Terri Farley

Friday, September 28, 2012

Where there's smoke -- and mustangs

Dear Readers,

Many of us were worried this summer when flames of the Ironwood Fire burned 640 acres around BLM's Palomino Valley wild horse corrals.

I asked Heather Emmons Jasinski, a very responsive Public Affairs Specialist for BLM, what would have happened if the flames hadn't been turned away in time?

"With regard to an evacuation plan, the Palomino Valley Corrals has a substantial defensible bare ground area around the entire perimeter of the facility and in the event of a nearby fire it is not envisioned that animals at the facility would be threatened or evacuated. If a fire were to occur nearby the compound as occurred recently, the defensible area around the complex should prevent fire from entering the facility as the facility mostly consists of bare ground, steel and wooden corrals. However, if the fire happened to cross the defensible area, the only fuel sources are wooden fence posts, dry manure, hay stockpiles and buildings. If these fuel sources caught fire they would be combatted with a 2,000 gallon water truck at PVC and local emergency services. Animals that might be located in pens near buildings or haystacks could easily be moved away to safe areas within the corral complex.

"Due to the logistics involved, large numbers of wild horses could not immediately be moved out of the facility within an emergency time frame if a fire were nearby or if buildings or haystacks ignited at the facility. Since animals could be quickly moved away from any potential fires to safe areas within the compound, it would be in the best interest of the animals to remain at the facility and for the facility to practice applicable wildfire suppression."

Labels: BLM, evacuation, fire, Heather Emmons Jasinski, Palomino Valley

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:51 PM 0 comments

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Under the Sea

Dear Readers, I was reared to believe that God or Goodness is everywhere, but mostly, above, like, in the sky. I've never thought of God under the sea. I love authors, poets and experiences that nudge me to look at what I "know" differently. Keep thinking, Terri This morning no sound but the loud breathing of the sea. Suppose that under all that salt water lived the god that humans have spent ten thousand years trawling the heavens for. We caught the wrong metaphor. Real space is wet and underneath, the church of shark and whale and cod. The noise of those vast lungs exhaling: the plain chanting of monkfish choirs. Heaven's not up but down, and hell is to evaporate in air. Salvation, to drown and breathe forever with the sea. "New Religion" by Bill Holm, from The Chain Letter of the Soul: New & Selected Poems. © Milkweed Editions, 2009. Reprinted with permission.

Labels: ocean, poetry, religion, sea, Sea horse

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 8:31 AM 0 comments