The Fire #2

Might not have been so much about where the cats were more comfortable--I think you'd probably have an easier time finding a kennel that will take 6 cats than a motel that will allow you to stay there with 6 cats!

I have never seen these cats so stressed. They knew it was worse than a trip to the vet. They were in the car for 3-4 hours. Panting,yes, but I've never seen cats drool like this..hanging down 4-5 inches. I don't think my Halloween cat, Pippa, ate the whole time he was there. He's been eating huge amounts of food since he got home and sleeping with me which he hasn't done for months. I went in several times while they were there, in between running back and forth to Fallbook, so that they would know that I hadn't abandoned them.
Did I tell you that the last day that I waited for hours to get back into town...one of the families there with me had 10 chihuahuas and several other dogs and several children including a newborn? Evacuated for 5 days?! I can't imagine.

We do get fire in Anza. I'm not too worried as long as I'm home - I have crates for all of them (and an ice chest to dump the fish in).

Ain't that the truth, Liz! I'm so glad we had friends to go to. Animals in a closed environment are so susceptible to disease when suddenly thrust into a community setting.

Our macaw has taken to wandering around on the floor looking for me. I hear her tail swishing on the carpet when she comes down the hall! lol At least she's made up with DH now - he's no longer the ogre that took her away from the house. Until we have to take her to the vet in two weeks!

Why are they showing the movie Always this week on HBO?

BTW- Los Angeles Magazine has a great Nov. 2007 edition with green stuff, fire stuff. Not the usual fluff.

Hey folks, jazmine188 just checked in and she needs help to restore her garden. I've posted on the Dave'sGarden forum thread where we were talking about helping. Please go over there and check in if you can help.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/783689/

Tree of Life is a native plant nursery in San Juan Capistrano. This link has a lot of resources with information on fire prevention, recovery, etc., especially with regard to chaparral.

http://www.treeoflifenursery.com/main/involvement/blog/2007/11/firestorm-2007-resources.html

We're installing a fire hydrant this week. Sooner than we thought....while putting in metal stakes today for a new screen for vines, the DH got a little closer to the water line there than he'd intended...yup, geyser. Since he's now digging up that line to repair, decided that was a good spot for the fire hydrant he'd decided on. We're rural and our property has a lot of trees and vegetation, meaning that it's one of the ones the fireman would ignore in favor of more saveable houses. So we've made decisions about possibly staying if we burn again and a fire hydrant is part of that plan. Next project will be a roof ridgeline pipe with sprinklers for the house and workshop.

Sherry...It sounds like ya'll are getting things planned out very nicely. Jo

It's definitely a wake up call. To go from 'it would never happen to us', to seeing that it's in the realm of possibility that it could happen more often. Sunset Magazine had an article on the possibilties of more fires with global warming, etc..I just saw it and it was in the Sept.or Oct. issue. Very timely indeed.
We're taking it very seriously now.

Did anyone see the 60 minutes on it? They said in the last ten years fires that once were rare and burnt thousand s of acres are now the norm and they burn hotter than any fires and burn more land than the predicessor fires of ten years ago and beyond that. They said, the soil has erroded and been washed away too from all the burn areas and there is no soil left so that the forests can not be replanted in most of the areas and they will have to see in 50 years what comes up, what natives will sprout up.