Poppy Cluster

Poppy Cluster
Originally uploaded by linfrye

Daily Practice

I was trying for something a little different yesterday -- I think if I were to do this over, I'd add a bit more contrast around the poppies -- though in the real, the dark greens are a bit darker and contrast better than in the scan.

We had a very interesting night --- as we were eating dinner, one of my neighbors called to say there was a wildfire out of control not 1.5 miles from us ..... As I hung up the phone, another neighbor came pounding on the door saying that we may have to evacuate, that the fire was directly behind his house. (We live in a cul de sac and the fire was across the road from the woods at the top of the hill behind his house -- a matter of a dozen acres of woodlands between us.) Since the winds were so high and we've been without rain, this danger was a real threat.

We spent the next hour locating our 'most valuables' and piling them into our vehicles, frantic, scared and worried. Fortunately, since we face hurricanes as a threat on an annual basis, MOST of our 'must have's' were close at hand -- nonetheless, there's always 'one more thing' we'd couldn't live without or replace and these had to be located.

After an hour, my husband went to see the fire -- and indeed it was close. We knew there'd be no rest ... so we stayed by the phone and tried to calm ourselves.

By 11:00 pm, we took another ride to the fire line ... and were told the fire was contained and that it was safe to go to bed. We did, finally, the adrenalin having left us -- but it wasn't a very restive night.

This morning, it looks as though the fire is still smoldering ... but for now, we were extremely fortunate -- and I'm deeply grateful. And so, if it happens again, this threat, just WHAT would we take with us? And how FAST could we load the car? And where would we go?

I know I'll be changing a few things about where we keep our 'musts' and how fast we can access them --- and I know, too, that I'll never be able to hear of another disaster without feeling that same dread and sadness ... but for now, I'm breathing deeply ...