Tag Archives: Wildfires

Rainy Rain Dreams

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For the first time in about nine months, it rained, and it rained HARD. So far we’ve had about an inch of rain and the forecast predicts a bit more. There was similar rainfall in Los Angeles which prompted flash-flood and mudslide risks for the wildfire burn scar areas through this afternoon.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

This deluge reminded me that I had started writing a post about an unsettling, recurring leaky roof dream where bits of the ceiling fall all around me and no amount of buckets can ever stop the catastrophe in my living room, no matter how hard I try.

I had the same exact dream a few days ago. It’s not a pleasant feeling to be powerless to avert a disaster so I did my usual research and learned that it’s a common dream theme.

Potentially, it’s not as dire as I thought. It could mean…

–A heavenly transition of divine blessings. The heavenly waters are descending down, as a cleansing release.

— You will be flooded with relief as blessings rain down upon your life.

— Your dream is an expression of pure giving that represents grace in life and personal growth in prosperity.

— The dream is from a spiritual part of your soul. The rains are a sign of a beautiful future filled with growing abundance; spiritual and material gifts.

— The presence of heavy rain and water in your dreams may symbolize emotional cleansing, a need for spiritual renewal, or the flow of energy and creativity in your life.

On the other hand, a recurring dream about a leaking roof might symbolize a feeling of vulnerability, insecurity, or a sense that something important in your life is falling apart. The leaks represent emotional distress or overwhelming issues that you feel unable to fully address. 

Things to think about…

  • Severity of the leak: A small leak might represent a minor concern, while a large flood could signify a major issue. 
  • Your actions in the dream: If you are actively trying to fix the leak, it could indicate that you are attempting to address the underlying problem in your waking life. 
  • Your emotional state in the dream: Feeling anxious or panicked about the leak can further emphasize the sense of vulnerability. 

I wish I had paid more attention to the other times I had this same dream; I could have kept track of the date and all the other details to figure out if there’s a pattern — I’ve dreamed this same scenario more than a dozen times in the last couple of decades. I know it’s not related to the failure of my actual roof, so it must be psychological or emotional. At least I memorialized it THIS time and will observe any future recurring dreams.

No matter what my dream meant to me personally, the actual sky water made my gardens very happy as they had been parched for such a long time.

OUT OF CONTROL | Los Angeles on FIRE

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As I’m writing this post, there are six major wildfires ravaging the Southern California Los Angeles area, about 100 miles north of me, burning more than 30,000 acres. As many as 10,000 structures have been burned and the death toll is reported to be ten, but will most likely rise.

**The last time there was a major fire in my area where neighbors just a few blocks away were evacuated was in January 2021. https://enchantedseashells.com/2021/01/20/fire-in-carlsbad/

Santa Ana winds were calculated at 100 miles per hour BEFORE they were supercharged by the heat of the fires themselves. We haven’t had rain in months; everything is bone dry.

Many celebrity homes in Malibu are completely destroyed, not that I think those people are any more special than anyone else who lost everything in the fires or other disasters. It’s just crazy to see those beach homes right on the Pacific Ocean burned to a crisp.

Thousands of homeowners were dropped by their insurers before the Palisades fire, leaving them with no protection. It’s been happening for the last few years to homeowners who live in regions prone to climate disasters.

The coastal Palisades Fire is now the most destructive ever to hit Los Angeles County, while the Eaton Fire has devastated communities below Angeles National Forest to the east. There’s also the Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire, Kenneth Fire, and the Westhills Fire near Calabasas.

I don’t want to even think about the cause or repeat any unsubstantiated gossip. Mostly I care about the poor animals– pets and wild creatures — who are now injured and displaced. It’s so sad.

In the midst of this tragedy, I’m sharing a heartwarming story of a heroic woman who rescued forty one pets from the wildfires.

Dr. Annie Harvilicz, a veterinarian, bravely risked her life to help rescue dogs, cats, and a rabbit from the path of the Pacific Palisades fire as their owners were forced to flee.

The animal lover has opened her home and an empty pet hospital because their owners simply don’t have the space or resources to bring the pets with them.

She also rescued 4 dogs near LAX airport and has taken them into her home.

If you’d like to help, her email is: drannieawc@gmail.com and you can donate here: www.animalwellnessfoundation.org

Here’s video from the BBC:

Mother Nature Requires Our Attention

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If tonight’s Harvest Moon along with Mercury Retrograde isn’t enough energy, here in SoCal, the outer bands of Hurricane Kay — now Tropical Storm Kay — woke me up with high winds and spotty rain, just an amuse-bouche of what’s to come tonight and tomorrow.

My windchimes are going crazy. I think I better take them down before the fifty mile an hour winds cause them to crash and break.

It’s still really HOT; the high temp for today will be right around ninety degrees, but next week’s forecast looks to be back to normal and cooler.

There have been several small fires in the area, but the larger one, the Fairview Fire, located northeast in Hemet has burned more than 27,000 acres moving toward Temecula. Lots of people and animals have been evacuated.

As of 9:00 a.m. here’s a CalFire update:

#ForkFire 780 acres, 20 % contained
#RadfordFire 1,088 acres, 59% contained
#BarnesFire 2,943 acres, 0% contained
#MillFire 3,935 acres, 80% contained
#MountainFire 11,690 acres, 55% contained
#MosquitoFire 14,250 acres, 0% contained
#FairviewFire 27,463 acres, 5% contained

Emergency officials warn us that this incoming storm could cause dangerous flooding and countywide damage.

I’m paying attention to Mother Nature for sure, I feel like I should contribute some kind of offering to her to show respect for her power.

She’s NOT playing around, a bit different than the gentle and nurturing mother Emily Dickinson wrote about:

Mother Nature

Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, —
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, —
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

…and so it begins

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Here in SoCal, there are unusual excessive heat warnings for the coast; it could reach 105 degrees today. It was 87 degrees at 8:00 a.m. and now it’s 101 at 11:00 a.m. HOT!

The National Weather Service announced red flag warnings for high fire probability with humidity less than ten percent. The forecast also calls for areas of smoke. High heat records are being broken this weekend. Our desert temperatures could exceed 126 degrees. Crazy!

There’s ash on my car and deck from the fire in Alpine, fifty miles away in the east county. I tried to go for a walk at 7:15 and not only was it already too hot, but my breathing was compromised from the smoke so I had to turn back. As of right now, the (named) Valley fire is estimated to have burned 4,000 acres and is 0% contained. Ten structures have been destroyed.

And then I found this, the first one of the season. The first leaf fallen from the mulberry tree. Autumn in SoCal.

I see a few more yellow leaves up there; soon I’ll be raking them up and the branches will be barren.

Sometimes I hear the voice of my poetry professor and search for a poem to illustrate the bittersweet feelings of the changing season. This is a good one by Rossetti.

Autumn Song
Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the heart feels a languid grief
Laid on it for a covering,
And how sleep seems a goodly thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

And how the swift beat of the brain
Falters because it is in vain,
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf
Knowest thou not? and how the chief
Of joys seems—not to suffer pain?

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the soul feels like a dried sheaf
Bound up at length for harvesting,
And how death seems a comely thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?
By DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI