Smoky Skies

On Thursday halfway through the morning our skies slowly darkened to an unhealthy gray when smoke and ash were pushed into our region. The sunlight turned orange and it was hard to see the sun at all.

But the worst was the smell. It triggered memories of last year's October fires and heightened anxiety.

The smoke and ash comes from the rapidly spreading wildfire in Butte Canyon, about 100 miles from where I live. While I'm writing this, the fire has become the most destructive wildfire in California (surpassing "our" fire, what a sad record) with a death toll of 42 and the town of Paradise almost completely wiped out. Hell on earth.

Schools were closed here on Friday because of the poor air quality and they are closed again today (yesterday was Veterans Day, so they were closed anyway) which gives me a day off. To be honest though, I'd rather go to work and be able to breathe fresh air. We take fresh air for granted - until we don't have it anymore. Since Thursday I haven't been able to open my windows and can only be outside wearing an N95 mask. I crave fresh air. The smoke is so thick that I can't see my beloved Mount Bennett from our bedroom window. The first two days my lungs hurt and I had difficulties breathing. The Geek still does.

But these are small "sacrifices" compared to what the people in Butte County (and burning areas in Southern California as well) are going through right now. On the one hand I revisit all the emotions and despair that we felt a year and a month ago, on the other hand it is beyond my imagination to picture a community that has been extinguished within less than a day. I have no idea where these people will go to, how they will deal with the loss of their homes AND community, how they will go through the next weeks and months. So many people have lost their lives in this inferno.

It is heart breaking. How often have I said these words...

There is the Northern California Fire Relief Fund that I donated to (feeling completely helpless) and I just pass this on. We had a similar fund last year for "our" fires and it did a lot of financial help. From the experience of my friends who lost everything in the Tubbs and Nuns fires I know that every little bit helps.

The smoke makes for glorious sunrises and sunsets. It always amazes me how close horror and beauty are. Photo on top was taken on Friday morning, one day after the fire started. Second photo was shortly before sunset on Friday night and the last one is the sunrise on Saturday morning.

Scene & Story - July 2017

One of the most unforgettable experiences in Yellowstone is seeing wolves. Most people don't even see them because you need to get up early to have a chance of a wolf encounter.

The Lamar Valley is home to one or two wolf packs, and so we headed out one morning before sunrise. We first saw a black bear right at the side of the road who didn't bother to pay any attention to these humans in their funny little boxes on wheels. After the bear had trundled away we continued our journey into the valley - and when we reached the top of a hill we had this stunning view over the valley.

I already knew when I took photos of this moment before the sun rose over the mountains that one of them would be a favorite of the month. This image reflects the atmosphere of that morning in Lamar Valley perfectly - the beginning of a new day, cool air before the heat, the meadows with the Lamar River meandering through them and those tall trees scattered all around. It holds the anticipation of seeing wildlife - at this moment I didn't know that only minutes later I would see five wolves feeding on a bison carcass and, after their meal, standing together and howling, an eerily spooky and beautiful sound at the same time. I would stand and stare through the scopes and listen to those "wolf watchers" talk to each other, deeply envying them for the time and leisure they had to follow these amazing animals day after day and get familiar with their behavior. My heart would beat for joy that I could see the wolves.

But all of this I didn't know when I took this photo, but when I look at it now it all comes back. I have always loved the gentle Lamar Valley with its abundance of wildlife and its tranquility. I know how quickly it can change from calmness to excitement, from peaceful enjoyment to breath taking joy.

I'm joining Sarah and León for Scene and Story.

Always a New Start

I'm joining Linda's Wednesday Wit and Wisdom again. The challenge is to post a picture, then write a short story or a poem about the picture as a writing exercise. My inspiration today comes from this photo, taken in 1995 in Israel.

Early morning, everybody seemed to be still asleep. Silently, she crept out of her hotel room and took the stony path down to the lake. Even the lake seemed to be asleep. Tiny waves lazily licked the rocks at the shore. On the other side the Golan Heights stood purple and silently against the background of an increasingly orange sky showing a few clouds that would disappear by mid morning at the latest. The lake mirrored the sky, changing the intensity and the shades of the color by the minute.

That's Syria on the other side, she thought. Such ancient lands. Such long history. And here I am, today. A dream come true. 

She hadn't come here for religious reasons. She knew that many people did. She had seen them in almost every place in this country that she had visited so far. She couldn't identify with them. She came because of the fascination this country held for her. The contrasts, the conflicts. The people - the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims. It was the melting pot that fascinated her.

Nothing of that she felt this morning. Instead she felt peaceful, watching the sun rise behind the Golan. She wanted to keep this picture, this moment in her heart. This feeling of being one with the world, no matter what you believed - if you believed.  This was the same to everyone - the sun rising over the mountains, spilling its light on the lake, on the land. The start of a new day in all its quietness, with all its possibilities. Always a new start. 

She would hold this memory in her heart for years and years to come. Whenever she needed a quiet place to go to, she just closed her eyes and dreamed herself on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Winter Morning

Whenever we are in Utah and visiting those wonderful National Parks like Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Zion we love to drive along Highway 12 that connects Capitol Reef (photo above) and Bryce Canyon. It is one of the most scenic highways I know, not very busy (at least not in winter when it is often covered with snow) and fittingly called a "scenic byway". It goes without saying that we drove along it when we were in Utah over winter break.

We had spent the day before in Capitol Reef, stayed in a hotel close by and left quite early in the morning. It was very cold (13 F), and there was almost no one else on the road. The winter morning we experienced here was fantastic.

The sun had just risen, but many clouds blocked its light down to planet Earth. The light, though, was interesting and gave the morning a certain magic.

We saw foot prints in the snow, left by the wildlife who crossed here during the night.

Where is the fence, you ask? Look no further.

Not a permanent fence, though. It's only here as long as the snow is.

But that might still be a few months.

I'm linking up to Theresa's "Good Fences" - it's always a pleasure to be in the company of other fence lovers.

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Valentine's Day is next week.

Send or give a Valentine's card to the special person in your life.

Check out my Etsy store for a variety of cards.

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Sunday Gratitude

This has been a very short week, a week with my main gratitude happening towards the end of it.
Here goes:

1.
We had our citizenship interview on Friday in San Francisco. We had applied for US citizenship in September, had our biometrics appointment last fall and received the invitation to the interview at the beginning of January. We were quite excited about it, but the closer we approached the date the more nervous I became as well. There honestly was no reason for it. Thanks to a very nice immigration officer who made me feel relaxed the interview was over way faster than I had thought. I didn't blank out during the test portion (which was my main concern) which is the second part of the interview and after that I was free to go. The Geek had his interview at the same time (with a different officer of course) and he also passed. It will take a few weeks until we will be scheduled for the oath ceremony in Oakland.

2.
Since we know that morning commute to the city is pretty heavy we left early and thus avoided any traffic congestion. We were at the Golden Gate Bridge shortly before sunrise. We had time and stopped to watch the sun rise over a foggy San Francisco - in the photo above you can just see the top of the Transamerica Pyramid and if you know the city you will also recognize Coit Tower if you look hard. It was such a beautiful morning and a hopeful sign for the day.

3.
The weather was lovely that day and we decided to enjoy it after our interviews. We drove up Conzelman Road to the Marin Headlands. This is one of my favorite roads in the area. It offers great views of the Golden Gate Bridge, especially in the evening when the setting sun throws a golden glow on the bridge at it shines in a warm red-orange tone. No such luck this day since it was way too early, but we didn't care. It was beautiful anyway.

4.
Yesterday Kaefer took the SAT at our local Junior College. She wants to go to university after she will have graduated from high school in spring 2016. She knows that she needs to pass several tests for that, which means that this spring will be loaded with AP exams and perhaps even subject tests. It's a bit crazy, but she knew before that Junior year is the hardest year in high school. So we were quite grateful that she had the opportunity to take the SAT already in January, and of course she hopes that she did well enough. Some of her friends had decided on this date as well, and they could encourage each other while they were waiting in line.

5.
While Kaefer took her test, the Geek and I decided to take a short hike in our State Part. I used to hike there pretty often, but I haven't been there even once last year. It was gorgeous to be back again. We hiked the Rough Go Trail (in the photo above) up to the ridge and then back again (since we were running out of time). I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is here! We saw some deer who weren't afraid of us and passed us rather closely. Every time I see them I'm thankful for the wildlife we have here.

6.
Although we didn't have much rain in January, the hills in our county are green and juicy - the cows are definitely happy cows around this time! I took this picture out of the driving car while going along the highway on our way back from the city. I just love the hills, the meadows and the solitary trees - this is so typical for my county. Only most of the year the hills are brown and not green.

7.
I haven't really baked very much since the beginning of the year. A few breads, but nothing major and I didn't try anything new. Except I'm still trying to improve my baking rolls capacity. In Germany we eat a lot of rolls, they are freshly baked every day and usually you can get them early in the morning in the bakeries (starting at 6:00 am). These rolls are very different from the dinner rolls you can get here. I haven't found anything here that really compares to them, that's why I still haven't given up baking them myself. Every time I get closer to our German rolls, but so far I haven't made one that is "it". Last week's batch, though, came pretty close - another item on my gratitude list.

That's it for today. Now it's your turn - what are you grateful for this Sunday?

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A good way to express your gratitude is to write in your journal.

Journals in different sizes are available at my Etsy store,

some of them featuring my artwork as a print.

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Sunday Gratitude

Every year I feel that the first full week of a new year crawls by incredible slowly, and after those first few days the weeks seem to chase each other throughout the year. This year's beginning was no exception - something I really enjoy by now, knowing that this feeling of time passing slowly will not last for long.

There was time to enjoy special moments and be grateful for them.

Like two very amazing sunrises that I could witness from my bedroom window. The sky shows these incredible colors only during winter, the colors are clear and very intense. It gives the beginning of a new day a completely new meaning. Sunsets were amazing as well!

It was the first week of school, and we're back to our daily routine. Interesting how fast that happens. I wake up on my own at 5:45 and get up just a few minutes after that. My daughter is the same. This week we left the house for school a few minutes later than usual, trying to break the old pattern, only to find that the parking lot at the school resembles a zoo - and returned to our old pattern. It's so much nicer to start the day in a more relaxed way.

I'm happy that I am back to my workout routine, although I want to mix it up a bit and spend more days at the lake this year. I haven't done so this past week because I first wanted to have five straight days of exercise to get back into it. There was only one day when I felt like there was lead in my legs, but the others were fantastic. I'm thankful to be back to my activity level.

I am immensely thankful for the heating in our house. We had some colder days with lots of sun and clear skies, but it comes at the price of lower temperatures, especially in the mornings and evenings. During the day the sun heats our house by shining straight in through the large windows. These clear and dry days (oh, how I miss the December rains - please let there be more rain!!) made it also possible to work in the garden. My poppies from last year have re-seeded like crazy and I need to pull a lot of them so that they don't crowd out everything else. Not my favorite kind of gardening, but it needs to be done. It helps that the ground is still wet and everything pulls out easily.

While gardening I discovered a new visitor to our garden, a little black cat. She hangs around the bird feeders which I don't particularly like, but she also just sits on top of the fence. She is still quite shy, but by now she doesn't run away immediately when she sees me, but keeps a safe distance. It has been a long time since I last had a feline companion in my garden.

Speaking of animals, there are two or three coyotes roaming the forested hill across from our house. The first time I heard them howling was in December. After we had returned from our trip I didn't hear them, but this week I heard them twice. They howl in the night, and one night they appeared to have been pretty close. Sometimes I hear only one coyote, sometimes at least two, but I don't think there are more than three of them. Some of you might remember how much I love coyotes. They're my spirit animal, I love their howling and the place they occupy in Native American legends. I just hope that nobody goes nuts and shoots them.

I started an online photography class called "The Art of Photography" with RMIT University in Australia. While there wasn't anything new to learn in the first week, I love the class and the way it is set up. The instructor explains everything in a very clear way, often with interesting examples. I did all my quizzes for this first week and now want to start my first assessment.

Last but not least, I am grateful for good bread (this is something I could mention every Sunday). I missed hearty bread during our trip (although I enjoyed the Navajo fry bread very much) and I started baking bread immediately after we had returned from the Southwest. Our favorite at the moment is this whole wheat bread.

What are you grateful for at the end of this first full week of 2015?

Laguna Sunrise

This morning, after I had dropped off Kaefer at school (she has zero period and starts at 7:00 am), I went out into the country and to the laguna. A friend of mine who passes the laguna every morning on her way to work had posted daily pre-sunrise pictures of this spot on Facebook which have been an inspiration for me. Finally I made my way there as well, and absolutely loved what I saw.

I arrived only minutes before the sun crept over the hills and spilled his beautiful light over the water of the laguna. I love the silhouettes of the bare winter trees, it is so calm and peaceful.

The geese loved the rising sun as well. Two flocks took flight only a few minutes apart from each other. I felt happy to be there just in that moment.

There they fly into the new day, spent in the vastness of the laguna, while I still marvelled at the beauty of this place and its lone trees.

After I had been there for quite a while, happily chasing the morning light with my camera, I noticed the barbed wire in the gate I was standing at (I hadn't had my coffee yet, so my slowness is somehow understandable). When I got down to my knees (oh, that hurt in the cold - it was around 29F) I could see the sun right below this detail of the barbed wire, and of course I couldn't resist to take a few more photos.

It was an excellent though cold start to a beautiful, sunny and clear day.