An Invincible Summer - A Woman's Journey

I have mentioned in previous blogs that I love the Santa Ana winds. They come, once or twice, every year and with them, the heat rises. As I left the house this morning, the wind is blowing and leaves are everywhere. Though strong, they have not been especially destructive here in town. I opened the door to leave for work. It’s still quite dark. Ole Santa Ana, she grabbed that door from my hand and whipped it with a warm gust. Leaves and twigs whirled around me as if I was Marilyn Monroe standing above grate in Manhattan. I shut the door and walked to the car, noticing a branch here and a palm frond there. I think it’s the wonderful warmth within the exhilarating force that pulls me in every year. Unfortunately, it is also these winds that helped fan the flames of the Thomas fire that started before Christmas of 2017 and burned until mid January 2018, and destroyed a good part of this county. And they had a hand in the Woolsey fire the happened just one year later, again devastati...

Today I found out that my crazy, rough around the edges, former neighbor that lost his home to the bastard we call the Thomas Fire, also lost his beloved horse. My heart aches for him. Most things you can replace....stoves andshoes, clothing and couches, they can be replaced. A pet, a partner in long treks across the mountains, a bond between a person and their animal is irreplaceable A cowboy and his partner. Chris...I am so sorry for the pain that you must be experiencing right now. Love and hugs.

Tobacco Row (as I have deemed it) is a little spot outside the low income apartment house that is not far from our home. The people that sit there range from the very young to the “getting up there”. They are usually there, in various forms of dress, from pajamas and robes, to short shorts and UGG boots or torn T-shirts, to the fastidious neat and tidy. They are often in the company of a small pet and fellow smokers. During this crazy time where fires have consumed a portion of our town and part of our joy, the people of tobacco row seem to have needed each other even more than usual, no doubt discussing this and that and the friends and family affected by the fires. I must admit the oppressiveness of the smoke and soot in the sky has had me seeking higher ground a couple of times just to clear my eyes and throat. This nagging cold not helping the situation no doubt. But imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I passed the people of tobacco row and two of the four people are donn...

Sorry for the delay in posting. With power outages, family, friends and just plain grief, I did not have the initiative to write. We are fine, as is all of our personal property. Surprisingly, through all this devastation, the only fatality was a car accident somehow fire related. Most people had enough notice to leave with just a few belongings. A few scenes from Ventura: The house that once held my heart still stands. Unfortunately few of my neighbors were as lucky.  Thank you for your kind words and prayers.

As I left the house this morning at 5:45am I was greeted by what must have been an 80° wind.  What would have at one time brought a smile to my face now just concerns me. Our firefighters and those of our neighboring states are exhausted and overburdened. Fires up north have been the deadliest in California history.  The wind needs to go somewhere else. The temps need to drop.  Keep cool my friends and stay safe.