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| Delilah in the Morning |
Once again a 0500 wake up. But I did lay in bed until 0520. Then did the lightning report-only three strikes yesterday, two up near Marion Peak and one close to Cloud Canyon. After that I get packed to leave today. Then my morning granola breakfast-I think I poured too much out. I had my quiet time, including a reading from John Bailie’s book A Diary of Private Prayer.
Then it is time for a walk. I reached the foot of Delilah a little after 0800 and set out. This is my first real walk along the road on this trip. The thing which strikes me immediately is how the flowers are out. This is a lovely time to be at Delilah. Something which strikes me as I look at these flowers is first, nobody else may be seeing them but me. They may wilt and disappear before others do my walk along the road. But then the second thought is, how many flowers bloom and nobody sees them? Anywhere. I look over miles of area where few or no one goes and surely, there are flowers blooming there. Are they wasted beauty? And then I see a tiger swallowtail. Another thing of beauty. Is all of this beauty wasted? Why have beauty if humans are not around to comprehend it? I suspect the answer is someplace that we humans are residual beneficiaries of beauty. All is created for God’s enjoyment and amusement. Maybe when we see beauty it is a glimpse into the world which could have been instead of the fallen world which I inhabit. O Lord! Help me to remember that what I am in awe with, you are surrounded by. Our extraordinary beauty you have us catch a glimpse of is because it is a reflection of you.
Enough now, I have a job to do, even if it is a volunteer job. And it is 0900. Time to get the weather going and prepare for John’s arrival. Before I can do the weather he arrives. So I have him do the things which I would normally do-take the weather, raise the flag and go in-service.
While yesterday was training a
brand new lookout, today is a returning lookout. Over the Winter
there is a tendency for rust to build up, particularly if the person
is a new lookout. So the Buck
Rock Foundation
wants all returning lookouts to have at least a half day refresher
with a trainer. That is what we will do today. We talked and walked
through the radios and how to do things. About 1145
Buck Rock comes
on and wonders if we heard Porterville respond to her going in
service. I have John handle the responses to this. To me the most
scary thing about the lookout is the radio usage. It usually takes me
a little while before I feel like I am not a babbling idiot when I
talk.
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| Hummers |
We also go over how to set up the radios. Since the handheld is new, we talk about how the objectives are the same, it is more a matter of going through a bit different procedure. Fortunately there is a good cheat sheet on how to do this.
Then it is on to looking at landmarks and helping him identify places. We go through how to report a fire while mimicking a smoke report. This includes map reading which is where a lot of people need to refresh their map reading skills.
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| View of Eshom |
Around 1300 John leaves and I have the next five hours in the cab alone, just me, the hummingbirds, and the radio. I am getting back into the rhythm of doing scans every 15 minutes. Until yesterday, I had not made hummingbird water and now I go for a second chance at it.
At 1430 I see some clouds of white through the haze in the Eshom area. I am not sure if they are clouds or smoke. While not terribly far on a clear day with the haze I cannot discern what I am seeing. If Park Ridge was in-service, I would have called them, but they are not. I ask Buck Rock what she is seeing. She does not see what I am seeing, but said when she drove in she saw a few patches of smoke from a prescribed burn they did a few days ago. So I let it go and just monitored the area. Turns out that was wise. Later on in the day, the haze lifted and the white splotches were still there-chunks of granite.
On the whole, doing scans can be routine. But then again, I am easily distracted. There's an interesting outcropping! Over here I am seeing something which I had not seen before. Is that a vehicle moving down Davis Road? And then there are the birds. As I am looking towards the west, I spot a magnificent large bird. I think it is an eagle. When I lower the binoculars to check to make sure where it is, the eagle takes a dive, not to be seen again.
At 1500 my time of tranquility ends. Buck Rock calls and asks if I am listening on the CalFire channel. No, should I? There is a fire breaking in back of Dunlap called the Bar Fire, only 6 miles from me. But Dude Ridge blocks my view of it, so I just listen on the radio. Shortly afterwards, I hear Porterville calling out firefighters to respond.
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| Bar Fiew |
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| Closer look at Bar Fire |
While it is exciting to hear the response in our area, I still need to do my scans. I responded to the 1600 Sierra lookout check in. After that, it is the start of preparation to leave the tower. I clean up the counters, pack the remaining stuff and mop the floor. I still did not find my name badge. After going out of service, a couple minutes before 1800, I leave the tower, locking things up. By 1815 I was on the road.
On Sundays we have a family Zoom call. When I hit Highway 180, I stop at a turnout and see the Bar Fire across the way. I take a couple of pictures and then get on the Zoom call. This keeps me company all the way to Fresno when the call ends. As I get on the on ramp to get onto Highway 41, I have my first opportunity to report a fire. There is a grass fire in a patch between on ramps. But there is a CHP car right there so I assume they responded to a call. I get home at 1945, ready for a good shower.
Flowers and Plants
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| Sulfur Flowered Pea |
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| Dandelions, of course |
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| Golden Bordiaea |
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| Butterfly Mariposa Lily |
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| Butterfly Mariposa Lily |
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| Common Madea |
