No Fireworks?

I was watching the morning news the other day when they had a woman on that was very upset over the fact that there would not be so many fireworks displays this year.

Tuesday is Independence Day for the US.  It's customary for most cities to put on at least one Fireworks Display.  But due to the extreme fire conditions in our state, our Governor has issued a state-wide fire ban.  It allows for the cities and sheriff's departments to make their own determination regarding their respective professional displays, but pretty much everything else has been banned.  Many cities (not all) have decided to cancel their displays.

My first thought when watching this interview was "get over your selfishness, pull your head out of your dark place and use this as a teaching moment for those kids around you that are purportedly yours."  Ok, perhaps my first thoughts weren't so polite, but essentially that's what I was thinking.

I truly enjoy the professional fireworks displays and certainly they are a traditional part of this holiday.  But 15 years of living in the desert southwest taught me to let go of that attachment.

Fireworks are dangerous.  Fireworks cause fires.  Yes, the professionals know what they are doing and they work to minimize those risks.  But that in no way means that professional fireworks displays are 100% safe or with 0% risk.

There are so many things you can do with your friends and family to celebrate Independence Day.  You may not even miss the fireworks.  Here are some that we've been considering...

• Go to the Farmer's Market and pick up some fresh produce and baked goods to take on a picnic.
• Watch a local Independence Day Parade and attend the festivities - Fort Collins, Boulder, Estes Park, Denver and the Greeley Stampede Parade
• Speaking of that, go to the Greeley Stampede.  What's more American than a Rodeo?
• Car races at Bandemere Speedway
• Volunteer some time to help out the evacuees and fire fighters
• Rent a boat on one of our many lakes or reservoirs
• Go to the water park or pool to cool off
• Take some time to read thru The Independent Stitch - Deb has 8 very detailed and well researched posts about the High Park Fire, including information regarding friends of hers who were evacuated and now faced with rebuilding.
• And if none of these ideas sound good, check out Heidi Town.  She's always in the know with what's going on in our state.

There are a large number of active wildfires in Colorado.  Three of them are very close to large, Front Range, metropolitan areas... High Park/Fort Collins (near us and 100% contained as of yesterday), Waldo Canyon/Colorado Springs (45% contained) and Flagstaff/Boulder (90% contained).

The Fire Fighters have been making tremendous progress in containing these fires.  But it's important to note that Contained does not mean Controlled.  Controlled means the fire is out.  Contained means the fire is still burning but unlikely to spread.

A quick look at inciweb.org and you will see all of the known wild fires in the US that are on Forrest Service Land.  This is not all of the fires going on... only the ones that are on Forrest Service Land.  There are now so many, that I have to filter for Colorado.

Which brings me to the point of this post...  Why would anyone be so selfish as to to complain about not having a 45-minute fireworks display when so many people are risking their lives to protect the land, people and property?  These people are our neighbors.  They deserve our compassion.

Garden Update: June 18th

Wow, you can really see how dry things are around here when looking near my garden...

I've been watering the garden every couple of days and Hubba has been trying really hard to keep our grass and trees watered, but clearly the pasture is suffering.

Most things have sprouted now.

yellow onions

The tomato have begun to flower, the rabbits have been enjoying our bean sprouts, 

and a very bold robin ate all of my almost ripe cherries over the last couple of days.  :-/

Gardening is what it is.  Right?  Last year we had issues with a very late frost and lots of hail.  This year, we're praying for rain.

High Park Fire

Chances are you've heard about the High Park Fire.  It's been on the national news.

If you haven't, there's a big wild fire about 15 miles NW of our house and just outside the city of Fort Collins, Colorado... a short distance north of us.

It started on Saturday.

I saw a small plume of smoke on my way up to the Estes Park Wool Market.

There was a great view from the Wool Market and we could tell it was getting bigger each time we went outside to look...

By the time I got home Saturday afternoon, it looked like this...

It grew very quickly... 8000 acres the first day, then 20,000, then 43,000.  It is still growing but not as quickly.  The latest estimate is 46,600 acres.

This morning it looked like this...

Perhaps not so impressive, but you should be able to see mountains.

About 20 minutes ago, it looked like this...

The good news is that there are more than 1000 people working on the fire, several aircraft, helicopters and engines.  They are making progress and have a current containment estimate of 10%.  Some evacuated residents are being allowed back to their property... with proper credentials.

We are safe and expect to remain safe.  It's smokey here.  Everything smells like campfire... aside from our climbing tree which started to bloom yesterday.

Please, please, please, regardless of where you are.  Please be vigilant with your campfires or fireworks, if you're allowed to have them.  It is tinder-dry out there.  As evidenced by the fact that the Hewlett Fire, also just outside of Fort Collins is still burning and was started a month ago on 5/14.

Friends who are closer to the fire have posted their perspective too:  Independent Stitch.  Fiber Fool.