The fire planes were busy much of the afternoon, but I think they might then have gone off to some other airport, as I didn't hear them after about four o'clock. The fire east of Oroville is now about 30% contained, and isn't growing rapidly, but two older fires are requiring more attention now. The one in an isolated region west of Red Bluff is now up to almost 9,000 acres, about half contained. It was started by a lightning strike three days ago. The biggest fire is the one in Plumas County, on the other side of the Sierras, which increased by about 50% overnight Saturday and is only about 7% contained.
I was offered a ride to Safeway this afternoon but declined in favor of a ride to the neighborhood of the bank tomorrow. Safeway didn't have enough on sale this week to tempt me, but the stores near the bank both have a few items I'd like to get. Since I didn't go to Safeway I was able to get to Kmart to use the $10 off a $25 purchase coupon I had. I was having a hard time finding something I wanted, though, but finally decided o get a few pieces of Corelle dinnerware. I've been using aluminum pie plates as dinner plates, but now I have two actual plates, plus a pair of desert bowls, which means I have enough bowls to make that package of instant chocolate pudding that's been sitting in my cupboard since February. Now all I'll have to do is make enough room in the refrigerator for it to chill.
While I am feeling somewhat better since the horrible heat has diminished, I'm still not as energetic as I'd hoped I would be. The walk to Kmart this evening was not as bad as shorter walks have been recently, but I still had to stop a couple of times on the way there and back to catch my breath. There aren't many places to sit along the route, so I ended up using a fire plug that's at about the halfway point. It has a flat, though rather small, top, so is adequate for a short rest. It's not ideal, though, so I hope I get my energy back soon.
Now that it's getting cooler I should start thinking about going more places. There are two bus lines through this neighborhood, each of which turns into another bus line, so I can get to quite a few locations without any transfers. But I would like to feel more energetic before I make any attempts, and also I'll have to gt up fairly early in the day to have enough daylight left to make it worthwhile. The days are already noticeably shorter. The autumnal equinox is only a couple of weeks off, after all. I've been so eager to get past the heat that I've paid little attention to the early darkness. From this close, autumn's sweet spot seems awfully brief.
Sunday Verse
Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known. An Anglo-Saxon herdsman attached to the double monastery of Streonæshalch (Whitby Abbey) during the abbacy of St. Hilda (657–680), he was originally ignorant of "the art of song" but supposedly learned to compose one night in the course of a dream. He later became a zealous monk and an accomplished and inspirational religious poet. (Wikipedia)
Cædmon
by Denise LevertovAll others talked as if talk were a dance. Clodhopper I, with clumsy feet would break the gliding ring. Early I learned to hunch myself close by the door: then when the talk began I'd wipe my mouth and wend unnoticed back to the barn to be with the warm beasts, dumb among body sounds of the simple ones. I'd see by a twist of lit rush the motes of gold moving from shadow to shadow slow in the wake of deep untroubled sighs. The cows munched or stirred or were still. I was at home and lonely, both in good measure. Until the sudden angel affrighted me——light effacing my feeble beam, a forest of torches, feathers of flame, sparks upflying: but the cows as before were calm, and nothing was burning, nothing but I, as that hand of fire touched my lips and scorched my tongue and pulled my voice into the ring of the dance.