Friday, May 11, 2007, 21:25
Smoky Friday (from the Forest Fire)
At 4 p.m. Friday, my nose and eyes burn and I can still smell smoke.
First thing when I took Pixie outside this morning, I thought the air looked hazy.
When I went outside an hour later, the air was blue with smoke and it was so thick I couldn't see the neighbor's place a half mile away. At that point I was pretty well convinced that there was a forest fire on the ridge behind the other neighbor's place, and I was contemplating going to the basement to drag out the hose to wet down the house and the barn and then to try and somehow evacuate Kajun and Isabelle and get them to safety.
I called Randy at work to see if he had heard anything about a fire, but he had not.
Then I called the sheriff's department.
Turns out that the smoke was from the Ham Lake fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. That's more than 300 miles away.
All morning long, the smell of smoke was strong in the air, and the visibility stayed right around a half mile.
Absolutely incredible -- that a fire so far away could produce so much smoke in our area.
Later on I talked to a representative from the Department of Natural Resources. He said they had sent search planes up to make sure there wasn't a forest fire in Wisconsin somewhere. But no, it was in Minnesota. The north winds had carried the smoke all the way to west central Wisconsin. He also said the fire had gone into Ontario, but that with the north winds, DNR people in Minnesota were afraid the fire would turn south.
After that, I got a statement from the DNR confirming that the smoke was from the Ham Lake fire. The statement also noted, however, that with our severe drought conditions in northern Wisconsin, conditions are just right for forest fires here, too.
Somehow I don't find that very comforting.
Thursday I had to go to a town north of here for a newspaper story, and along the way, I noticed that some sloughs off the Hay River are dry. I've never seen those sloughs dry before.
According to the DNR statement about the fire, more than 450 firefighters are working to put out the Ham Lake fire that has been burning for almost a week.
Friday afternoon, after I was past deadline for a newspaper story about the fire, another DNR person called me back. I had left a message for him in the morning. I said when I had first seen the smoke in the morning, I thought there was a forest fire on the ridge behind the neighbor's place.
He chuckled. "That's what everybody thought," he said.
It's a relief to know the fire is hundreds of miles away. I can't help thinking, though, what people would have thought a hundred years ago if they had seen smoke like that. A person would be on edge all day, watching and waiting to see if flames were going to come roaring over the nearest ridge.
The Ham Lake fire is 30,000 acres. The fact that smoke could be so thick hundreds of miles away highlights how powerful a forest fire can be. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph
Thursday, May 10, 2007, 04:58
The Hummingbirds Are Here!
Yesterday morning when I was outside, I saw a hummingbird fly up to the kitchen window, hover for a few seconds, and then take off past the house.
I knew what he was looking for. He was looking for the hummingbird feeder.
I didn't have time to make hummingbird nectar at just that moment, but I boiled some up Tuesday night and filled the hummingbird feeder and the little flower ball feeders and put them all outside. I use a three-to-one sugar and water mixture. All the directions for the hummingbird feeders say to use a four-to-one mixture, but I read one time that in the spring when the hummingbirds first arrive, they appreciate a stronger mixture after their long flight back. I generally continue to use a three-to-one mixture all season. The hummingbirds really seem to enjoy the mixture, if the amount of fighting and scolding amongst themselves is any indication.
This evening I finally saw a hummingbird at the feeder. So far there appears to be just one around here, but in not too long, they'll be scolding each other over who gets to eat when and where and chasing each other away. That's why I like putting out the flower ball feeders. A second set of feeders gives them someplace else to go when they get chased away from the feeder by the kitchen window.
I know that Sophie, our little gray cat who will turn two this summer, was enthralled with watching the hummingbirds last summer. She likes to get on top of the kitchen cabinets and then crouch low with her ears flat so the hummingbirds won't see her through the window.
Sophie has already been enthralled this spring with watching the cliff swallows out the bedroom window. She hides behind the curtain, with one eye showing, and watches them fly up by the window where they are attempting to repair their nests. I don't know how the cliff swallows, or the barn swallows, are going to repair their nests this year when there is very little mud for them to find, though.
Of course now I'm also wondering how Snowflake will react to the hummingbirds. She's been watching the cliff swallows, too, but she is not quite as avid a watcher as Sophie. She puts her whole head under the curtain, or sometimes her whole body, with only her tail sticking out. She doesn't appear to be worried that the cliff swallows are going to see her watching them through the window.
As for the Baltimore Orioles and their bowl of jelly, yes, it rained the other night. But only a few-tenths of an inch and not enough to dilute the jelly to any great degree. I am disappointed. In other years, putting out jelly was sure to make it rain at least an inch . .
The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are here, too. As far as I know, they are the only other birds besides the Cardinals that like to eat safflower seeds. There were two Rose-breasted males in the feeder at the same time the other night. They weren't scolding each other though. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are as bad as the hummingbirds about chasing each other off.
And the Towhees are here as well. I don't see Towhees as much as I hear them -- Drink your tea! Drink your tea! say the Towhees.
I planted some watermelon seeds, muskmelon seeds and red bell pepper seeds in pots this evening and set the pots in front of the garage door where it gets very warm during the day. Bit by bit, I'm getting closer to having a garden!
LeAnn R. Ralph