The Threat of Fire!!!

View from our garden of smoke from the North Complex Fire - 9/8/20

Last Tuesday morning we woke up to blasting wind and a clear blue sky. The power was out due to a planned outage by PG&E to prevent wildfires. Around 10:30 AM I walked down to our garden and was alarmed to see threatening, malevolent smoke clouds to the west! It looked like there was a fire just over the ridge top! So scary!!! Luckily it turned out that a fire was raging about 10 miles north of us in the Plumas National Forest, and wasn't headed in our direction. This fire is now called the North Complex fire and has burned more than 252,312 acres, and destroyed 2,000 homes! The winds caused unprecedented erratic fire behavior. At one point the fire was spreading at the rate of 1,000 acres per hour!!! That night the winds died down and the fire hasn't grown significantly in size. Thank goodness! My heart goes out to the people who have lost their homes, and all the wildlife that has died or been displaced by this wildfire. Heartfelt gratitude goes to the firefighters that have been battling fires all over California, Oregon, and Washington.

Pray for RAIN!!!

View of pyrocumulus clouds from our garden - 9/8/20

Since Tuesday we've once again been dealing with heavy smoke, like most of northern California.  I'll take smoke ANY day over fire!  However, the smoke prevents me from wandering in my neighborhood for any length of time.  So lately I've been walking in the early morning, before the gnats and smoke gets too thick.

On 9/9/20 the National Forest Service closed all National Forests in California, to hiking, camping, biking, and recreating through 9/14/20.  This includes, driving on National Forest roads, hiking on the trails, or just being in the forest! This closure may extend or reoccur depending upon the wildfire status. Their intention is to reduce any chance of human caused forest fires occurring.  I think it is a great idea!  I guess I won't be hiking in the Lakes Basin for a while.   

The North Yuba River  9/8/20

On the day the North Complex Fire started, the wind was blowing so hard to the west, that the sky was a bright, clear blue to the east!  The two views above show how the river looked upstream (to the east) and downstream (to the west)!  

It was so otherworldly.  

"Night Raven" 

original pastel by K.O.K.

Damp Earth Art!

Back in the 2018 drought I started a different blog and sent out a "Call for Art" in celebration of rain.  My intention was to focus on the need for rain, and through collective positive energy invoke rain to fall.  It was just a wish, a thought, and a hope.  I got a great response and many artists submitted poems, weavings, and paintings to my blog!  You can view what was submitted last year at dampearth.blogspot.com.  

I have started a new blog this year, dampearthart.blogspot.com.  

I will be posting new art weekly.  Check it out and pray for rain!

Merlin - Falco columbarius

A Little Magic!

On one of my morning wanderings this week, I was near the dead tree on which I often see the local Osprey perching.  The Osprey wasn't there, but a small robin-sized bird landed on one of the dead branches, so I checked it out!  To my amazement it was a tiny falcon!  It was so little!  About 1/4 the size of the Osprey!  I wasn't sure what species it was so I posted it on iNaturalist.org and they identified it for me as a Merlin!!!  WOW!!!  I've never seen one of these before!  Three mornings in a row, I saw this little Merlin on the same dead tree.  Twice it was eating something when I saw it!!!

It turns out that these little falcons don't breed here, they breed farther north across Alaska and Canada, as well as Russia!  They are not numerous in population, but they are widespread.  They are uncommon visitors to our area in the fall and early winter, during their migration to their winter residence in Mexico/So. America, or Europe.

They are tiny, only 10" long including the tail, with a wingspan of 6.5", and a weight of 6.7 ounces!  Their main diet is small to medium size birds.  They usually hunt from a perch.  Prey is pursued with lightning speed (30 mph or more), and caught mid-air.  In the fall they eat a lot of dragonflies!  Sometimes they even hunt cooperatively with another Merlin!  

The name "Merlin" in ornithology, means "pigeon keeper", from old french "esmerillon" and latin "columbarius".  Cornell Ornithology Lab states, "This falcon was previously called the "Pigeon Hawk" because in flight it can be mistaken for a member of the pigeon family".  

In its Welsh origins "Merlin" means "sea fortress".  Most of us think of the wizard who was King Arthur's mentor, when we read the word "Merlin".  

Merlin - Falco columbarius

I think it was indeed magical to see this little Merlin!  Such tiny beauty!  

How lucky I was to see it three days in a row!

What's the story behind this odd scene?  Well, it seems that owls, hawks, foxes and even kingsnakes will eat rattlesnakes!  I'm not sure what happened to this one, but it does seem a bit eaten!  I'm not even sure this is a rattlesnake.  It may be a Gopher Snake.  Any of you guys know what species this is, or what might have happened?

Are there any signs of Fall?

Are the bears still around?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

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