Lynn, I am just so relieved to hear that the damage was minimal. (Although, of course, it never seems quite so minimal when it is your own place, and not someone else's.) If I were there with you now, I'd just give you a big hug and say how happy I am that you are OK, so consider yourself hugged long distance. : ) I know it is a terrible experience, especially as you're hurrying home and watching that big old plume of smoke, all the while wondering what has already burnt and what remains in danger. I am so proud of all the firefighters in Oklahoma--volunteer and professional--and the work they do. In our county, the 14 volunteer fire departments, the BIA and the forest service fire crews work together so well that it is just amazing. I'd like to second what you said, Lynn, about people supporting the volunteer fire departments. Most people assume that there is some kind of magical pot of money that the VFDs get from their city, county, state, or the federal goverment.....and that there is always enough money. That, of course, is not at all true. Most volunteer departments barely scrape by even though they are constantly working hard to raise money. On extreme fire danger days and extremely critical fire danger days, I am like a cat on a hot tin roof. I keep the fire radio turned on to the County Repeater so I can keep track of every fire in the county, instead of leaving it on the "pager" feature. And, I hate to get too far from home. We live in an area of rural mostly native pasture land too, and it can burn like mad. We've never had a fire as close to us as yours, but have had 2 on our land (but they were burning away from the house and outbuildings, and nowhere near fences of animals or anything). However, the ranch across the road catches fire at least a couple of times a year. (Their pastures back up to a highway and most of the fires start from the roadside.) For any of you wondering how to know when the fire danger is high, one of the easiest ways is to look at the NWS Enhanced Weather webpages. I check them daily, as they are informative and give info on all weather, and not just fire danger. On the enhanced weather page, the fire outlook is usually in one of the boxes along the right side of the page, near the bottom. Just keep scrolling down until you see it. You can click on it to enlarge it. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: NWS Enhanced Weather Webpage

The reliable weather sources here in our region hedged from the moment the models started showing the Arctic cold front, and said repeatedly that the wintery precip was very unlikely to make it this far south. Even when the NWS forecast had us at a 20-30% chance of precip, and likely wintery precip at that, our temperatures still were going to be barely at or below freezing, so I felt like we would be okay down here. Incredibly, we still have patches of sleet here that haven't completely melted from the last storm, although they are shrinking in size every day and now remain only in really shady areas. I hope we have reasonably decent weather for the rest of the month so everyone can just enjoy the holidays and stay safe. Scott, I do think our local electric co-op was concerned about the prospects for another ice storm at the end of the week. Their employees or sub-contractors were out in our neighborhood yesterday,clearing areas beneath and beside power lines where anything was growing that could be a threat to the power lines if icing occurred. Ever since either Sat or Sun, our local forecast has trended warmer and warmer, so I haven't been too worried. I agree that the models do an amazing job of predicting the general trends. Just look at how often they can warn us 6-10 days out that a tornado outbreak is likely in a specific area on a specific day or days, and indeed, somewhere in the area they've highlighted, tornadoes generally do occur on those days. I think it is particularly helpful that they can issue PDS advisories days in advance when the models indicate a Particularly Dangerous Situation could develop. We are nice and warm down here, Scott. While the nights may be cooler than we'd like, our highs this week are in the 60s and may hit the 70s for a day or two. I'm guessing y'all must not be quite as warm there as we are here. Unfortunately, with warmer air temps in winter and lots of dormant and somewhat dry vegetation, our winter fire season may be starting early. We had a relatively small grass fire (maybe a half-acre) Sunday, another one yesterday that threatened a barn and vehicles before firefighters arrived on the scene and extinguished the blaze quickly, and 4 more grass fires overnight. With some windy days this week, we're likely to have more little fires. I think we are too wet overall for them to get big and move quickly.....and hope I am right about that. After the two rain/ice/sleet/snow storms we've had in the last few weeks, the ground is so muddy that firefighting brush trucks are getting stuck in the mud at some of the fires we've been having. Normally the bad part of the winter wildfire season doesn't start until February or March. I'm hoping for a quiet winter, both in terms of weather and wildfire.

I love this show...this is from Variety (you might have to skip the ad if you read the link) "Additionally, [casting director] Strack points out that dire poverty is not a prerequisite for being cast. "That's a huge misconception," Strack continues. "We have to be conscious of what we're doing. We can't give someone a big house knowing full well they can't afford to keep it." Home-makeover recipient Brian Wofford of Encinitas, Calif., credits the show's producers with "drumming it" into his head that "with a bigger home comes bigger upkeep." To ensure that he could afford a big, new house for himself and his eight children, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" conducted a thorough check into his financial background, according to Wofford. Someone's financial history is only one part of an extensive background check. The show investigates every aspect of a potential subject's life. Strack contends that the background check "is the same as if you were applying for a job at the FBI." Veronica Ginyard, a resident of Capitol Heights, Md., whose family was the subject of an episode, says she had to provide court records to back up her contention that she was the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her ex-husband. "You have to prove your story," Ginyard says, "and I don't blame them one minute for that. Once vetted, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" pitches a family to ABC executives who make the final decision. A family doesn't actually find out whether it has made the cut until the day host Ty Pennington and his crew arrives at their house." Here is a link that might be useful: Variety

Bart, "wasted unit" about describes me, too. Even though with our recent cooler temperatures it's pleasant in the shade and in the house, I completely lack energy, want to sleep all the time, and start feeling sick if I exert myself and then have to go sit in front of the fan to recover. It may be mild illness, but I'm wondering if my body just hasn't had enough heat (and sunlight!). DD is also prostrate. Not DH though: truly is he the Energizer Bunny in my family. Our very own comune is apparently one of the driest places in northern Italy. I'm sorry that this summer is so hard on you, and on your garden. It will end one day. Some other plants showing good drought tolerance: Mediterranean fan palm (Chaemerops humilis), in part shade, and Chinese fan palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), though this latter may be profiting from being in the neighborhood of the faucet; Ceanothus thyrsiflora repens, somewhat protected from full sun. Also the Japanese persimmon in front of the house looks good, though I imagine it's getting a trickle of water, being just below the watered pots under the wisteria pergola. Italian pines (Pinus pinea). I have really been impressed by the climbing roses planted on the balcony way back in 2003-04; not a drop of extra water, and they're green and solidly flourishing, though flowerless. 'Jaune Desprez', 'Noella Nabonnand', 'Marechal Niel'; and 'Crepuscule' around the corner. I attribute this to their age and to their never having been watered after their first year, which our normally good average rainfall allows us to do. They must have mighty root systems. Almost nothing can be perfectly happy growing in full sun and wind, on a steep southfacing slope. This describes the big garden. Survival is about all one can hope for. Only the pines and cypresses look reasonably contented. Shade is really important! Also doing well, in shade: Iris japonica 'Variagata' and agapanthus 'Blue Shades'. There's also a Persicaria there, 'Painter's Palette' type: this has burned and wilted at times, but overall has done pretty well. P.S. Cross post with Jackie. Thanks for the moral support, and from you, Totoro. I know you folks in California have been through this, and understand. I'm even sicker of sun than of heat, if that's possible.