Aftermath

Matthew and I crossed the creek this afternoon to check out the fire damage while brother and Daddy napped. Just a warning: I am The World's Nosiest Person. I know that's not something I should be proud of, but there it is. Matthew is always up for a hike, and he loves his Mama time (Quality Time personified). Having hiked around in that field this winter, it was kind of stunning to see it burned to a crisp. Matthew was full of questions, like "Why do you think those kids thought it was a good idea to set a fire?" and "Where do you think all the animals went?" Teachable moments, right?

He and I both got pretty dirty. Truth be told, fire or no fire, Matthew and I could tromp around in the woods all day long, as suggested here.

Please click on the panoramic picture to enlarge it so you can really get a grasp of how wide an area it was that burned. Behind me is the half of the field that was undamaged. The fire burned almost as large a section as this field into the woods on the right side of the picture. Tall trees were left standing, but little scrubby stuff was toast. Literally.

Someone on the other side of the neighborhood likes to drive golfballs from their backyard out over the field and into the beginning area of the woods. We must have found 30 golfballs today. Some were still perfect. Many were charred like this one.

Last interesting find of the day: one of the firemen left his axe in this rotting tree. They were so busy over there that I guess he put it down and forgot it. I pulled it out and Matthew really, really wanted to carry it. That axe probably weighs as much as he does (which is not saying much since Mattie is such a slimmy), so I did not choose to share that responsibility. I'm sure you'll sleep a little easier now knowing that your tax dollars at work is now safely back in its home at the firehouse.