This is so sad

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a walk with a friend and on arriving home, I noticed fire trucks going up the main road - including a tanker truck which is never a good sign. The conservation land where I often go for walks had a massive brush fire - over 100 acres burned. The area itself is about 183 acres which means over half is charred. I know it happens and things will recover but new boardwalks were put in 2005 by volunteers. Everything was starting to get green as well.

I haven't heard anything on the cause so far. I had seen some signs of camp fires over the winter months and more recently. I suspect this would be from teenagers. But yesterday was a school day and the fire broke out at 1245 pm which kind of makes it less likely to be kids. Perhaps just a poorly discarded cigarette butt. We have been having a dry spell and the entire state (and most of New England) were under a red flag warning for yesterday because of the winds as well.

This is very sad. Perhaps tomorrow I will go take a look and see if I will be able to go for my walks. What about all the wildlife that are now displaced? I am sure the marshes are now full of soot and ash which probably aren't good for the turtles and frogs. There were dozens of birds living there as well.

What is a little more unsettling is I meet a former co-worker regularly for a walk each week. Yesterday she had suggested walking there where the fire was but I suggested a different loop at the other end of town which is where we ended up. A good thing or our walk would have brought us right into the middle of it all.

Otherwise, yesterday I did some gardening and have lots more buds. I hope we get some rain or I will have to start watering things outside. Today I am going with friends up to the coast to go to lunch and for a walk on the beach. It won't be super nice but it will be spring-like. Question - to wear shorts or not.

Yesterday my back was cooperative and relatively pain free. Last night the same and I actually slept for about six hours (courtesy of my new stronger pain meds). But this morning I was up getting an ice pack at 530am... Grrr.... My husband's theory is that I did too much gardening yesterday which made my back hurt today. But why then did I get to sleep all night and then wake up in pain??? No logic.