I called Vicki last night to let her know Nitro Tiny Tim will be making his way to Montana. All we know about him is that he is about 70 pounds dark brindle and was born Aug. 1, 2007. Well I guess we also have a pretty good idea of his temperament since we know his mother and half sister. When I told Vicki he was coming she let out a little squeal of joy. She assured me she would definitely be standing with me in the parking lot waiting for the truck to arrive!

We almost made it through the summer without a wildfire in our back yard. The main part of the fire lies north of us about 5 miles, up Kootenai Creek. It has been burning up there quietly since early July. Last Saturday the wind picked up and it spread significantly north into the Bass Creek drainage. Above is a picture we snapped from our backdoor as the fire took off...look close and you can see the orange flames. I have a friend, Pam, who owns a farm on the north end of the fire...which is the direction I believe the fire is likely to go (she believes I am in the fires likely route). They did a prescribed burn between me and the fire this May so I am thinking I have a bit of a fire break. Oh yeah they lost control of that one too which is why the fire break is there. And there was that weird little drive in the mountains Pam and I took. She wanted to go look around so we headed up the mountain. She started to worry that we might get near the fire. I kept saying "Oh for Pete's sake the fire is on the other ridge and they would put up a blockade if it wasn't safe up here!" One switchback later we realize the trees and logs are strangely smoking. Needless to say we tucked our tails and got the heck out of there. Pam was shooting accusing looks my direction and although she never said it I could tell she thought I was an idiot. Who knew they wouldn't at least post a sign? Any way back to now, so far neither of us are in any danger. This week there has been lots of smoke which is miserable. It gives me a screaming headache and zaps my energy...I can only imagine what it does to the animals. I make the dogs stay in as much as I dare. Pam and I have been calling each other a couple times a day to check in and scare each other to death with worry. The upshot of these frightening calls is we do have an evacuation plan figured out. It hinges a great deal on Tripps being willing to move Pam's big animals, which thankfully they are. In our talks yesterday we decided it might be prudent for her to move two of her five horses to Tripps for safe keeping. These two horses are the most likely to be difficult in a crisis. When it was almost dark Carol called and asked me to ride along and help. I was a little surprised we waited until dark but it turns out it took almost 3 hours to halter one of the boogery horses. With night falling thankfully both horses loaded well. On the road we saw several fire fighter rigs pulling into both the Kootenai and Bass Creek drainage's. It serves as a unsettling reminder of what could happen. This morning every few minutes a plane flies over to check the fire. They clearly are ready for battle. I am tempted to go run errands but I think I will opt for staying close to home in case wind picks up or Pam calls. Pam told me she is sleeping much better now that she has a plan mapped out. She fusses and thanks me and I assure her it isn't a big deal because she would do the same. I have been blessed with the best friends in the world. I don't think it is a coincidence that they also love dogs.