Area Hazards

Every region has its hazards. Last Saturday night in Minnesota we were watching a lightning storm right over our heads, and heeding a couple tornado warning sirens. This Saturday in Northern California I'm looking out at the smoke in the valley over Yuba City. The smell of smoke is strong enough here at the house that I keep thinking we have a campfire going in the yard. The Dobbins wildfire is about 17 miles due north of us, and it is clearly part of our world here--a reality check for sure. And I thought Wil was being obsessive about using his new weed eater tool to clear a path around the house and watering everything in sight. He is right as always--just don't tell him, please. We do have several water sources on our property, the well for house water, irrigation water, a fire hydrant from second irrigation system, and the pond--all the more reason to love our house.

You can see from the picture that we are not Minnesota green here in the summer. The lower part of the sky there is the smoke settling in on the valley. And the smoke smell keeps getting stronger here.