Mr. Cernunnos following me around the garden, complaining about the rain
The rain is back!! I know I complained endlessly at the end of Winter and all through Spring about the rain, but, after the intense heat and blazing hot sun this summer, it is very nice to have the rains back. It is forecasted to rain all this week and I am hoping this is a help to the firefighters in Eastern Washington.
On a personal note, the rain came a little too late. Lance walked the dogs over to the Field of Serenity this morning, as usual. The path into the field is sided by Scotch Broom and other brush and the standard m.o. for walking in is stopping just inside the trail, making the dogs sit and wait, walk in a bit, then call them in after you. Lance made the dogs sit and started walking to the spot where he normally calls them in. 
Enzo was being difficult so Lance ended up having to return to the dogs a few times before making it to the call-in spot to have Enzo sit, again. When Lance finally made it to the call-in spot, he noticed tractor tracks had cleared the area where he normally calls the dogs in. It puzzled him for a minute but he called the dogs and they headed into the field, only to find that the field had caught fire at some point. We are guessing it was sometime last night, perhaps during the day yesterday.
The Trail leading into the Field of Serenity
A couple of months back, Lance had come home from the morning walk and said that there was a homeless encampment over in one of the back corners of the field. He was a little bit upset about it, but was trying to hold on to the hope that it wouldn’t end up being a problem. After seeing the burnt field this morning, he believes this encampment is probably where the fire started.
The trail, re-defined by a tractor
I started this post yesterday but wanted to go over to the field to get some pictures to add to this post. Unfortunately, by the time I got back home, the power was out. We had wind storms yesterday, resulting in trees falling on power lines and the like. The trees we are parked by rained pine cones down on top of the trailer, making it sound as if it were hailing golf balls.
Entering the Field of Serenity
The awning on the fifth wheel, which had been firmly staked into the ground, caught wind and flipped on top of the fifth wheel. Other than the awning itself, there was no damage. My tallest sunflowers are now leaning forward at quite an angle but I think they will be ok for a little bit like this. I have tried to re-stand them, but they keep just returning to the lean. A handful of my Blazing Stars are almost laying on the ground. I will need to stake them up.
The Field of Serenity, still smoldering, while fire fighters do what they do
The rains started, again, last night, with force. It had rained a little bit here and there during the day, but the waterfall of rain came during the night and we are experiencing a normal, steady fall right now. It will be wet work dealing with my garden today.
Overall, yesterday was not really too eventful but, today, it feels like yesterday was an impossibly long one. I’m not really sure why that is. Perhaps it is because of spending most of the day without electricity. I have come to realize my dependence on having access to the internet and other items fueled by electricity. Hmm…I’m not sure I like this realization.
Anyway, today is about laundry, re-securing tarps, dealing with the light ‘damages’ in the garden, and preparing for the week ahead. I go in on Friday for my Tru-dog tattoo. I am looking forward to that. Its been hard to wait for it.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!!
Dragonfly Gypsy USA 