We are living in weird times for sure. Half of Oregon is on fire. It looks like the Apocalypse outside. It started earlier this week.... Monday or Tuesday I think. We had perfect conditions for some bad fires.... hot, dry, windy conditions. The fires spread so fast, some towns were destroyed. People didn't have time to do anything. People have lost their homes, and some even lost their lives. More and more stories are emerging of people running from these fires. One family had to leave behind grandma with a leg injury. A 13 year old ran out with his dog, only to be found dead in the car with the dog lying on top of him. A family ran for the river near their house and stayed in the water for an hour. Luckily the winds finally died down, and we are safe, but had the winds continued, this might be a different story. The fires are in no way contained yet, but at least the winds have died, and the firefighters can hopefully start containing the fires. For us, we've been smoked in for days. I miss the sky. I miss the sun. Its like there's a constant fog. Its blocking out the heat of the sun, but one morning we woke up and it was orange outside, and then it went dark again. The sun was supposed to rise around 6:30am, but it was still nearly pitch black at 8:30am. It was all so surreal. There is ash flying about, covering the ground, our cars, our grass. Its piled up on our porch entryway, and any slight breeze it swirls around. It smells bad, like a constant campfire. For a couple days, I was glued to my phone looking for the latest fire warnings. Cities near us, like Brownsville, are on a level 1 alert. Jadon's school started this week, and they cancelled the whole week (except the first day) due to air quality and 24 hour fire watch. The air quality is so bad, its considered hazardous. We are stuck inside, unable to take even a walk because its so bad. The ash gets in your eyes, as well as your nose.
Linn county fairgrounds have been where around 500 evacuated have to, and we went and bought pillows and blankets, cat food and dog food to donate. It was wonderful to see all the people of Albany coming together to help, and they continue to do so. Its a little silver lining in all this tragedy.
The fires are all around us. To our east in the mountains, to the north around Salem and up to Portland, to the south around Eugene and Medford, even Lincoln city on the coast has fire. We were wondering where we would go if it got to the point that we would have to evacuate. We didn't think it would get to that point, but we were preparing a list of stuff to grab had we actually got to that point. Its good to be prepared and have that just in case.
Anyways, weird times. Eventually the fires will be contained, supposed to rain in a couple days, so that is good. I just look forward to seeing the sky again. And getting to take walks again.
On a different note, my little hummingbirds are going crazy! They are constantly fighting at the feeders! One bird thinks he owns the place and tries to run off every other hummer that tries to snack at the feeders. I have to wonder if its because of the ash covering everything. They have used my feeders for awhile, but just since this started it seems they are at the feeders nearly constantly.
Well, that's what going on here.
