The hot summer continues along...

It got hot again, ugh:


This has not helped the firefighters, who are battling dozens of fires around the state. The one closest to us, which has been impacting our air quality, is the Shovel Creek Fire, which is burning on top of Murphy Dome, where we have hiked many, many, many, many times. The local residents are on evacuation alert, and emergency shelters have been set up at the fairgrounds for pets. In addition, the local mushers who are not in the fire zone are offering housing to all of the sled dogs that are being evacuated. A Facebook page has been set up to coordinate people who need help with people who can help. Volunteers are knocking on doors in the neighborhood of the fire, just in case residents did not know about the evacuation alerts.

People keep calling and asking what they can do to help. They are told, maintain a defensible space (DL and I maintain over 100 feet), prepare for evacuation, and evacuate when you are told to evacuate, so resources aren't spent on saving you at the last minute. Stay aware, stay informed, and firefighters are not allowed to accept donations of money or food (which is a warning that needs to be made... everyone likes to bring food to heros!).

In other words, it's "Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others", y'all.

Last night they did a huge back burn to attempt to control the spread. I cannot even imagine the tremendous amount of labor and exertion it takes to do the kind of work that they do to fight wildland fires. God bless the hotshots, who have come from the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, California, and many others that were not named in the reports.

In lighter news, here is a photo of Cricket flopped on the couch:


And Roo flopped in the doorway.


They prefer to be outside, but I told them it was Too Hot. When the sun moved around behind the house to give them some shade, I let 'em out:


Here is a photo of a kitchen flop:


And a couch flop:


And another couch flop:


In the last few days, the fireweed has bloomed:




And the heat has become slightly more tolerable:


Here are photos from the Singapore noodles I made the other night:




Mmm noodles!