Today I got to go for a bike ride before the smoke set in. That was very nice.
I met a fantastic Great Pyrenees guarding his goats. What a friendly dog that was happy to see someone. All the goats followed him to say hello also.
Made me think of before the virus and fires when life was just simple pleasures and not much to worry about.
Today was spent getting ready for more lightning. Finished loading the trailer in case we need to evacuate.
Picked and pickled the cucumbers. Made sauerkraut, picked the plums. Not fire prep but if we don’t get burned out we will want it later on.
Laid out 400’ of fire hose around our house and hooked up the water pump.
Went to the fire house and programmed a bunch of radios with the latest frequencies for our area.
Paid attention to everything else around us regarding fires.
While in the firehouse a long time friend who has moved back into our area came in. He is a retired fire fighter.
Sort of high up in the command chain who knows fire behavior, is fairly young and in good shape. And he is certified to drive any fire vehicle. We are short of drivers since it is a huge commitment.
He said he can’t take seeing all the fire trucks sitting around due to lack of drivers so he signed up as a volunteer.
We now have three drivers and more being trained. We have five engines and water tenders of different types. This is very welcomed and greatly enhances what we can do.
For the moment things are good and the fires have laid down for the night with no wind so progress should be made.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Where is Bazzak? I need another joke.
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daveh121
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It must have felt good to get out for a bike ride. The Pyrenees dogs are magnificent looking, I can imagine him sitting there guarding the goats. It must feel very sad for you and your family, loading your belongings in case the worst happens. I truly hope it does not come to that for you and your family. It is very good news the wind has gone for now. Maybe it will stay that way. Take care. 👍🌈
So far things are looking up. We just have to make it through the night with the lightning.
Thanks.
Hi
I'm glad you have managed a bike ride, this will have done you the world of good. I do hope you don't have to leave your home but being prepared is a must. I'm pleased there is no wind, this must obviously help to keep the fires down. How lovely of the retired fire fighter to volunteer. It would be great if we could go back to no fires and no virus.
I'm pleased you managed a little relaxation away from the worry of the fires daveh121. And it's remarkable how we suddenly realise how great are the pleasures which once seemed so small, when we are in the middle of a crisis. Best wishes and the best of luck going forward and I hope you continue to win the battle against the fires. Take care and thoughts are with you. 🙏
Thank you for keeping in touch, great to know that you are all managing to cope, though l am sure that it is not easy, especially not knowing when or if you will get a call out etc.
Very pleased to know that you are also managing to do some harvesting from your amazing garden and managing to get out for a ride, all very good for you!
The Pyrenees guard dog sounds amazing,
I am sure that it was more than happy to see you. Are they used very much in your area?
We love the Sonoma coast - heard there were fires in Pt Reyes. 😥
So very sad and hope you’re not in the path or too near it, though I realize it can change direction quickly. We’ve had our share, as you know, and just hope things don’t worsen in the coming weeks/months. It’s enough dealing with MBC and Covid and now the threat of losing our home.
Hope otherwise all going well with you. Sending best regards, Kathleen
Thank you for your latest message, good to know that you and your family are holding in there. Stay safe!!
There is so much on U.K. news at the moment about your fires, it looks and sounds terrifying, to put it mildly. A hideous situation for so many people.
I was very interested in reading your reply on the Pyrenees guard dogs, they truly are an amazing breed, so intelligent. Thank you for the information.
I am sure that you and your family will be relieved when this tragedy is over, l feel that you are doing an amazing job Dave! Please give Old Ike a gentle hug for me.
I wish you and your family well, take care of yourselves, Tim.
Thank you for the wonderful thoughts and kind wishes. We just got back from a short evening walk with Old Ike. He so enjoys going on a short stroll and sniffing things.
We are feeling pretty good now that things have mellowed our. Now we can start focusing on garden projects again.
I get to ride up to my Pyrenees buddy tomorrow if the smoke isn’t bad and bring him a biscuit. Always good to have a dog friend.
Your news is probably accurate, those photos are scary aren’t they?
So good to read that you are as well as can be expected, good for you! What a relief l am sure.
Going for a walk with Old Ike probably brings some normality back into your life. When l was able to take our furry friend for a walk l used to love watching her running around sniffing here and there, a completely different world for them, we can only imagine. Exciting l am sure.
I really envy you visiting your Pyrenees buddy with a treat. What do they feed off of normally, does the owner visit them regularly with food?
Good luck with all your garden projects, mounting up now l am sure while you have been occupied elsewhere.
Take care, best wishes Dave to you and your family, Tim.
Wishing you the best with everything, and I'm glad that you have enjoyed some relaxation amongst everything else.
Take care,
Zest
I'm so pleased you got out on your bike.
What a lovely thing to see, I love goats. Wasn't life simple before the virus but I'm sure we'll get back to a new normal and think it may even be better, we need to go backwards now to move forwards.
I'm glad you've managed to get some pickling done, at least you can forget about that now.
You're well prepared now for any lightening and fires but really hope they don't get anywhere near you. How great to meet a long term friend.
Sounds like you are all well prepared with drivers so that's good and glad the wind has died down.
I hope you made it through the lightening Dave and so pleased that things are improving.
It's so good to hear on how many locals are putting in every effort to make it safe for others, so selfless. Well done to the bulldozer drivers, amazing what they do and also to all of the other local people including the ranchers.
Sounds like you are doing everything you can do to get prepared for possible fire. Need for drivers brought back my fire fighting days. A lot of our smaller fire tankers were army surplus 4 x 4s with 400 gallon tanks. Most of these units had a top speed of 45 MPH and the newbies would put the pedal to the medal and blow the engine first time out. Time to watch fire is about 10:00 AM when the temperature inversion starts. Also remember fire moves at lot faster up hill than down hill. Stay safe.
We had one of those 45 mph trucks also. It got over ran by a fire while going 45 mph, flying through the fields, the fire passed it by. Never knew fires could go that fast but they can.
Have to be careful of the engine and not push it too hard.
The mechanics don’t like broken trucks.
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