Random 5 Friday - 04/26/2013

1.  The sky looked like it was on fire Wednesday evening as the sun was setting.

2.  Tomorrow is the Earth Day celebration at the Bisbee Farmer's Market where I set up and sell my baked goods.

3.  There will be a petting zoo, solar cooking demo, live music and lots of vendors. There will also be a May Pole, procession of the animals, drumming and belly dancing.

4.  Cochise County is a pretty conservative ranching and farming area with the largest employer being Fort Huachuca, home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center...and then there is Bisbee, an old copper mining town down near the border with Mexico that was reborn as an artist colony in the early 1970s.

5.  The residents of Bisbee are a little more colorful and liberal than most of the other folks in Cochise County but they are genuine, friendly and welcoming. I could live there very easily (must be the old hippie coming out in me)...Jerry, not so much. ;)

Linking up with Nancy for Random 5 Friday.

Skywatch Friday - Sun Dog

We had the coolest Sun Dog late Wednesday afternoon, it kind of looked like a comet streaking across the sky! The scientific name for a Sun Dog is parhelion, from Greek meaning "beside the sun." If you want to see a really neat double Sun Dog and learn more about these atmospheric phenomena, check out Sally's blog at Sally Saw.
Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Weekly Top Shot.

Wildfire Season In The West

The massive Whitewater-Baldy Complex wildfire burning in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico is over 100 miles from us but we were affected by it Thursday because of the wind blowing the smoke our way. For awhile, I felt like I was back in Los Angeles! There was a health advisory issued for sensitive people and you could smell the smoke and feel it burning your eyes in the afternoon.


Sunrise



Just before 6 A.M. looking south toward the Whetstone Mountains



Early afternoon looking north toward the Rincon Mountains

 

Early afternoon looking north, there really are some mountains in there!



Sunset and the smoke lingers

The good news, for us, is that the wind is supposed to shift tomorrow. Not such good news for El Paso. Some friends of ours have a cattle ranch just to the west of the fire in Arizona. We hope that everyone in the fire area is safe and that the brave firefighters can get this under control soon but it may not happen until the rains come in July. Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday #38

Local wisdom states that until the mesquite trees bud out we could still get a freeze. The temperature is going to be in the mid-to-upper 80s today with still no buds in sight.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday this week.