One of my favorite Poets is Robert Frost, so it is hardly surprising that the Poem below would be one of my favorites also.
Forest
fires (wildfires) are extremely misunderstood natural events.
Frequently wildfires that cannot be controlled are referred to as
'natural disasters'. However, wildfires are absolutely necessary to
maintain ecological integrity of many ecosystems. Wildfires can be
dangerous when they approach areas where people live, but suppressing
wildfires is environmentally harmful for a variety of reasons.
Wildfires occur naturally, as a result of normal environmental processes
in healthy ecosystems. Wildlife and vegetation in areas that frequently
experience wildfires are adapted to fires and benefit from fire. In
these ecosystems, fire replenishes and rejuvenates the landscape. The
fire returns nutrients to the soil and allows variety of new plants and
species to regrow healthily. Conversely, preventing and suppressing
wildfires causes a buildup of materials that prevent new plants from
growing and stifle the ecosystem.
Interesting huh? So, while the fires can be extremely destructive to structures and homes, they are important for ecological reasons. Sometimes it is difficult to endure the things that Mother Nature throws at us. Most of the wildfires burning today in Utah and Idaho were caused by lightning. This kind of "cycle of life" event has gone on here forever. It wasn't a problem until men moved in and settled in these formerly "wild" areas.
I have also been watching the Southeast this summer (as many of our friends and family live there) and the Gulf Coast, where I own a Condo. It seems like it has been raining buckets every day since we left there in June. Flash flooding has been a real problem and there have been deaths due to drownings. A friend posted today that he thinks he knows what Noah and company must have felt like! It has been extremely dry in the Southeast for several years now, and I was really anticipating this rain. If you check back historically, even as far as Biblical times, you will see these extreme cycles in weather.
Oh, I am not making light of the fact that this is extremely difficult for those caught in the cycle, but it is just a part of Mother Nature's plan for replenishing the lakes which were shrinking and the ground water which was disappearing. Difficult but important ecologically.
So, as I watch these spectacular and somewhat frightening occurrences I try to remind myself that whether you believe in the Creator, or Mother Nature or the Gods of Fire and Water, we must remember that we are only inhabitants of this magnificent Planet Earth and that no matter how hard we try we will never control these uncontrollably forces.
PEACE - JOY - LOVE
Linda
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
As I have watched the news in Utah this week numerous wildfires have caused thousands of acres to be blackened as they spread across the landscape. Many homes are still under evacuation orders and as many as eight in a nearby area were completely destroyed. Fire is a formidable enemy.
It is also interesting that while we were in Yellowstone last week it was pointed out to us that some of the pine trees, Jack Pines in particular, need fires to release the seeds of future living trees from their pine cones. I have included a segment from an article on the benefits of wildfires below.
The Benefits of Wildfires: Importance of Fire to Environmental Integrity
Why Smokey Bear was Wrong
Interesting huh? So, while the fires can be extremely destructive to structures and homes, they are important for ecological reasons. Sometimes it is difficult to endure the things that Mother Nature throws at us. Most of the wildfires burning today in Utah and Idaho were caused by lightning. This kind of "cycle of life" event has gone on here forever. It wasn't a problem until men moved in and settled in these formerly "wild" areas.
I have also been watching the Southeast this summer (as many of our friends and family live there) and the Gulf Coast, where I own a Condo. It seems like it has been raining buckets every day since we left there in June. Flash flooding has been a real problem and there have been deaths due to drownings. A friend posted today that he thinks he knows what Noah and company must have felt like! It has been extremely dry in the Southeast for several years now, and I was really anticipating this rain. If you check back historically, even as far as Biblical times, you will see these extreme cycles in weather.
Oh, I am not making light of the fact that this is extremely difficult for those caught in the cycle, but it is just a part of Mother Nature's plan for replenishing the lakes which were shrinking and the ground water which was disappearing. Difficult but important ecologically.
So, as I watch these spectacular and somewhat frightening occurrences I try to remind myself that whether you believe in the Creator, or Mother Nature or the Gods of Fire and Water, we must remember that we are only inhabitants of this magnificent Planet Earth and that no matter how hard we try we will never control these uncontrollably forces.
PEACE - JOY - LOVE
Linda
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