Garden

[DiAnne]

Yesterday I was planting begonias, petunias and cosmos in my front yard.  It was over 80 degrees and I actually quit because it was getting too hot.  This morning it is under 50 degrees and drizzling.  I lit a big fire in the family room.  We have had several over 80 degree days - very unusual for this early in the PNW.  

[hoosieroriginal]

I wish we could send some of our rain to the people in Canada - it is SOOOO green here it almost puts your eyes out!  Grateful though. 

[spix]

Here in Chicago it's crazy also, my counters are full of plants, can't put them out as the nites are too chilly, making me crazy, we also have had a lot of rain & more to come

[Lilysmom]

@DiAnne, I bought begonias on Saturday and was wondering whether I should keep them inside for awhile.  It was lovely here today but the nights are still very cool.

@hoosieroriginal, I am Canadian so thank you for thinking of our friends in Alberta.  The complete loss of a large northern community to wildfires is devastating.  They say it will be months before the fire is contained. Mover 100,000 hectares and rising daily.  It is almost beyond comprehension.  Although I live in Nova Scotia, my brother was among the evacuated.  His photos are beyond belief.  80,000 residents evacuated.  LM

[Kachina624]

@Lilysmom  The fire in Alberta reminds me of the Cerro Grande   i Fire in Los Alamos, NM, in 2000.  Los Alamos is the city in the mountains where the atomic bomb was developed during WWII.  Most who live there are high-paid scientists who had big fancy homes in the woods.  About 400 homes were destroyed the the entire city was evacuated.  

There are several deep, rugged canyons where firefighters had to go.  They fought it most of that summer.  It was a very difficult situation.  Turned out the fire started when the superintendent of Bandelier National Monument thought it would be a good idea to do a "controlled burn" on a windy day.

[Lilysmom]

@Kachina624, uncontrolled fire scares the he** out of me.  I am not in an area considered high risk.  There was a fire in our city a few years ago and many affluent homes were lost completely in a very short period of time.  Parts of the City were at risk and you could see the smoke clearly from my home.

One of my brothers lives in Kamloops, BC.  Fire in the interior of BC where it is very hot and dry is always a risk.  The last time he was home was in the month of July and he was relieved not to have to worry about the heat and smoke for awhile.  Conditions in his city are desert like in summer.  

I know it is hot where you are and I am sure you have fire stories to tell.  I lived very near wide forest plots of land and our neighborhood is well treed so the thought of fire would scare me.  As we are low risk generally speaking, I don't often worry too much about it.

The coverage from Fort McMurray has dominated Canadian news since early in the week.  The coverage is eerie.  Our population of 34 million  people have donated more than 30 million dollars through donations already.  The people of Fort McMurray come from all across the country.  It is really amazing to see the acts of human kindness that have followed this event.  Pets and people have been flown out from Alberta all across the country.  People are opening up their rental properties, hotels, homes and apartments to the evacuees at no cost.  The stories go on and on.  It does the heart good to see our country rally around those who are left with little more than the clothes they wore as they left Fort McMurray.  LM

PS @DiAnne, sorry to go so far OT!  LM

[Kachina624]

@Lilysmom  They're talking about the fire in Ft. McMurray on our local news here.  I've been to Kamloops and I dearly love most of Alberta, although I've not been as far North as the fire.  These things bring out the best and worst in people.  There will always be the scammers who'll claim loses and we're in no way affected.

[hoosieroriginal]

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@Lilysmom wrote:

@DiAnne, I bought begonias on Saturday and was wondering whether I should keep them inside for awhile.  It was lovely here today but the nights are still very cool.

@hoosieroriginal, I am Canadian so thank you for thinking of our friends in Alberta.  The complete loss of a large northern community to wildfires is devastating.  They say it will be months before the fire is contained. Mover 100,000 hectares and rising daily.  It is almost beyond comprehension.  Although I live in Nova Scotia, my brother was among the evacuated.  His photos are beyond belief.  80,000 residents evacuated.  LM

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@Lilysmom - has the US sent any help in fighting the fires?  I lived in California and my ex-husband was a California Department of Forestry firefighter.  I'm hoping they get help soon and pray for all of them.  So terribly sad. 

[Lilysmom]

@hoosieroriginal@Kachina624, I know that firefighters across Canada have rallied to fight this fire.  Provinces have sent any firefighters they could spare.  I would not be the least surprised to hear that there is help from the US.  I know in emergency situations our Provinces, especially those that border US states, share resources during a crisis and the US has done the same.  We are good neighbors, especially in a time of need.  

The donation fund reached $50 million yesterday and rising. That is just since Tuesday.   @Kachina624, you are right.  These situations bring out the best and sometimes the worst in people.

I heard a resource manager say that these fires are more common than we know in our northern region.  It happens from time to time.  The difference in this one is that it wiped out a city.  

A good story...one of the women who was evacuated won $3 million in a lottery Sunday!  LM

[Kachina624]

They had terrible fires in Alaska last summer due to little snow the winter before.  Thousands of acres burned but little if anything was said on the news.  The area was remote with few people living there.