Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

And neither is complaining about the smoke, which is awful.

And then I found this quote...
But sound aloud the praises, and give the victor-crown
To our noble-hearted Firemen, who fear not danger's frown.
~Frederic G.W. Fenn, "Ode to our Firemen," 1878

And although the smoke is awful.

And the yard art is choking...

And the Sunflowers can't find much sun...

I think back to the fire on our mountain, two years ago and how the fireman rushed into the burning area and saved our home and how I yelled "Thank you." to everyone of them as we drove back up through the burned hillside to our house... the ground still smoldering around us. 

So, to all the fireman of California (and the Western US) who are on the lines of every fire that rages,

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. 

The smoke from the Rim fire near Yosemite is annoying and my lungs are tired of breathing in smoke every day... but the folks up country nearer to the Rim fire are closer, more in danger and living (for weeks) under the constant threat of loosing their homes.  

The mass effort to fight this fire is extraordinary.

The firefighters are working long hours... “We have to work 72 or 96 hours in a row, and being away from your family with little sleep and physically demanding takes a toll,”

Some woman who lives up there opened her Tattoo business and gave firefighters free haircuts and the community brought food for them to eat . That's gratitude that makes a difference.

It’s the fifth-largest wildfire in California history. On Thursday, it was in its 12th day and it had only been contained 32%, according to Cal Fire. 

Hug a firefighter and feel warm all over.  ~Author Unknown

 

Remembering the Weekend

I'm glad that I'm home. The smoke from the Rim Fire is subsiding but the smell of it is in the air. The wind must have shifted. The smoke sits up country like a shroud of gray to the east. The fire is only 30% contained.
So here I sit with Carl and Cutter, eating my breakfast...

 and thinking about my long weekend trip, my friend and her life in a quirky, little Delta town...

Thinking... about the Crawdad Cajun Festival that brings folks to this sleepy town once a year and will be called something else from now on, because chamber members have sold the rights to the festival, along with its name.  It's quite a controversy that you can read about HERE.
Wondering... why there are a few folks who are desperately trying to save this little town even though it's an uphill battle. And how some other folks only seek to use its marginal existence to their gain.
How could anyone not want to restore the history of a place.

... to revive an old town. It's sad.

The beauty of this place is evident. The sunsets that turn everything to gold on a warm summer night along the edges of the old Sacramento River...

Battles are being fought out here. The State "powers that be" also want to build tunnels in the delta and reduce the water in this delicate area to send it down to Southern California. The compromises that destroy habitat are offered as an alternative to the farmers loss of water. This is another story.



Where is the higher ground here? Why is it always about money and power?

A cat greets you on Main St. as if it was "the mayor".

 And a miniature Chewbacca from Star Trek is the middle man for

 its owner...a young man who talks to you like you've always lived there.

The beauty of this place is in the pride of some of the residents.
There is a quiet friendliness in its restaurants and "history museum".
There are folks who care. There are people who try to do the right thing.
******************

I came home to heat and smoke... and was greeted by one of the locals on my road.

A curious little buck who will learn not to stand and stare at people who pull out big cameras.

  He will grow up and learn that a camera could be a rifle during hunting season. He will be "at risk", as an adult, but he will learn. He will become cautious and weary of humans.
I'm kind of tired of some humans myself. Not my friend "C"... who tries so hard to understand the inequities of life...  but those who insist on not doing the right thing.
I'm glad to be home. I enjoyed my visit, but it's time to be back up on my mountain where I can put things into perspective and try to find a "higher ground" that makes sense of the world around me.
I think it's here...

On my porch... a whisper of truth in a world of chaos.

the other chamber members into selling the rights to the festival along with the name. Supposedly, the sale was to pay off debts of the previous years festival that allegedly lost money. - See more at: http://www.deltanewsandreview.com/2013/02/isleton-saga-back-story-reprint.html#sthash.Rw28pH9z.dpuf

the other chamber members into selling the rights to the festival along with the name. Supposedly, the sale was to pay off debts of the previous years festival that allegedly lost money. - See more at: http://www.deltanewsandreview.com/2013/02/isleton-saga-back-story-reprint.html#sthash.EfKGU86O.dpuf

Wordless Wednesday: Long, Quiet Weekend on the Delta