Have you noticed the hint of forest fire smoke in the air today?  That's apparently due to the huge fires that have wreaked havoc in Canada's Northwest Territory - and perhaps those in our own northwest. Vermont reporter, Matt Sutkowski, wrote about the impact on Vermont weather in his blog, and Gary Sadowski brought it to viewers' attention in his noontime weather today.

Fred's cousin sent this picture a few minutes ago taken by a neighbor of another cousin who lives in Winthrop, Washington, one of the communities that is way too close to those fires in Washington.  Ora said the families in Winthrop were ok when she last heard from cousin Mark, but they are experiencing communications problems because of fire damage and are definitely on alert. 

I haven't had much experience with forest fires, although we had one when I was probably in high school in woods between the Bayley Hazen Road and Brickett's Crossing Road.  I remember it because we were haying on the opposite side of the road - the fields on the left of the Bayley Hazen Road where it leaves Cabot Plains Road near the cemetery.  The fire was in the woods on the right near where the Payne's live now.  I don't remember how it started, if anyone ever even knew, and fortunately there were hardly any houses nearby, but had it traveled east, several farms along Brickett's Crossing Road would have been in danger, so haying was suspended and all hands rallied to fight the fire.  As I remember, it took the better part of a day into the night to get it all under control.  That was with shovels - I don't think there was a road for any kind of vehicles to get in there with water - they probably just beat it, dug trenches and smothered it with dirt.

The closest I ever came to a big forest fire was when I was staying with my aunt and uncle in Maine.  That was a big fire, in scrub pine and blueberry country.  My uncle was a fireman with the York Fire Department, and my aunt and some other wives were determined to bring food and water to the men fighting the fire.  We went in by car and I remember smoking branches alongside the road as we drove towards the fire - and I remember being really scared.  Fortunately, we were able to reach some of the fire fighters and gave them the food and water and then got out of there ok.  I think in that area fires were sometimes set in order to burn off underbrush and increase blueberry production, but I'm not certain of that, and I believe that one was far from being a controlled burn.  However,   there were some great high bush blueberries in some of that same area.

We are fortunate our area is so nice and green right now.  However, that can change dramatically if we get a dry spell, and while we don't have the huge forested areas like in the northwest, a fire could still do considerable damage.  I often think about that when I see lovely homes tucked into beautiful wooded areas.  But perhaps I worry too much . . .

We got our lawn mowed this morning, and now I can hear Fred out there trimming the cedar hedge and trees.  We have enough cedars around the place so no matter which part of the house we're in, after they are trimmed, the lovely pungent cedar smell is everywhere.  Falling asleep at night with the smell of cedar in the air is right up there on my list of favorite things along with the smell of apple blossoms, new-mown hay and hearing the first peepers in the spring.  Gosh, I love where we live!