We went up to the property today, to water the tree we planted. They seem to be
doing surprisingly well, considering we're in the middle of what may become a
record drought. We went, also, to recharge by sitting outside in comfortable
temperatures, with green trees around us and the scent of pine (well, an avgas) in
the air. It was windy as hell though.
One of the taller pine trees on
the lot is dead, and I need to call the Forest Service to ask how I can tell
whether it was killed by beetles. If so, we need to get it out of there before
other trees get infested; if not, I'd like to leave it at least through the
summer, because it protects a couple of younger junipers. The Forest Service is
quite busy these days, though; there was a twin-engine plane circling overhead for
a while (at first we thought he was worried about the wind or had a gear problem)
and a fire engine down at the end of the taxiway because of a report of smoke. We
think it was just the smoke from a small jet someone landed (yes, up at the
airpark we're among the poor folks). I am impressed at how alert the fire crews
are -- with this level of fire anger, they have to be. We didn't could have
camped, though we didn't, only because we own the property; most of the national
forests nearby are completely closed. I hate when that happens.