Just returned from southern California myself and I'm very glad to have missed the worst of it. The Malibu fire had just started early Sunday morning but when we drove up to Venice midmorning the smoke was already hanging in this heavy layer over south LA county. Drove back through the passes from Palm Springs late Saturday only to learn that they are on fire as well and the road we traveled is currently closed! I am very relieved my sister lives right on the coast but not near any major canyons, so hopefully she is safe. Although, she is pretty well ringed by fires, being midway between Malibu and San Diego and with fires burning in the canyons to the east. When we spoke yesterday, she said ash was everywhere, the sun was obscured by a thick haze and you could write your name in the film of ash on her computer screen! Laguna Beach did suffer from a pretty devasting brush fire in the early 90's and they have gone to great lengths to reduce their fire hazards but this current situation sure illustrates how easily these things can spring up and race with abandon, consuming everything in their path. I feel very bad for those in more vulnerable situations and I hope things improve there rapidly but conditions are not on their side :-(( As to SoCalifornians moving north because of this, I wouldn't look to a huge exodus. They readily put up with smog and poor air quality, abyssmal traffic conditions, the possibility of landslides and continual earthquakes of varying degrees of severity, not to mention annual brushfires prompted by the heat and Santa Ana's. In exchange they enjoy an incredibly temperate and balmy climate and those killer beaches. Few seem to be ready to give that up in favor of damp, gray NW winters that last forever :-) And there is that California lifestyle that just is not duplicated here........thank goodness!

I know how all of you feel who did not receive rainfall yet in July and who are suffering from severe rain deficits this year. Last July we did not receive any rain at all, and it was much hotter then than it is now. It was horrible. I hope rainfall relief arrives soon. Carol, That's the driest I've ever seen it in your part of the state and Scott's and Dorothy's as well. Y'all are having my typical drought conditions, but in an area used to a whole lot more rainfall than my plants ever dream of having, even in a good year. I would imagine that makes drought much worse for your permanent plantings since they are used to abundant moisture most years. Heather, I've noticed your area, and the Norman area as well, are incredibly dry this summer. Scary dry. You doing ok there? I cannot imagine being pregnant in this heat, and I hope you're staying inside and staying cool and comfortable. I thought I'd throw in this comment since mosquitoes often follow rain. Yesterday the local news media reported we had a confirmed case of West Nile Virus in Carter County. The woman was treated and recovered. She was lucky. They've already had some WNV-related deaths in the D-FW Metroplex this year, where the WNV is at what they are calling almost epidemic levels. Since I am closer to DFW than OKC, I've been following the WNV progression very closely as it has moved our way. The Carter County case was the eighth WNV case in Oklahoma so far this year. I worked outside this morning early, but as soon as a mosquito started buzzing around, I came back inside. Remember Jay's words of wisdom every time rain has missed his area these last 4 years of drought in Kansas. He always says that today he's one day closer to rainfall than he was yesterday. I repeat those words to myself when we're in the midst of a dry spell here. Even in the worst of drought years, rain does fall. It just doesn't fall when we want it to. Hang in there. I've linked the 'last 30 days' rainfall map. Look at the pattern of the rainfall--mostly around some of the edges of the state, especially in SE OK which still is desperately dry despite the rainfall. There's a nice little wet spot SW of OKC where there's been good rain, but otherwise the interior areas of the state really haven't had the rainfall. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi Glen, I accept that you have chosen to live in an extremely beautiful part of the world, but surely you knew it was a cyclone risk when you planted your garden ? At the risk of alienating the rest of the board, I'm going to make a couple of predictions: - the rainforest will be back (barring any further storm damage) within 3-4 years. Whether its 'the same' as old timers remember it, I cant say. - there will be more cyclones - more frequent and potentially more deadly - along the Qld coast over the next 50 years as global warming intensifies - people will continue to appear completely unprepared for nature's fury - no insurance, no stockpile of food and water, no disaster plan - for as long the community accepts that this is somehow 'natural' and acceptable. I say all this with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, from the comfort of my lounge in Rocky, but this wasnt the Asian Tsunami. The citizens of Innisfail had at least 24 hours warning that a Cat 4 cyclone (later Cat 5) was bearing down on their town (from memory, they knew it was in the Coral Sea at least a week prior). The media maintains that many had become complacent because previous predictions had resulted in little more than strong wind and heavy rain, and that looked like being repeated in the eerily quite hours leading up to Larry's arrival. The latest from Innisfail is that the Mayor has a new problem on his hands - the huge influx of donated goods/food/water has meant that businesses in the town arent able to get back on their feet. I accept that losing one's home must be completely devastating, but many of the people interviewed by the media were, IMO, welfare cases long before the cyclone. As for reports of fruit pickers taking the $1000 'grant' and leaving town, hopefully karma will catch up with them. The Queensland spirit *did* make the news, but it seems that (now homeless) people who consider others 'worse off than me' dont make as much impact as those who cry out for food and water 24 hours after the storm. When you've waded through child beggars in different parts of Asia, seeing people queue outside a Coles supermarket doesnt quite have the same impact. My own 'mean-spirited' nature hasnt stopped me from participating in fund-raising efforts for the victims of cyclone Larry, but there is a vested interest inherent in that choice. Whether I personally agree with the wisdom of rebuilding a town on a bullseye or not, the people of Innisfail (and the other towns mentioned earlier) intend rebuilding their town, and that costs money. In good years, bananas and sugar return money into the Qld economy, and some of that money makes its way into my pocket. I'm also one of the mugs who gave money to help rebuild Darwin after Tracey, but I havent seen anything in the media about contributions from other states. Finally, and I'm sure this has flashed through all our minds, if it's going to take several hundred million dollars to get a...

Yes Grevillea Robusta (Silky Oak) a huge tree they can grow to 30mts (100ft)I have one on my fence line (Cyclone wire fence) planted by neighbour 20 years ago, he wished he hadn't now as it is pushing up the fence we are both on 3/4 acre blocks but why did he plant it there. It self seeds everywhere, we both are forever pulling out seedlings, we built our house here just on four years ago and neighbour on oposite side planted three Grevillea Robusta in one hole four foot from the other boundry fence about two years ago, they are not as big as yours but I dread those seeds blowing on to my land in years to come. Now the Liquidamber that is a beautiful tree as you say. I planted my first one in April of this year, and the Autumn colours were fantastic mostly reds it has not grown any taller as yet, and is only about 70cm tall they grow well in this area as I have seen so many. Have you seen a Illawarra or Australian Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolium ) they are spectular too, a conical shaped tree that is a mass of red flowers in the Summer after dropping its leaves, but they take a few years to flower. Good luck with your tree planting Karn, you will have a wonderful garden in years to come -------- MM.