Too hot for comfort!

Last Sunday was a really warm day.  Warm and windy.  REALLY windy.  And very dry.  I was sitting on our front porch reading, watching the big pine trees "dance" in the wind, and pondering forest fires and how fast they could blow through in these dry, windy conditions.

Sometime in the afternoon I heard lots of sirens.  I briefly scanned the horizons around me but didn't see any smoke.  Then yesterday I read the Facebook post of our friend, Robin, who lives down right along the shore of Lake Superior.  Below is one of her pictures and you can see the burnt beach grass further down along the beach.  The fire came from the right across the marsh and behind from the boreal forest along Lakeview Road.

The rest of these pictures were taken today when we went down to check out the situation and find out more about what happened.   It started when a tree was blown down along Lakeview Road and took down a power line with it, creating sparks that flared up in all the pine needles and dry brush under the trees.

Some of this area is privately owned so it was the concern of our Port Wing Fire Department to extinguish it and then grade out fire breaks to keep the fire from jumping and spreading.  The boreal forest area is a state natural area so the DNR (Dept of Natural Resources) was on hand with their equipment doing the same thing.

Here is one of the roads they created into the woods to get control of the spread of the fire.  Burned area is to the right.

Here is the site some of the hottest fire and the closest to private homes.

There's a little irony here.  We've been talking about getting Port Wing designated as a "Bird City" to attract birdwatchers.  To do this we'd need some planned trails cut through the boreal forest to get closer to the birds, but since it's state-owned land, we can't just go in there and start hacking out brush...like we do on our property.  But, surprise, after the events of this weekend we now have cleared trails!  There is one existing short trail on the right side of this picture, but now there is a new one just to the right of the sign, middle of the picture.

Here's another road graded into the woods just off Big Pete Road and leading to the marsh that burned.  We haven't gone in exploring yet, but soon, I'm sure.

Finally, keep an eye on this field in the next few weeks.  I don't know the full story, but for years every spring it is full of rows and rows of narcissus (narcissuses, narcissi) in all different narcissus colors.  So, keep watching!  Yay spring!

Yes, Walt Disney, it really is a small world after all!

We have our first non-North American guests staying with us tonight.  They were from the Netherlands and were traveling in the United States and Canada for a couple weeks, then going on to visit friends for a while.  We were sitting around talking this evening when the phone rang.  It was our neighbor who was at the Port Bar and noticed a couple who were looking for a room for the night.  They had encountered several "no vacancies" along their way so were happy when we still had a room available.

Now for the "small world" part.  This second couple had lived in the Netherlands for a period of time several years ago and they even still spoke a little Dutch.  Crazy!  To meet up in little Port Wing, Wisconsin!

So, with our rooms filled, we are waiting for the over-predicted big storm tonight.  At least I'm hoping it's over-predicted.  Sounds like we are just supposed to get lots of rain and wind.  I've heard predictions for possible Lake Superior wave heights of 10 to 25 FEET! (Thanks, John Harrington!)  Why do the strains of Gordon Lightfoot run through my head on hearing about "gale warnings?)

Meanwhile, back on the farm, the Xcel energy truck came today to shut off power to the old house.  Because they came pretty quickly, the mover said they might come tomorrow to begin prepping the house for the move, depending on the storm, of course...

 I took some (possibly last) pictures of our sunflowers before the winds arrive tonight.  It was some kind of variety pack of seeds so they are all a little different.  Hope they are still there in the morning.

And Leann used all our red tomatoes (so far) and made a batch of the tomato relish that we serve with our egg dishes.  It's a fresh relish so it goes in the refrigerator rather than being processed.   People seem to like it.

Well, we have our flashlights and jugs of water ready for if/when the power goes out and we have no pump.  (Ah, life in the country!)  Stay tuned...