I’ve heard that history repeats itself, and I’m thinking
that may be true. I started this blog in September of 2011, six years ago. At
the time, I only planned to do it for a year or so. But here we are in 2017 and
it’s become a regular Sunday night ritual; write something, type it up, and
post it to the blog.
Sometimes I’m not really sure what to write about, not sure
anything I have to say will be interesting to anyone. Other times, I feel
inspired and write way too much—as my wife makes sure to tell me!
So today, I was wondering what to write and walked out on my
deck to think—and saw the smoke. Lots of smoke, filling the sky. That’s really
nothing new; the last couple of months we’ve seen quite a lot of smoky skies.
But, since I was thinking of my blog, the smoke reminded me of my very first
post—Fire
Season.
I went back and read the post and although it’s six years
old, it sounds almost like I’m describing the current conditions. But then, we
have fires every year so that’s not too surprising. Still, it definitely seems
like history is repeating itself. And so, in keeping with that theme, I’ve
re-posted the first post below.
Smoke to the west. No black ominous billows, just a brownish
tinged haze mixed with dingy white puffy clouds rising into the clear blue
summer sky. A brushfire most likely, or maybe grass. Winds are particularly
light at 5 mph. No cause for alarm, fire fighters will have the blaze
extinguished in short order.
This is the fourth fire this week within sight of my house.
The others were put out in less than a day causing no major damage, rather
remarkable considering the high wind area and extremely dry conditions. This is
all typical for the arid climate of the central Oregon high desert, but this
year has been fairly mild with relatively few fires. The surrounding landscape
is only slightly marred with the grayish black sooty remains of sparse vegetation.
And now, the September air is turning cooler reminding us
that the fall rains will be returning soon, marking an end of the fire season,
a.k.a. summer. The good news is that we’ve all survived with our personal
property mostly intact. The bad news is winter is on its way, which means
snow—and lots of it. The frozen white crystals will cover the ground, blanket
the sagebrush and juniper trees, and decorate the distant mountain ranges,
creating a picturesque scene of majestic grandeur.
Admittedly, the snow is pretty but snow brings its own set
of problems - the cold, the slick roads and resulting wrecks, the roof
cave-ins, and avalanches, which can potentially destroy entire areas in an
instant. Yet, despite its foreboding and destructive nature, snow is a
necessary evil. It provides the high desert with a vital water supply for the
coming summer months in a region prone to draught. Aside from the usual
benefits of drinking, cooking and cleaning, we’re gonna need the water—to put
out the fires! ~
Bruce
A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey,
Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS
and
paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders
is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.
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