There's usually fire. But I guess y'all probably already know this. There have been a lot of fires popping up in Texas lately. Not surprising since we're in a drought. It seems like Labor Day weekend brought out the hazards. There was a small one in town but not too much damage occurred, thank goodness. The BF and I went to visit his parents in Blackwell for the long weekend. It was a great trip, if a touch windy and chilly. And by a touch, I mean 30 mph and we almost sunk the paddle boat in the waves. Lesson learned. Always bring a bailing bucket.
On the way home, we kept seeing big plumes of smoke in different areas. That part of Texas is pretty flat so you can see them for miles. Unless you're right near the fire, the air is really clear so that, and the flatness, make it easy to see the huge columns of smoke. They just sit there, all tall and grey and mushroom-y. Really, if they weren't gray, you'd think they were fluffy clouds, sitting up there in the blue sky. Looking at them, I was struck by how still they were. They don't move like normal clouds do, with the wind. They're generated from one place and most of them stays there for a while. Which is so different from how the fires are on the ground. With the high winds, they were moving quickly, I'm sure.
Once those smoke clouds start to dissipate, though, they look really creepy. They thin out on the edges, like grey skeleton fingers reaching out. It was like the sky was ready for Halloween or something. I don't have much experience with fires like that. It's not a common thing where I'm from. Historically, it's a wetter, more humid area and not often in a drought (although there was one for the two years I was in grad school at Georgia. I may have brought it here...). I'm familiar with bonfires and campfires but not large, dangerous, out of control fires. Those scare me.
Now the clouds are gone but there's a lingering smoke smell in the air, like someone's grilling went awry. It's fading but for a while my throat was hurting. Not pleasant, not at all. Here's to rain!
