Forest fires are burning very nearby. The city (we're in a valley) is so full of smoke I can't see the mountains. It's not quite noon yet. By this afternoon, I'll be able to throw further than I can see. The other day, our newspaper had the headline "What if Missoula burned?" on the front page. Last fall, Mt. Sentinel caught fire. It didn't get far, luckily. My apartment is right at the base of Mount Sentinel. I can throw a rock from my doorway and hit it. If it were to burn, I wouldn't even know it until it got damn close. Last week, after wind cleared the smoke for a bit, I looked up and saw that the big hill with our giant peace sign on it was black. A big chunk of it had burned and I didn't even know because there was too much smoke to see it. I just found an article that doesn't exactly raise my hopes: http://missoulian.com/display/inn_news/news03.txt It is incredibly dry here. Normally, fire season would just be starting now.

a lady i work with is from Darby, and her mom and dad who are in their 80's, are there and she is so worried, also curious about how the landscape is changing and will look by spring.

It's dark. It's only 5:00. It's supposed to stay light for at least another 4 hours. A cloudcover rolled in over the smoke, and it's dark like nighttime. There's thunder too. That means more fires. On my drive home, which is only 15 minutes, I watched all the street lights come on, and it kept getting darker. Lightning looks weird through smoke. There's a faint orange light silouetting my mountain. The sun should be the other direction. I hope it's not what I think it is. I hope it rains.

are you scared? i am

It rained big, smoky drops. It made soap in the streets. Two tracks of foam wherever the cars went. The air is clearer and there's more light now. My car is covered in streaks of grey soot. My mountain is still covered in plant life, although most of it is dead. At least it's wet. It stopped raining. The air is a little clearer. I might be able to put my smoke detector back on the ceiling. My smoke detector, or rather, the one put in by my landlord runs off the house power. When it went off due to the smoke in the air a few days ago, I pulled it off the ceiling and unplugged it. It didn't stop. It has a backup battery. I pulled that out. Somehow, even after that, it manages to chirp once every 30 seconds to let me know that it's not working. I couldn't sleep with it doing that, so I put it in the trunk of my car. I was scared. I'm going to stay worried until I know these fires have stopped. There was a lot of wind with this storm, so it might only have gotten worse. The puddles are grey and sad. I saw a man riding a bike with a big yellow gas mask on while I drove home. I didn't like that. I've seen too many pictures of that, and it's always associated with disasters. My mom emailed me today because there's smoke there in Billings because of the fires here. Billings is a 6 hour drive from here. I shoud check the news. I should call her.

Wow. That's really scary. I guess it's kind of exciting, in a weird way, but it's so ominous...good luck! (prays nothing bad happens)

Yes, it is kind of exciting. Thanks for the concern. It drizzled all night. I think the wind was pretty calm, too. I imagine that slowed the fires somewhat. I'll let you know when I find out more.

tbone-did you get what i sent you?

The purdy pitchers? Yah. I like much. Those 4-frame camera thingies are swell. What really makes sorabji special: We're a really sexy looking bunch.

i agree; i don't know what you're talking about when you say that you're proof that photographers aren't photogenic....your hat pictures are so sweet....you handsome devil!

I'm going to go on a photo cruisade tomorrow. I feel like I have some free money since I found out that I counted one of my car payments twice and therefore have an extra chunk of cash... I bought Chacos last night, and I'll spend the rest on film and development. I'll make pictures of my little city and show you all. I may have missed the real dense smoke, but then, it could get bad again too.

i would love to see a photo of that guy on his bicycle....

Thanks, Mavis. I only started wearing fun hats because my hairline is basically at the top of my head, and my hear is so fine as to be nearly transparent. I need one of those collapsable top-hats. And a Fez. And an african hat, but without the fuzz inside like the one I'm wearing in the bottom picture. And a fedora, a really smooth mobster fedora. And.. and.... It's an addiction.

it is a wonderful addiction. i have 46 hats, and counting. my best lady friend is a millener. plus i sew.that makes for a lot of hats. 12 of those are winter hats from when i lived in the north woods. i recently found this amazing flapper style hat at a yard sale---wow! it's great....periwinkle blue felt with a floaty magenta feather. i recently learned how to press a hat from plain, flat felt with a hat block, but the hat block was not my size!poo! p.s.the hat you're wearing in the bottom is called a "fela"

The smoke is recouping now after the storm. If the air in the valley stays still like this, I'm sure I'll see him again. I've been lusting after this crane for weeks. It's the tallest point in the city right now. They're using it to build our new hospital. I just have to photograph it, but for some reason I've been holding back. I'll do it this weekend. The smoke does some cool things for it, especially at night with it's little lights flashing. Oh, how I wish I had a darkroom. That goes in the What do you want? thread. (Covet)

For some reason, "Fela" doesn't stick in my head. I've learned the name of my hat a number of times, but it never sticks. Maybe it will this time. Fela.

Hmm. What size IS the hat block?

7 and a quarter

what size do you wear?

My size is either 7 1/4 or 7 3/4. I need to look. *grin* Here is a map of active fires as of yesterday. http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/fire/nrcc/active_west.jpg Missoula is right there in the middle. The red things are individual fires. This one shows the size of the fires: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/fire/nrcc/wilderness.jpg

Uh, mine is 8"

Some of the eastern Montana fires have interesting names. Theres the Average Bad Day fire, and then there's the Tobin fire (My last name). I swear I didn't start that one.

oh oh oh, you meant hat size, i thought you were talking about.... nevermind

those maps make me really nervous.

Place a flexible tape measure around the circumference of your head, 1 inch above your eyebrows and around the widest part of your head. Measure the circumference at least twice to be sure that you are getting an accurate measurement. Record the measurement in inches Divide your measurement (in inches) by 3.14. This should give you the basic hat size.

They make me nervous too.

One of my co-workers left. He heard that the road to his house was being closed due to fire hazard. He's going to make sure his house is ok. He lives pretty far out, but not THAT far out... Shit.

what if they make you evacuate? i'm not trying to freak you out, just wondering...

what if they make you evacuate? i'm not trying to freak you out, just wondering...

I've wondered that myself. I don't know. I should find the Missoulian article that related to that. I'd probably go to Billings.

oh man. let's hope it doesn't come down to that. you should keep a journal/photo journal of all the hubbub. it's very interesting. how far is billings?

don't worry about tbone, sorabjites always come through natural disasters unscathed. I am living proof.

oh yeah? please elaborate

344 Miles. It's a much easier drive now that I'm not driving the Penguin Truck. I promise to start taking pictures from now on. I'll have my mom scan some pictures from when we lost the cabin to the East Rosebud Fire. We spent more than 2 years rebuilding it by hand. It's beautiful now.

we're like cockroaches

Survive a nuclear blast, huh?

"east rosebud fire" sounds like a great name for a bluegrass song yes, do take more photos

good luck this weekend, tbone!

By Trace on Friday, August 11, 2000 - 01:23 pm: Uh, mine is 8" ::shakes head:: TBone, a neato idea would be a sort of survey of the fire and its effects (photos)...right. Stay safe, and if it starts to get really bad, LEAVE!

Have any of you ever seen a forest fire at night? It's amazing. If I can campture that without risking my life, I will. I've got my Stalker Lens... that should help. I'll see what I can put together. Maybe I'll go out to where the fire has been put out and take some picture of some of the homes that burned. I'd LOVE to get some picture of some smoke jumpers, but I'd have to be in some dangerous places for that, so I doubt I'll see any of that. I'll probably stick mostly to what's happening locally.

Zephyr, Thats, uh, flacid..... :-)

::SMACK::

????

Also, Cyst was in the first earthquake last year(year before?). We are like cockroaches.

yeah, I was in the istanbul earthquake. earlier this week or maybe it was last week I finally saw the guy who was with me that night. I hadn't seen him since I moved to seattle, but I knew that he lived just blocks away. I didn't take my sunglasses off but I did tell him I owed him $85 and we could go to a cash machine and I would pay him. which I did. a guy came over last night. he was wearing a new pair of shiny, synthetic dkny pants that had been bought for him. "you should see my new dkny sweater. it's so beautiful. black, mohair, bias-stitched, totally see-through." I put it on with the same vinyl skirt I'd seen his girlfriend wearing last time we were all at the same place. he got on my bed. "close your eyes," I told him as I changed. "ok," he said. then I showed him a new red shirt I'd told him about. he covered his eyes again. then I changed into a nightgown he'd admired before. "this," he said, "is lovely." I got on the bed too and listened to him breathe. I was reminded of how he smells like hash, so smoky sweet. "I really didn't think this was going to happen this time," he said. "but it always does," I said. "what? it's only happened twice before. unless you count that time at l's. and I guess you should count that. oh, and that other time at l's." "and in portland." "oh, yes. you know, you've worn four sexy outfits since I got here." "go ahead and blame the victim." "including a nightgown. it seems like you're always wearing a nightgown when I visit you." "that's because you always visit me at night." he spent a long time in the bathroom cleaning up.

oh, I meant to say, "oh, yes. you know, you've worn four sexy outfits since I got here. and, by the way, I peeked every single time." that was funny.

Mavis, 7 1/4 is exactly my size.

tbone--my hat block is in wisconsin! and it's so heavy!!! fuck but maybe i cat block you a hat the next time i go there??? plus, i will keep my eyes peeled for a fedora, a flame-resistant fedora!!!

I'm crushed... What's Wisconsin doing with your hat block? ...I guess I can wait... On Saturday, I drove out to Hamilton. It was a lot smokier there. Everywhere there were signs thanking the firefighters and wishing them luck. I drove out to find some good pictures, but I got turned back repeatedly. Part of I-90 was closed yesterday. Fire jumped the interstate. It happened only 3 miles from the home of one of my co-workers. His house is safe though. http://missoulian.com/display/inn_news/news01.txt Yesterday was windy. The air was clear, and Mount Sentinel was visible from everywhere in town, as it should be. Around dusk, smoke rolled in thickly. It's clear again now. I got some pictures that I hope will turn out well. I saw a parking lot full of firefighters milling about and talking. Just after I took the picture, they loaded into 8 school busses and headed out of town. The smoke has been pretty light, which is nice, but the wind that causes that is making the fires worse. I'll post updated maps when they are available.

oh, tbone! don't be crushed! my milliner friend lives in wisconsin, and she has a huge studio so i left all my hatblocking stuff there. i can't wait to see your pictures!

TBONE - I'm in Idaho Falls - on the other fire border in your back yard. They've contained most of the fires that were semi-near town. Other than the barley-field fire the other night that didn't do a whole lot of damage. We had some weird sunsets a couple of weeks back when the rangefires were burning close. One night on the way home from work the entire town was enveloped in this weird yellowish glow - just looking at normal things through the smoke haze gave me this weird mix of emotions - like I was about to be squashed by some giant creature out of a Stephen King book (the early ones) I'm bummed because I missed the Peresid meteor shower Saturday night - along the northern lights - which aren't usually seen this far south. I saw the lights about an hour north of Seattle a couple of years ago. And I saw plenty of green shimmering sheets when I was in Alaska. From what I've heard, the display here was mostly purple, which would seem odd to me. ah well, I oughta do some work while I'm here at work..

Thats so scary. New Zealand and Australia have sent some fire co-ordinators or something over to help you guys out.

Yeah we sent 80 of our blokes over there to sort your bloody mob out. They'll just drink lots of beer and piss on the fires to put 'em out. Lock up your goats! (seriously Tbone, look forward to seeing the pics, hope you're going to post em?)

I sure will, though I don't know that they'll be too exciting. Haven't got any breathtakers yet. Yeah, we're getting fire people from all over. Each of the larger fires has over 600 people on it. They're doing a good job of keeping the fire out of the towns. People who live in the woods are losing their homes, though. Apparently some fire fighters from Minnesota were coming up when the fire hit I-90. They hadn't got into town to recieve their first assignment, and they were already seeing some heavy blaze. I'm okay, Mavis. I just got the new-hat fever there. I'm fine now. If it's smoky again tonight, I'll take a picture of the moon... It's all red/orange in the smoke...

the Perseid showers were fucking amazing......i drove out to Larch mountain, maybe 45 minutes east of portland on saturday....we stayed until 5 am oohing and ahhing and staring....it made me feel like i was back in northern michigan, watching the northern lights........

I'm too cut off. I missed them. Didn't hear about them until after. Damn. I'd have loved to see that.

well, they are every august. there are more coming in november but i forget the name of them. but it will be too cloudy here to see them well.

Ah man - we just got some incredible pics in from the fires in the Bitterroot range. They are soooo @#$%ing dramatic. I don't know if I can post them right now - they're for a commentary page a few weeks out. But man, they are cool. The guy got right up by the fire and took some shots at night - burning trees silhouetted against the night sky... oohh...

Smoke is thick today. As I was walking back to my desk just now, I looked out the window and saw some deer grazing on the grass near some bushes. What a weird part of town to see them in... They're always coming down off Mount Sentinel around my house and the campus, but this is the other end of town... I got pictures.

i used to watch meteor showers with my parents lying on a trampoline. much better than a cot or the ground.

I did that some on the trampoline at the cabin when I lived at home. When the Cabin burned, the forest fire seemed to avoid the trampoline. It's still there. It also avoided the outhouse with 50 gallons of gasoline and 2 gallons of paint thinner in it. My witty mother put a sign on it that says "Hysterical Monument" Smoke is expected to get worse as the day goes on. An air quality warning has been issued, and we're warned to stay indoors as much as possible.

I think you should just get the hell out.I have been reading about this in the news.Hope you don't have asthma.

TBone, hope you're holding up alright. It's been pretty smoky here in Billings... today it's clearer though. If the U burns at least we'll have an excuse to move to Seattle, right?? :) Purple and I were up in Cooke city yesterday...the smoke there was terrible. We heard while we were up there that East Rosebud's been closed due to fire hazard...guess they think it might burn again. hehe. I don't think we'd be helping rebuild ye olde cabin this time - what do you think? The fire has inspired me, though. I think I'm going to just move Igor and my books out and burn my house and the rest of this junk to the ground. That might save my sanity. Hope all you Missoulians are well.

I remember the year they evacuated Cooke city. Someone put a 'd' on the end on the way out. It's crazy-smoky right now. I've lived in valleys all my life. It's downright eerie seeing only grey in every direction. Watch me get lost on the way home. There aren't enough trees around the existing cabin to put it in much danger, but all the others could. (except for the losers who built in the flat areas, cut down all the trees, and planted non-native trees in their nice landscaped lawns. But they aren't cabins. One wonders why they spent the money. I'd actually be pissed if this one burned. I put a lot of work into it, and it's beautiful. I like the cabin itself, just not the company. We need to go hang out up there sometime when the fambly isn't there. I got an email yesterday from the school. It was a mass mail assuring everyone that school will begin as planned on the 5th, and that there is little danger of the U burning. We'll see. :)

oh my god, i flew over montana, idaho, and wyoming 2 times in the past week. seeing those fires from 29,000-35,000 feet was amazing and sad. i was fortunate enough to see it on two different days when the winds were low. large towers of smoke were visible, and in some instances, flames were as well. i think that i really had no idea how big they were until i saw them myself. my friend flew across monatana at night, and he saw them even better than i did.

I have pictures now. They aren't what I was hoping for, but some of them are ok. I just need to hunt down a scanner.

so, how is it there? are you okay? are they still evacuating people? i can't wait to see your photos..

It's smoky today, but not terrible. I'm fine. They rescued a bear cub from a fire. His mom didn't make it. Third-degree burns on his paws. Actually, just like the original Smokey the Bear. They plan on returning this one to the wild when he's all patched up though. I was on the highway through where it was closed over the weekend... Stumps next to the road were still smoking, and we could see little flare-ups in random places. I was, however, without my camera at the time. I'll go for a drive tonight. There are still evacuations in the really bad areas around Darby and such...

apparently my uncle and cousins are on their way home from southeastern canada and have been taking 1-84 the whole way home. i hope they're ok... wow, how do you stay so calm about it? if it were me being there, i'd freak.

I wrote a response to this yesterday. I guess it turned to pixel dust. The closest fires are currently 30 miles away. We still have a month minimum to look forward to these fires. It's been about a month since I came back from Vegas and was shocked to find it so smokey. Now routine has just sorta come back. It's hard to stay freaked out for that long. The smoke is really bad again. It seemed like dusk when I got up at 8:30. There's a little more light, but it's got that eerie grey-yellow tinge to it. The air tastes bitter. When I went out in it the other day, my nose and eyes started to sting after a while. Biking is not such a good idea.

Another dry year. Flames visible from my front porch. I'll have photos to show you tomorrow. Damn, that's eerie.

Saw the fires last night from a building called the Montains which is a apt. complex behind where I work. Creepy shit, to see the fires coming down the mountain at us. Hopefully they get it under control, but as of yesterday they pulled the crews off the fires because of the danger. They only have air drops going in as of now. If they don't get it under control by the time it hits the river, they'll power house it. If that fire were to cross the clarksfork, they'd never stop it. Or at least thats what I'm told by a co-worker of mine who hasn't been at work much seeing as he's a class C smokejumper. we're doomed.

Speaking of the M-town TBone, is Nique around? I found something she might be interested in, but: A: don't have a clue where she lives. B: have no idea how to get ahold of her, other then through you assuming you know. send me her email or phone# or something like that. or give her mine.

Hit the DRC site and check her info. It'll give you her email address. . Like just about everybody else, she's moving the weekend of the 23rd. . Smokey this morning. We've been getting a fine ash settling on things for a couple days, but this morning it's the chunky stuff all over my car. . The sunrise lasted for hours today with all the smoke. The sun will be orange all day.

I remember the ash just falling from the skies like that....looked like snow, but clogged the a/c filters.

Pictures from my front porch.

Damn, the flames are closer to you than they ever got to me. That's almost scary. It's pretty, but scary at the same time. We got lots of warnings today about major thunderstorms with 85 mph winds and 2 in diameter hail, but all we got was some rain.. It's dark now and there is some lightning going cloud to cloud and is pretty, and some little bitty thunder boomers, but that's all. We hardly got any rain. I guess it is supposed to stay this way until Friday morning, though. I hope we get some real thunderstorms in here. I love them. Be careful when the ash is falling. My breathing got really bad during a short time cuz of the amount of conjestion of the ash and smoke. Take care of you.

There still is light in the sky, the sun is gone, and the moon hasn't come yet. Its a good night to honor a passing friend, a guy who was 4 months from his PhD at the age of 28, published 2 books, and ironic enough as it is, got a grant from the federal forrest service for 75,000 dollars to give them a plan to make the fire seasons here in western montana less horrible. He died of a heart attack last monday, tonight we drink for him. goodbye Tunno

"We are concerned about the prevailing winds," Dietrich said. "They are pushing the fire toward the community. So we are very vigilant." (Mike Dietrich leads a fire management team from Los Angeles.) http://www.missoulian.com . It's moving very slowly, but the newspaper this morning said the Black Mountian fire is within a mile and a half of the homes on the distant west end of town. The thick smoke in the valley seems to be slowing the fire. It's also slowing the Missoulians. Bleh. . Sorry about your friend, Hal. . I need a nap.

Active fire map for this area: Thwop!

that's nifty.

You guys realy aren't that far from where my LS will be in a couple weeks.

LS?

little sister? thats a cool item. ranks up there with the instant quake data page that i check out.

Little sister's gonna be a bulldog. I hope that the Catholicism will wipe some of that born-again gullibility out of her brain before she ends up in court.

Your little sister will be going to Gonzaga?!? Darlin, I hate to tell you, but she's doomed. I know this for very rampent personal reasons. But hey, if you ever got to visit her, we're only 3 hours away.

Yup. DOOM! Yay! Bwahahahahaha!!!! One of her best friends will be in commie-land like you guys.

Send her our way.... We always like to corrupt the young.

Yes, but Hal gets them so messy. Tell her to bring a towel.

I'm not sure if she'll fit in. She's kind of quiet.

I get no one messy... Unless you count midgets as people. Either way, tell her to bring several towels.

TBone I love those pictures. May I ask what camera you are using?

That's a shame about your friend Hal,so young.T-bone I'd start preparing to evacuate,just in case,that fire looks wayyyy too close to your porch as fast as fire travels.

Hal, Tbone - are folks in your area as blase yet about fires as folks from my home are about blizzards?

I'm quiet too. Sorta. . Canon A-1 for the flame photos. Telephoto bigger than my head. Long exposures. Had to use a bulb and a couple seconds delay because my old tripod is so springy. . I'm far enough into town that I'm surely safe from the flames. The smoke's getting to me though. The black mountain fire is moving very slowly now. It's moving downhill, and the valley is so full of smoke that there's not enough O2 for it to really get crazy. I heard we can expect more lightning tonight, though.

They're getting there, sem. The fires are closer and the smoke is worse this year than in 2000, but people seem a lot less concerned. I'm not seeing nearly as many masks and stuff.

Black Mountain (9 mi. west of Missoula). Fire activity update: 525 acres. 0% contained. This fire is moving slowly. Evacuation status: Evacuation and structure protection plan in place. NO EVACUATIONS HAVE BEEN ORDERED. http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lolo/news/2003/closures/f03-21-missoula-black-obrien.htm . Fires picked up again. Smoke is thicker yet. . No nearby fires are more than 5% contained. http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/fire/2003fires/mso_area_info/mso_area_update_8_14_1730.pdf . Fire map as of 3am: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/archive/nrw2003227_0700.jpg . We'll get our air quality alert level for today in an hour. . In other news, my GF got a library job she was trying for. She's thrilled to death. She's been working at Target, trying to find a better job for a long time now.

TBone, I have a bunch of pictures for you to host to give a good idea of what the smoke looks like around here. Got them this morning. This is the worst I've seen the smoke this far, I couldn't see the bridge from where I work, and thats only like 50 yards away.

Are they digital, or do I need to scan them? . If they're digital, I'll give you a DRC gallery.

My OM2 hasn't worked since HighSchool. Its all digital at the moment, so if I find that roll of Illford its yours. I have crackloads of digital photos I would like to setup in a gallery. So yeah just give me the info.

As of 8:00 AM, a Stage II Warning is in affect for the Missoula Area. Air quality is considered Very Unhealthy. The latest 8-hour average was 226 ug/m3. The latest 1-hour average was 303 ug/m3. . . That is all.

Hal, you've got a gallery now. Do your thing.

*cough*password*cough*

Fires http://www.dirtyredcommie.com/gallery/album57

Two homes burned over the weekend. As of midnight last night, the Black Mountain fire was still considered 0% contained.

However, the 2 houses that the Black Mountain fire consumed were 2 of several hundred in that area. Firefighters were able to save almost all of them minus the 2 in question. The Black Mountain Fire, and the Blue Mountain Fire are at the moment converging on each other and it seems that after this there won't be much of the Blue Mountain Recreational area. (no more folf course.)

Blue Mountain is burning? Must be small. It's not on the maps.

Where are you getting your info? . Mine says Blue Mountain road is open, and it's only an hour old.

Fire Crews- I have about 10 or 12 guys who are regulars who lately come in only when they can. They are all on fire crews working the area, all Class C guys. I had a few come in last night and give me updates of various things. Blue Mountain may be no longer burning but as of last night it was.

I haven't read anything about it. Hmm. . Another house burned last night. . Things are looking up. Black Mountain is 27% contained.

That's good. I am glad to hear they are getting better containment of the fire. I hope not too many more houses will be lost. Take care of you

My boss just left. She got notice to evacuate her house.

Here's a shot of how weeny the sun looks through the smoke: ding! . I took these two just as a blast of wind was hitting town and pushing the smoke out. Unfortunately, it also stoked the fires. fwip! pow!

Wow, those pics looked amazing. Hopefully they will be better contained soon.

Things are improving. Black Mountain is 30% contained now. We had another wind even last night, but fortunately it sounds like it didn't spread the fire too much. The inversion has lifted so the air is a little better, too. . Hopefully, it's about done.

Hopefully.

Nope this is how it was looking yesterday, and today doesn't look much better.

The smoke is bad and getting worse, but the Black Mountain fire is 50% contained now.

This one gets updated twice per day: zot!

Woohoo! We're *Marginal* today! . I can see the mountains!

Congratulations. Hopefully it will be safe to breathe again soon.

Its been rather nice in the last couple days, you can actually see the sky. Its amazing.

I breathe clean air and the mountains strike me with their beauty this morning. Last night it rained several times. Overhead was a North-South line of dark cloud, raining. To the west, I saw a gap of fading sunset sky, and just beyond the mountains, another line of rainclouds waited its turn. . While there have been plenty of discussions on the reasons to leave this area, my walk to work this morning reaffirms my reluctance to stray. . I opened my door, and the first thing I see is Black Mountain. It burned quite thoroughly a couple months ago, but today I see wisps of cloud playing hide-and-seek in the contour of the mountains. The sun is peeking through gaps in the staggering clouds to draw intricate designs in light and shadow. As I walk to work, the mountains in every direction are host to wandering fingers of mist. Between the pines on the upper reaches of some, I can see fresh snow. . Have I ever mentioned that it's hardly uncommon to run across a deer in the city? On several sides, our borders are quite sudden. It's city, and then you take one step and you're in wilderness. And the people here are the friendliest I've ever come across. Generally, anyway. . Fall! Yes! Rediculous quantities of leaves and squirrels throwing acorns! Cold air and warm sun! If this early mountain snow is any indication, we're in for a quite a winter.

"Fall! Yes! Rediculous quantities of leaves and squirrels throwing acorns! Cold air and warm sun" That is what I miss most about living in the midwest, or anywhere else that actually has four seasons instead of summer & winter only......

I hear that,I'd love to go back home(W.V.) this time of year,still in the 100's here.

We actually got down to 63 yesterday morning!

West Virginia, eh? J, you have anyone with the last name Grant in your family tree?

I do miss autumn. It's my favorite season. I look forward to the cool down, though, for some reason. I just miss autumn.

Yes Tiggy , Cox and Woody are in my family tree too,my dad had our family traced I think so he could get in the S.R.A.I'll try to get the book out and look it up but I'll have to wait till I can get my s/o to get it down for me it's in a heavy box on a high shelf that I can't get to.

We may be related, then. My grandmother is from W.V. and is a Grant. :)

What part is she from? Know why they don't have the death penalty in W.V? Everyone has the same dna and there are no dental records.That's a bad joke my husband told me.My father was from Renick,my mom from Ohley by where that sniper is,home of Jerry West the basketball player.