Monument Fire Day 5

I was staged out at the command center most of the afternoon and was able to snap a few shots. It's been a long few days for everyone involved... and it will continue to be rough for a long time. All of our area fire departments have been flooded with donations. We can hardly keep up with it!! The response from our small town has been overwhelming. It is truly a blessing to see everyone pull together and help our neighbors. Please continue to pray for the community and for the firefighters, and for the leadership that they would continue to have wisdom in making good decisions in where to send the troops. And pray for some RAIN!! 

This is the mobile command center: 

The air support for the fire was incredible. They were running non-stop for several hours, in what seemed like 30 second intervals. 

It's a lot of smoke, but nothing compared to what it was just hours before. This is looking south from the Hereford Post Office toward Stump Canyon.

Chalk one house saved for this pilot. It is incredible how accurate the drop is, and how low to the ground the heavy planes can fly! 

Interesting cloud / smoke patterns

Rough day, but a beautiful sunset. Even in the midst of so much tragedy, God finds a way to give us a painting like that. 

Some of the crews back in staging, waiting for more orders as the fire banks down for the night.

Tucson Botanical Garden

These are from April, but I love them so much I wanted to put them on my blog! :) The Tucson Botanical Garden is one of my favorite places to take pictures of flowers and tiny critters. There is a butterfly garden there that is so fun to wander through. It's a great place to take kids who are learning about science; there is a great display of live butterflies in various stages. 

Monument Fire

This is the Monument Fire in Hereford. As of this morning, the fire is at about 3,000 acres according to the newspaper. My husband was out there fighting it for about 12 hours yesterday. I'm sending out prayers for safety of all the firefighters, and for some rain! 

Sunday Walk

My husband took me on a leisurely walk down at the San Pedro River today to play with my new camera lens and spend some time together. The San Pedro house is where my Grandpa grew up. I live so close I and I had never even been there until today! The little trickle of a river actually used to be a navigable waterway. Fun little facts. :) 

We discovered that our little dog loves the water!! She had a blast playing fetch and splashing in the river. 

Step away from the river, and instantly you are back in the dry desert. Arizona is such a diverse area.

This is an amazing tree. As you can see, people look like so small underneath of it! I can almost see my Grandpa and his siblings climbing around on that tree!

Clawson Kids

These kids were a little reluctant at first, but with some balloons 

and little bribing, they gave me some smiles. Enjoy! 

First photo shoot!

I must say, I am pleased with this photo shoot. I have never done a full on photo shoot before this, so thank you Flores family for letting me practice on their beautiful daughters!!