Yesterday a man who I will not name because he is a local mowed the ditches ghen set fire to them then left the area. Of course it roared up in the wind and shot out in all directions burning up dry, dry grass and if John had not made a fire break at our ditches edge with his tractor it would have burnt down the ditch side and up the other and taken out my long dry grass hay field. I get angry about once a year or so, and you do not want to see me angry but unattended fires make me VERY angry.In fact when I get angry my words get very slow and very clear and very succinct, my childhood deep sea fishermans vocabulary comes to the fore and my accent becomes terribly English.
Firelighters make me very angry. People who light fires in these conditions then drive away make me angrier.
However as I said later to John there is nothing quite as cleansing as a bout of good old fashioned righteous indignation, followed by a lie told (dumbass) which ignited some good old fashioned flash fury. I felt even better when Our John was able to stop the grass fire from spreading into my hay field – it would have taken out the baby Mulberry forest too. Lucky he came home from work early.
All’s well that ends well.
After a very hot day under their fans, and once the smoke had cleared, the Mama’s finally took their babies out into the field.
It will be hot and muggy today (and hopefully we get some more decent showers) but I will have the fans on in the barn, again. But I feel that the worst threat of heat stress for the calves is over. They are panting but not open mouthed. I hope they were still outside when last nights shower came through.
When I get back from Greece we will be cutting the grass hay and I will start selling some of these beefers. I need to get some of these animals off the grass so it lasts the summer but I also want to leave them ON the pasture as long as I can so they are good grass fed beef.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
WEATHER: A good chance of some rain. And we need it now. So I hope the weather Gods smile their watery smile today.
Wednesday 80% Precip. / 0.64 in
Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 84F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Wednesday Night 20% Precip. / 0 in
Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
The Kitchen's Garden 
38 responses to “HEAT and FIRE”
Peeps idiotic behavior like this brings out the deviled ham in me. Let me at em for just a few minutes! I am so glad John was home to catch it in time. Take care sweet friends. Sending much love, hogs and snout kisses. XOXO – Bacon
If it is the same person who did this last year, can you send a registered letter to him insisting he notify you when he intends to do the burn and that he attend it or legal suit will be necessary? Is it on public land? Seems like something your county sheriff or mayor should know about. Can’t believe it would be lit and then abandoned by starter. Thank goodness John got home early!
They all do it- all the renter farmers – light the fires and then go home
I hadnt heard “all’s well that ends well” in a long time. I really need to remember that very important message, and perhaps pass it along in times when/where it fits !! Thank you for words of wisdom….
I can’t imagine anyone even remotely connected to farming doing an unsupervised burn in California. If you don’t have a permit, and specific clearance for the fire, the fire department will be there in 15 minutes and put it out, then fine you. A designated “burn day” is not only contingent on potential fire danger, but also on air quality. The neighboring Christmas tree farm piles their trimmings all year in an area that they keep in a plowed perimeter. They wait until fall, before the rains or the pile won’t burn, for an approved burn day. It’s something they complain about, it would be easier for them to burn as they go along, but I can see from your example that all those rules that are annoying sure beat having an idiot burn up the entire neighborhood. I think our friend Linda in Colorado had a similar experience a few years ago.
Good lord, love a duck!! Or several ducks in your case! Is there no end to the stupidity out there? Like some others mentioned, I would probably send a registered letter to the arsonist/moron…that is, if he can even read. Then also notify local authorities of the incident.
Wai Wai is looking just splendid! He has come such a long ways in your good, kind care!
Lawzy mercy! You don’t even leave a campfire unattended! Just ask Smokey the Bear!
Good grief! You don’t even leave a campfire unattended!!! I wasn’t sure that WAS Wai Wai……he’s beautiful! Are the mamas gentling down a bit? I’m surprised the animals didn’t ALL go into a wild panic with that fire and smoke!
What an irresponsible thing to do, why on earth would he do that? The babies look adorable.
I can’t add anything more than what others have said. Just dittos! And Wai looks so svelte!
What an irresponsible individual. Lovely looking critters all.
Ah, those mumma cows are giving you the stink eye! 🐮
It’s amazing to me that people can be so stupid and careless, but we see this sort of thing far more often than is believable. I’m SO glad you all were prepared and suffered no damage other than raised blood pressure. And you’re going to Greece? One of my most favorite places. I look forward to reading more about it. You’re animals are looking great.
Shaking head at people’s idiocy… lighting a fire and leaving it unattended! As one other poster said, here in NZ if he lit a fire without a permit the fire department would be there putting it out pronto, at his expense.
Hard for me to imagine your hot temperatures at the moment! We have suddenly descended into winter. 2°C this morning when driving to work, and must have frozen at some point during the night, everything covered in a lovely white frost. Very unusual this early in the year, though I suspected we were in for a cold winter when the rats and mice started coming in in droves earlier. The payoff for such cold weather is gorgeous blue skies and sunny days, although it’s barely hitting 10°C in the middle of the day.
Sounds like an illegal burn. The short-sightedness is astounding, scary and yes, maddening. So glad the calves are doing well. Glad they came early so you could be home even though it was hot.
As you would know, Celi, this in Australia would send one to jail! Very fortuitous it worked out like that. We do have something in common: I also get truly angry but rarely, I also react in exactly the same way – very quietly, very properly, counting each word and somehow espousing the most correct English heard in the surrounds . . . . actually the other side simply has no comeback but cringe . . . .