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<\/a><\/p>\nMeanwhile of course life in the mountains proceeds, cooler and less apocalyptically<\/p>\n
than most anywhere else;<\/p>\n no rampaging electrical storms, no horrific fires in their wake and<\/p>\n although smoke from fires some unknown elsewhere drift through the view<\/p>\n problems are few.\u00a0 Any problems in fact are outweighed by summer’s bounty of Paonia<\/p>\n peaches and corn, delivered by our intrepid neighbor Leon [not shown]. Tiny [older] paintings;<\/p>\n The creek, though dry, remains a constant of the morning constitutional<\/p>\n with squirrelly entertainment for dogs.<\/p>\n To further appreciate all this good fortune we made an early morning run to Pueblo<\/p>\n Toyota, sat outside while the Tacoma was serviced and the rats’ nests were removed from its<\/p>\n ducting, all in time for L. to settle in for 2 1\/2 hours of discomfiting dentistry while I<\/p>\n made several stops around town for<\/p>\n large puppy food, aging humans food + wine, fuel for the vehicle, a long hot wait outside<\/p>\n “Family Smiles”,\u00a0takeout from Gagliano’s and back<\/p>\n to the Huerfano\u00a0<\/a>to cautiously<\/p>\n partake of seafood ravioli in the coolness and occasional splats of precip of the porch.<\/p>\n L. looked for where this smoke we get was coming from but, noticing the “Poodle Fire”<\/a>, found a blaze in the Buffalo Hills right above Wall Spring,* fortunately being sent away from us [and not long after “contained”] by SW winds… Not so the Loyalton fire<\/a> nor the multitudinous blazes that erupted as unprecedented electrical storms moved up the California coast,<\/a> taxing resources beyond their limits.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n