Appearances are deceiving

I WAS HAVING a late lunch with my sister Fannie today here near Trabuco Canyon (we were in Live Oak Canyon, near Hamilton Truck Trail).

She's visiting from up north.

Fannie drew my attention to the smoke billowing from behind Modjeska Peak, over to the northeast.

“Wow,” she said. “How often do you see that?”

Actually, we'd seen quite a lot of it in the last two weeks. We were under the impression that firefighters were going to make great headway against the Santiago fire today, but that was hard to believe, looking at that plume of white smoke, and listening to all of the helicopters coming and going and disappearing over the mountains.

But appearances are deceiving.

Evidently, 3000 Silverado Canyon residents were allowed to return to their homes this afternoon, so things must be looking up. At about 5:00 p.m., the OC Reg reported that the “fire continues to burn above Silverado Canyon and on the northeast side of…Modjeska Peak. The fire is within established containment lines.”

Sounds good.


Saw Limber Lou over at Jules & Cowboy Keith’s place tonight. Jules told me that the Cowboy is up in Bridgeport, herding cattle. He goes up there each year.

But Lou, he kept bringing me to a spot on the floor and telling me there was a body there.

“I guess so,” I said. I played along, but not to Limber Lou's satisfaction evidently. He ran off.

Little kids—or at least the little kids I know—seem much more imaginative than they used to be around Halloween time. Last night, Sassy Sarah, who is about Lou's age, told me about a unicorn who swirled in the throat of an enormous dinosaur. She said something about a big eyeball, too. Then she looked at me.

Guess so.

(Lou speaking with an imaginary friend.)