Monday was dry and windy when we went

down to Gardner to see Desiree, things ominously blowing up the other side of the mountain

which fortunately blew not over us [like last week] but east.

Not the only problem; our neighbors, lacking large free-ranging dogs, had bears in the night* but by morning, smoke in the valley, not too bad…

Midweek we were out again to collect Linda’s long-awaited NDL in Gardner, groceries in the

‘burg, checked in on the ‘bib and in welcome if all too intermittent rain went to La Veta for lunch with old [all of us old] friends at Legends on Main.  Somewhat overwrought New Mexican food

but good company to catch up with though once home the enchiladas proved soporific and there was news of a new fire on our side of the mountain as well as one – the Biscar –

threatening Smoke Creek and possibly Parker and Wall out west. Ours here was summarily

doused by helicopters [though another erupted the next day no smokes were in evidence]

but the Biscar and Aspen Acres continued, the latter under the direction of Regional Captain Maureen Bonessa mostly contained except along the eastern edge while

while investigating the former and others in the area I discovered that those blue circles with the triangles are – wowee! – live cameras on the landscape, the one below looking

north across the Sheldon towards Beaty Butte to catch a “vegetation fire” on the Refuge…monitoring these monitors could become an exciting new hobby! Meanwhile Cal Fire seemed to

have stopped the Biscar at 69,352 acres on the western edge of the Smoke Creek Ranch and though Aspen Acres kept on burning up

the other side of the tinder dry Wet Mountains we had a fairly smokeless week on our side

albeit with all too tiny splats of rain and unusually warm temps for here.  Not near as bad as

Denver’s record breaking 104 degrees but still…

Sunday;

*Photograph of compost bin by William Haynes