Rosy Fingered Dawn

Annie Liebovitz says 'photograph what you are interested in.' I never tire of the view from my kitchen window. Several burned trees have disappeared from the profile of the hills, highlighting the three redwood trees emerging from a dense ground fog into the rosy dawn. In a nod to Annie I have left the ugly power pole standing sentinel at the bottom of the driveway. They are so intrusive, yet they are part of the landscape and much as I'd like to see them underground, it's never going to happen here. I also did another portrait of John which I put in extras.

I spent a lot of time today digging  rocks and bamboo and other roots out of the 'Fire Garden' and transferring a big pile of dirt to cover the weed cloth John put down yesterday. Spike transferred a fair amount of that dirt, from the newly groomed garden to our bed...There is also dirt in my shoes, under my fingernails and in my hair. 

A new view that I find I am really enjoying is the view out to the new fire garden and on up the greening hillside to Los Alamos Rd.. The power and cable company trucks have now given way to flatbed trucks transporting earth moving equipment up the hill and burned out vehicles with no tires back down again. Dump trucks carry away debris. It is still a road favored by cyclists although the regional park at the top is  closed and we have not dared to drive up there for fear of meeting a huge truck on the steep and narrow road.

Above us they are working on the prefab house again. We feared that a second story would drop out of the sky one day, but, to our great relief, a roof is being added. I thought Annie might approve of a shot of John and Spike working in our little garden against a backdrop of roof trusses going up on the horizon, but for the time being, the remaining trees on the neighbors' field provide a fairly effective screen.

I really wish they would collect the yards and yards of white plastic spread all over the hill, but cleaning up clutter doesn't seem to be a priority in this operation. 

I decided to start a fire album  to make a record of the destruction and the restoration. I realize I no longer have that shocked uncomprehending feeling as I do my daily tour of the property. (Now I seem to have transferred it to the state of our nation as all fifty state capitols board up their entrances before the Inaguration.) We have planted only four trees and one large Echium (Pride of Madeira), but many loads of burned trees and vegetation have been hauled off to the dump and lots of green shoots are beginning to give the fried leaves that stubbornly cling to all the remaining trees a run for their money. We are almost ready to start planting....