ARE FINE
I got a bit more sleep last night/this morning. I thought it would be calmer, but the "GO NOW" alert went off at 12:45am. It made no sense to me because Watch Duty and Genasys Protect apps had not changed, there was zero activity outside or in our hallways. What to think? It was kind of confusing. I didn't want to be a dum-dum...but I also did not want to start evacuating in the middle of the night for no reason. I started trying to check the live streaming news...nothing. I finally figured that if it was real, the alert would go off again soon and closed my eyes. Sometime after that, it went off again and said 'remain vigilant' (which is what it had been saying all day). I really wondered what that was about, where else to get information, if Grace, Jan and others have gone though this or were going through it now (like me). sigh.
WE ARE FINE
We need some food in the house, so I guess today is the day I venture out.
How do you make the important decisions you need to make?
May you choose the best you can
May you be fine with your choices
May you continue to reevaluate, as needed - remain fluid
