It's getting hard now... I can't think of anything for this year... sigh.
I need a drink... maybe that will lubricate... my... brain...
Wait!!! I've got it!!!
Oh... it's gonna be so good... stay tuned....
***Cue the music***
Hello... it is I, Smokey the Bear!
Remember... Only YOU can prevent forest fires!
Today, I am out in the forest looking for evidence of illicit and unextinguished campfires... In case you didn't notice, this past year was a beary BAD year for wildfires in western North America...
Here, we have a fire ring... it is good to have a fire ring but...
You also need a source of water to extinguish your campfire... so that when you leave it is cool to the touch.
This looks like another old campfire ring...
But this old camp has a bigger problem...
Garbage... old cans and jars and bottles...
Remember... Only YOU can keep the forests clean! If you pack it in... pack it out!! I am going to have to come back here with a garbage bag...
Remember... Only... You...
Alright... whew... that was hard work. Time for a snack!!!
And a photo with Mr. Pumpkin Head...
This is what happens when you are a celebrity... everyone wants their photo taken with you...
Remember... Only You....
Editor's Note... GASP!!! Smokey the Bear is Retiring in Canada!!!
The shift is away from fire suppression (which can be bad as it leads to mega fires)
to living with some forest fires (to burn forest floor fuel before it builds up and creates mega fires).
And... “Another factor is authenticity: we felt it was time for Canada to have its own voice regarding wildfire preparedness; everything about Ember was conceived, designed, and developed by Canadians for Canadians." Cause, really, Smokey the Bear was never Canadian... but American...
Too bad her name couldn't be Firefox!!
Hmmm... wonder if Little Fox will try an Ember the Fox costume?
PS. From Navy and Cocoa... stay tuned... OUR ENTRIES are coming in another blog post!
Hullo again... Yep... a report from another brush fire location. This one happened on July 4 and we are now visiting it three months later... just to check up on things. This one was a super scary fire and came right up to the fences of people's yard. Again... likely caused by a homeless camp.
There is a little pond here, which is beary pretty.
This arbutus tree managed to keep a few leaves up at the top.
But this poplars look pretty crispy... until...
You look down at the base!!! Do you see that? They are putting out new shoots... and there are all sorts of little green plants coming up.
Even the blackberries are putting out new shoots. It is beary hard to keep a good blackberry plant down!
The grass here is quite tall already...
And even some of the hawthorne bushes that look pretty dead are putting out new leaves along the branches.
Although... I did find some victims of the fire... R.I.P. little snails.
There are some bigger trees that didn't fare so well...
But everywhere else... I see new greens coming up.
Even some little oak trees! Nature is a pretty magnificent thing!
Hullo bears & not-a-bears! You know it was a beary dry summer here? Well.. we also had our fair share of brush fires. There was one that took place on August 21... and I went and had a look at it in early September (yes... dreadfully behind on blog adventures). Sooo... let's get started then, shall we.
Oh... we have an audience over there in the grass! Do you see him?
Heh-heh... a kitty! Looks a bit like Spooky but the white is different on the face.
This big old vacant lot is a beary good blackberry patch. Everything looks lush and green here... well.... as lush and green as things look after a dry summer... but you get the idea.
A nice sunrise too...
But then, over here... we see the fire damage.
It was a brush fire and beary windy that day, so the firefighters worked beary hard to keep it away from nearby homes.
But already... just two weeks after the fire, you can see new life coming up!
And mobile ones too!
That big old oak tree got a little crisped on the one side..
It was on someone's property, at the back end... they were lucky.
There is lots of grass coming up...
Some of the arbutus trees look like they survived OK... the bark was a bit blackened.
But not too bad.
The leaves are another matter... I'm hoping that next spring it will come back?
This vacant lot had a lot of brush on it... but with all of that burnt away, you can see signs of humans here...
Right here, we have the edge of the burnt area... captured in one branch and even one leaf...
The firefighters said that the fire started in a homeless camp... and I think we've found that spot... an old couch.
Some little propane bottles....
A melted plastic lawn chair and a lighter...
And some more bits and pieces... there was even a shopping cart in there...
All Smokey Bear has to say is... Please don't play with Fire!
