Screws In My Coffee

Flying into Ontario Airport and looking down at the fires burning in the night made my heart ach for the LA Woman. Looking out the window of the jet as we approached the airport I watched the flames dancing in the hills as they fed huge clouds of billowing smoke. This view of a fire was more horrific for me than the distant view of the fire that I had in Bend Oregon earlier in the summer. The fire that I view near Sisters, Oregon appeared as an act of nature and had large white smoke clouds that rose to the air like thunder clouds. This fire in LA looked like a demon devouring the city. The fire licking the bottom of the black smoke could have been a volcano.

When I got off the plane the smoke and soot were so bad that I could hardly open my eyes when I got outside the terminal. The police directing traffic had on dust masks. The shock of going from the clean fresh air of Texas to the extremely smoky air of the San Gabriel Valley was 10 times worse than the last time I was here. I told my dad that the sooner he gets out of LA and living on the Lone Worm Ranch that he will be happier and the air will be healthier. Everywhere that I drove the cars and ground was covered with soot and ash. Soot and ash is falling out of the sky like snowflakes at the Ontario Airport.
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The Richter Well Drilling company is on site today starting to drill the well on the Lone Worm Ranch. After spending several days pondering where to tell them to drill the well they are finally here drilling the well about 20 feet from the existing hand dug well. I am amazed at how the soil differs at this location from the soil 200 feet away at the septic pit test holes. The soil here is dark brown and has humus and the soil at the septic test holes is sandy and full of rocks and clay. My dad said that his father had problems growing crops in the field in front of the new house. As I look at the difference in the soil from the well site I can see why.
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My interest is night photography was rekindled by a woman that I met on the Sift to Bikes Mystery Night Rides in Portland Oregon. Ayleen uses a film camera and takes pictures of the group when the mystery ride reaches its destination. I first started taking pictures at night with my long gone AE-1 when I had a paper route for the LA Times in the 1980s. I used ISO 64 slide film and took pictures during short breaks in the early morning.
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The house is on the ranch now and I can give a sigh of relief. I was worried that the house would not make it down the narrow Wormley Lane, but it did. I stood in the middle of the lane as I watched the truck towing the house move very slowly towards me towing one half of the 16 foot wide by 48 foot long home. The home is a Palm Harbor model PHT348A1 - Pecos and is 1488 square feet with 3 bedrooms and two baths.
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I am on my third Canon camera and this one is my first digital. My new camera is a Canon EOS 10D and it is just what I wanted. Canon makes one camera above the 10D and it is the 1D so this is their low-end professional camera
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