Fire in Yellowstone

This is by far the smokiest year we've seen while residing in Yellowstone. The smoke is dangerous, not so much the fires.







There are a minimum of 8 fires burning in the park that we know of but 5 of those are in the same geographic location so managed as one large fire area to allow fire resources to be moved to the needed areas.



The fires are allowed to burn to promote new growth of trees and underbrush that require the intense heat to release the seeds.

The policy of the National Park Service (NPS) is to let the fires burn themselves out unless structures and people will be injured.





Bob and I drove from Gardiner to West Yellowstone (the west entrance into the park) to visit the little town there and see a play group that was recommended. (Next post :)






Along the way we took pictures of the fires in that area and of a helicopter that was dropping water above a ledge toward the town to prevent the spread in that direction.








We also saw a few 'staging' areas of firefighters to fight on the ground if needed.

On this day the wind was not bad so the water drop appeared to be helping.

I thought I'd share some of the photos.















This is the day we drove back into the park. You can see the different locations along a ridge that are burning.






And this was the full moon that night, covered in a smoke filled haze!  We've had about 3 clear days since we arrived August 1. With the 100 year Anniversary Celebration on the 25th coming up, we're hoping the wind shifts away from us for at least one 24 hour period!

Fly Away...

I got a gift...from a friend...last Christmas. It is the set of stamps and Die Cuts by Sizzex with a lovely bird and accessories. And I'm just getting around to using it. It's not because it isn't pretty or cool or useful, it's that I have a stack of new items I'm still working on from Christmas. It's getting smaller though, ha!

At any rate, there is a new Challenge at Craft Rocket called "Things With Wings." I used this new set and love the way it turned out! Visit the DT creations at Craft Rocket and show us your creations!

School of Hogwarts...

And here is my second card for the granddaughter starting a new high school this year. She is quite a writer in her own time and we can't wait to read her stories. She is also a Harry Potter lover, and identifies with Luna Lovegood. She is the perfect model with often eclectic style clothes combinations.

For this card I used the Mark's Finest Papers stamp set Owls 2014. In the second photo you can see I popped the bird's beak out and positioned a small envelope in it to deliver a letter to her. The message inside is simply "follow your path," which she is already doing.

Once again, this is using the MFP Tutorial "Beyond Borders." I was trying to indicate a full moon behind the owl with dusk or nighttime already in evidence.

The branches were cut using a free style method and the background papers are from my stash. The cardstock is my light brown homemade paper.

I will enter this in:

MFP #3 - Beyond Borders
Word Art Wednesday - Anything Goes

Back To School Time

Different states have different start times, as do the colleges and other countries. But there's no arguing that the time is here or near for all students.

I haven't played with entering any Challenges in quite a while and decided to look around with some stamps and themes in mind.

This week Mark's Finest Papers has three challenges and one of them provides just the interest and fun I needed. I am going to share this card and the next in the #3 Tutorial Challenge. I love this technique and always enjoy how the images turn out. It is called "Beyond Borders" by Jane Chambers, where you let the image go beyond parts of a die cut and cut it all out accordingly.

For this card I used the MFP stamp set called Buffalo Spring 2012.

This card is being sent to our grandson in Knoxville, TN. He is starting his senior year in high school. I created it with a hidden message. All the papers in the background are scrapes from my stash. I hope he gets as much of a charge from the card as I did making it!

I'm entering this in:
MFP #3 Beyond Borders
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes

Who doesn't love glitter?

Containing glitter is an oxymoron. Even with my best efforts I wear it until the next shower or dip in the pool! So who doesn't love playing with it?!

The newest challenge for Craft Rocket is for Glitzy Glitter. This isn't very glitzy, but I did bring in the glitter to make the tree stand out. The background is simple watercoloring.

This die cut reminds me of a beautiful Weeping Willow tree in our yard in Georgia. It was always so healthy and even provided the occasional switch for wayward children, although not often at all.

Come over and view the Design Team creations and join in the fun!

Animal Kingdom

Here it is, August already. The heat is oppressive in Central Florida but not so much in Yellowstone! We have started our time out west again and I brought enough card crafting supplies with me to continue participating.

This month starts a new challenge at Unicorn. The challenge is to create a card using an animal.

Our daughter and son-in-law have returned from an amazing missions trip to Togo Africa and to commemorate it for him I made this circle of animals. The circle turns, so whichever one is his favorite, he can turn to it for the day.

Be sure to check out the great Design Team cards and play along!