The fires presently consuming central Texas have naturally been on my mind the past 48 hours.

Personally, I’m fine. My home and family are not in any direct danger from the major fires occurring in the area. There are lots of small fires popping up, including one that burned a couple acres of woods that bordered the north side of our church just a few miles from my home. I back up to a small greenbelt which connects to hundreds of acres of dry trees and grass. I used to love looking around Austin because it was full of greenery and was not a concrete jungle like so many cities… but now all I see is a tinderbox.

As least the winds have died down.

Last night we saw our mother muscovy duck and her 14… no.. 15?? ducklings? Suddenly there was a newcomer, but we could tell it was a mallard duckling. Strange. Haven’t seen any mallard mother/baby groups around here, but since the mallard was being aggressively rejected by the muscovy’s we scooped up the mallard and went to the pond to go look. Ran into a couple kids there that claimed the duckling was theirs, that they had released. They are evacuees from Bastrop, came to stay at a friend’s house and of course they brought what critters they could. Apparently there were other ducklings but didn’t make it (unclear as to why) and I guess then they figured seeing the one mother and babies that they’d adopt this one… alas, that wasn’t the case. We encouraged them to take the duckling back since he’d for sure not make it on his own right now, but I suspect the duckling will be released again because if this family lost their home… what can they do with and for the duckling?

I wanted to reach out and hug those kids last night, tho social properness told me not to. I just didn’t know what to say to the kids so I just let them talk and tell their story. One boy… all he has is the clothes on his back, his skateboard, his fishing pole, and his Bible. He said those were the most important things to him and so that’s what he grabbed as they hurried to leave.

I’ve seen scenes that horrify me, like pictures of the burning homes. Or I can just look up in the sky and see the thick haze of smoke that literally surrounds Austin.

I’ve seen scenes that anger me. TXGunGeek recounts some jackass opting to burn things! Wife told me she read a friend’s Facebook posting where their neighbor was grilling; was confronted and told to stop and he flat out refused. So they called the police and 4 boys in blue came to persuade him to stop grilling. Good. With all that’s going on around us, people continue to engage in behavior that feeds these very situations. People are still flicking their cigarette butts onto the ground. Why they do it is a mystery to me, but I’d be happy to educate them with a size 12 boot up their ass.

But I’ve also seen scenes that make me smile. Local morning DJ Dale Dudley was displaced by the fires but instead of sitting on his butt he got to work to do something about it. While not formally organized, he kept active on Twitter calling for help, working to get with some groups, and organize something to gather donations and get them out to people who needed it. The entire show this morning was talking about the fires, getting information out, taking calls, and so on. Seeing people wanting to help, people setting aside problems and matters of less importance and trying to do what they can to help…. that’s great.

It’s going to take months to recover from this… maybe years. I’m supposed to head out Bastrop way on Saturday and I’m sure the entire drive is going to be done with mouth agape and lots of somber headshaking. Things are going to be mighty different.

It’s hard to get on with my life when I can only think about all the people around me whose lives are so radically disrupted. We are packed and ready to go out the door if we have to, and I even think about that and what that would be like. Frankly, it’s nothing I want to think about. Look forward, help those affected, continue onward.

The greater Austin area is burning. Many fires are breaking out. Some 16,000+ acres in Bastrop (east of Austin), 300-400 homes estimated destroyed. Lots of evacuations, other things. The increased winds not only are fanning the flames but taking humidity out of the air.

What gets me?

Much of this could have been prevented. Just about every fire I’ve heard about (these new ones or ones throughout this past summer) were started by something that could have been avoided. I know one up north of us yesterday was started because someone left their grill unattended. I read this morning another was started because some girl was burning love letters.

Yes people… it can happen to you. You are not so safe in your practices that somehow you are the exception to the rules of nature and physics.

I know it’s Labor Day. I know we’re all excited because the temperatures are cooler. But we’re still in the worst drought ever. We’re in conditions just ripe for fires — witness what’s burning this morning! I know that burgers taste better cooked over an open flame, but uh… these aren’t the sort of open flames we want. Folks, your burger isn’t that important.

Please, don’t have outdoor fires, even in bbq pits because embers can and do escape.

Please, don’t throw your cigarette butts on the ground or out your car window. Many fires start that way.

We were going to go shopping for clothing for the kiddos today, but instead we’re going to prep some things around the homefront, just in case.

Stay safe.

It’s September 1, and that means new laws are in effect for Texas.

Take a look here for a summary and rundown.

And remember, regarding speed limits, just because the law might say one thing doesn’t mean you can go zipping around at the faster speeds… yet. It’s a matter of what’s POSTED. Of course, this all implies you adhere to posted limits in the first place….

A mother and dedicated Scout Leader is forced to resign her leadership position… because she’s gay.

Yeah I know… that’s BSA. They’re allowed to conduct themselves in this manner and that’s fine. But I don’t have to associate myself with groups and organizations that conduct themselves in this way.

According to the article, Denise Steele has been a Scout leader for 6 years. I’ll tell you, getting any parent to be involved as a volunteer in Scouting for more than a couple of years is awesome — 6 years is dedication and hard to come by. So we’ve got a person willing to put in the time, the effort, the love, the work, not just for her son but for all those boys. On top of that, Ms. Steele has been with her partner for 19 years. How many “straight” marriages last that long? So we’ve got a dedicated hard-working parent, and we’re going to throw that all out the door because she’s a lesbian. Heck, it’s not like any boys are in danger here…. *sigh*

Again, BSA is allowed to conduct themselves as they wish, but we don’t have to like it:

The big issue both Steele and Funk have with the situation is how it was handled by Inabinett. They both felt bullied, judged and put through emotional turmoil. “I think it’s disappointing – it’s a sad day for Boy Scouting. I think the actions are really out of sync of what scouting stands for,” Eric Ianson, a friend of Steele’s and an Eagle Scout said.

The scout law says a scout should be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind and obedient, thrifty, clean and reverent, Ianson said.

“I mean, when the leaders of the troop hear that, how does it feel? Were they loyal to Denise? It certainly wasn’t kind what they’ve done to her,” Ianson continued. “It absolutely isn’t brave. The brave thing to do would be to take a stand here and say this isn’t right, this person has been great to our kids and it’s time to stand up for her and be great for her.”

Even other assistant scout masters from Steele’s troop felt it was vindictive, like Joe Leonard.

“I saw that he was vindictive and on a witch hunt because he asked her personal friends what her sexuality was. There’s no business in that. It’s a shame that a good leader for the boys has been removed because of one person who’s eccentric when it comes to his religious belief,” Leonard said. “It’s also a sad not that [Boy Scouts of America] has not or is not willing to entertain what other private organizations have done and their beliefs.”

Like I said before… BSA seems more concerned about avoiding lawsuits and problems than it does about adhering to its foundational beliefs. Sad.

ERCOT – Electric Reliability Council of Texas just issued a warning that there’s a risk of rolling blackouts across the state. (h/t Rog)

They are taking steps to avoid that, but it’s possible.

Consumers can help by shutting off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances, minimizing the use of air conditioning and delaying laundry and other activities requiring electricity-consuming appliances until later in the evening.

Um… I’m not so sure about minimizing the use of air conditioning. 🙂

Nevertheless folks, every bit helps. Check the press release as it contains a lot of simple things you can do to minimize power consumption. Every lightbulb adds up.