I was going to write and wish everyone a Happy Labor Day, but my heart is so heavy right now --- a great deal of Central Texas is going up in flames, thanks to the terrible drought conditions combined with gusty winds from Tropical Storm Lee. In Bastrop County, over half of the beautiful Bastrop State Park has burned; adjacent to it is the equally lovely Buscher State Park, and just a few miles away is one of our very favorite parks, McKinney Roughs. We've hiked all of these regularly and Bastrop is the site of my famous Death March. Worst of all, hundreds of homes have been lost. Two good friends have a home in one of the neighborhoods that has been evacuated; they just got home last night from an extended trip and were unable to return to their house. Thank goodness a friend got in and rescued their cats and some valuables. As of this writing, Lisa has reported that their house is still standing but the fire is half a mile away. If you're the praying type, please pray for Lisa and Jamie, and all the families whose homes are destroyed or in danger. There are fires in several other Central Texas communities, including a neighborhood less than 15 miles away. The worst part is all this probably started because some idiot tossed a cigarette butt out the window.
Hiking at McKinney Roughs in Fall 2010
Hiking in Bastrop State Park, May 2010. Over half the park has now burned.
Buescher State Park, May 2010.
Ironically, it's beautiful weather today. For the first time in about two months the temperatures are NOT over 100; in fact it's 80 degrees with a nice breeze and beautiful sunshine --- typical Texas early fall weather. Labor Day is traditionally the Free Day of Yoga in Austin, so my houseguest Nicholas and I took advantage of this with an Ashtanga class at the Yoga Room in Round Rock, not far from my house. Neither of us had ever done Ashtanga before, and it's challenging. I liked it but would want to take a beginner's workshop to get more familiar with the practice before I started a regular class. However, thanks to the P90X yoga I've been doing, I was able to keep up (they do vinyasas in Ashtanga, but they're a little different and move much faster), and left feeling very good. Anybody who thinks they can't get a workout doing yoga should try Ashtanga; but any form of yoga requires (and will help you build) core strength, strength of tendons, flexibility, breath control, and yes, muscle. It's a wonderful thing to do for your body and mind all on its own, and a great complement to any other physical activity you do.
I intended to write more today but it's hard to concentrate knowing friends' and neighbors' homes are in danger, and knowing of the terrible devastation to the wildlife and environment that is happening so close to home. Please keep Central Texas in your thoughts.
Sending my thoughts to you. How horrible.
Posted by: RebeccaNYC | September 06, 2011 at 05:26 AM
As of a couple of hours ago, my friends' house is still standing, but many others are not and the fires are very close. Nearly 500 homes have been destroyed in Bastrop, 50 in Steiner Ranch, 13 in Leander ... someone just posted a heart-breaking photo of an injured fawn on FaceBook. I just found out another friend and her husband (she sometimes posts here) is camping in their RV ... they are safe from the fires but don't know whether they still have a home. People are turning their horses loose with their phone numbers spray-painted on their sides, because they can't get enough trailers to get them out to safety. Of course, people are also posting offers of trailers, pasture, and housing on FaceBook.
It is just horrifying and heart-breaking. Keep those prayers coming. Thank you.
Posted by: Cindy | September 05, 2011 at 10:37 PM
That's so sad to know, many homeless and nice parks burned. Let's pray for all of them.
Posted by: GB Man | September 05, 2011 at 10:09 PM
I'm in CA now, but Texas is in my heart; so sad about the Lost Pines. One of my favorite day trips!
Posted by: diana | September 05, 2011 at 10:06 PM
I'm sending prayers too!
Posted by: Cantante-lirica | September 05, 2011 at 04:40 PM
prayers commencing
Posted by: H. Skippety | September 05, 2011 at 03:33 PM
Sending prayers. I was wondering how you were doing when I heard about the fires.
Posted by: Dalila Valentine | September 05, 2011 at 02:15 PM