Ruthless Monster

an ugly, ruthless monster.
the wallow fire.
 burning since the end of may.
destroyed 386,690 acres.
so far.
the hard working fire fighters have been able to contain 5% in the last 24 hours.

with horrendous winds and very dry land...
this fire has been unstoppable.
it has jumped burn lines
and has a mind of it's own.
and.
it has burned through our beautiful greer.
our mountain home.
our favorite place in the world.
the place we could retire some day.
a place where mr. c completely unwinds.  relaxes.
a place where my kids play outside all day...catch snakes...make crafts...go on long hikes.
a place i love.



my heart breaks a little more each day.
each time i hear another town has been evacuated.
each time i hear stories of families who have a million in one memories of the
cabin built by their grandfather. and now, it may be gone.
each time i think of the wonderful people we have met...
people who have had to leave their permanent residences.
each time cade asks me if the snakes and animals are ok.
each time i get a text from my dear friend and greer neighbor...
who built their home from the ground up (the first to build in our little meadow. many years ago}...
and raised their sons to love and appreciate the glorious greer summers.



and this is why i haven't blogged.
i didn't want to.
i can't talk about the fires without crying.
and, as i dug up old photos...
the tears flowed.
hard.
{i forgot how little the kids were when we bought our little slice of heaven.}

we've done so much since this picture was taken.

this is what it looked like before the fires.
and, although it is still standing...
{as of today}
that forest in the background and several of our neighbors homes are gone.
22 homes have been lost in greer.
so far.

i will always cherish memories like these.
and be forever grateful that we were fortunate enough to make them.

mother nature will rebuild herself.
and some day we will enjoy these colors again.

and we will have views like this one again.
some day.

for now, i will focus on the beautiful memories and friendships that have been made.
i will be forever grateful for the dedicated fire fighters.
i will continue to keep positive thoughts for those who are evacuated from their homes...
and hope they return safely to their untouched homes.
and.
i will hope.
wish. cross fingers. pray.
that they stop this beast.