A Nostalgic Look Back – August 2020
Smoke, smoke, and more smoke! About 10 km behind our small community, the wildfire is still burning out of control. Helicopters are droning overhead and dumping a mix of water and fire retardant on the inferno. In some nearby towns the smoke is so dense that people can barely see things across the street. So instead of posting more gloomy or rather fiery pictures I decided to go back in time to last year, when my wife and I went for a mountain hike on Mt. Scaia. At 7000 ft altitude, we relished the clean mountain air, the alpine flowers and the busy bumblebees visiting them. Enjoy.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 
So the rain was not sufficient to extinguish the fire … It is so sad, that all this beauty is being destroyed right now … and 10 km, that is not very far away, are you really safe at home?
But you are right, dwelling on this does not help, we cannot really do anything more than the experts are doing, so looking at these beautiful photos is good for the eye and soul.
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The fireweed is a good reminder of the ability of nature to regenerate. I’ve learned that it’s one of the first plants to come back after a fire. A friend has some amazing photos of the flowers blooming again on the side of Mount St. Helens not so very long after the volcano’s eruption. And I agree with you: remembering past delights can be a good antidote for present difficulties.
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That is interesting. Nature can recuperate very fast. Even though the forest fires are horrible to man and wildlife, there is also a positive aspect to them: rejuvenation of the ecosystem.
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This is so heartbreaking to read. I hope things improve soon. Stay safe.
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They have a little bit. We had some rain although not enough and enjoy cooler weather which should help our brave firefighters.
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I hope so.
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It is painful to hear about the forest fire across the world. Irreplaceable damage. The pictures are refreshing. Alpine weather is so invigorating.
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These photos created some sweet memories, Arv!
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Great
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Beautiful, refreshing photos of Biene and the flowers. May the rain fall and extinguish the fires and may you and your neighbors be preserved.
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Thank you! Our prayers have been answered. We had some rain and are blessed with cooler weather. Our brave firefighters will appreciate the change in weather.
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Hallelujah! Praise God for cooler weather.
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Our fireweed, New York, is just starting to bloom in the yard. Lovely collection of flowers and also a lovely smile on display from Biene.
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Spectacular blooms. Fingers crossed for rain.
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Thank you, Robert!
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My family and I were in Calgary and Banff last week, and on the last day when we were leaving, the air quality was so bad from new fires that you could not see across the street. It made us appreciate the week before while we had clear blue skies. Hopefully, it will get better soon with cooler weather.
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Wow! You were lucky that the greater part of your vacation was marked by clean air and great views, Svet.
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So nice to see Biene among the flowers! 🙂
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Sometimes we have to escape into our pleasant memories. I hope that all these horrendous wildfires can be extinguished before too long!
Best wishes,
Tanja
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Indeed, as long as we can go back to some pleasant memories, they will help us overcome the challenges ahead.
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Lovely photos! And I’m so sorry about the horrible fires.
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I was kind of hoping that by the time I drop in next, rain and human effort would have brought the fires in control. Sorry to read that they are still raging. I hope you guys are able to keep yourselves safe and tide over this phase with fortitude.
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Thnigs have drastically improved around the Arrow Lakes and the evacuation alert for our region has been lifted.
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Were you feuertrunken with the fireweed?
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I drink to the new German word from your inventive mind. Prost!
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I’m afraid I can’t take credit for that one, which is from the third line of Schiller’s “Ode to Joy”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_Joy
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Well, feel honoured that I thought you were the author of Schiller’s coinage of ‘feuertrunken’.
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