Ashes Falling

Saturday was a beautiful day 70 degrees outside, people out and about getting things done they do not want to do when its 10 degrees outside. With the amazing weather my roommates and I decided to grill out. I hopped in my car and headed to the new Wal-Mart as I pull out on to Western all the fields just looked so hazy the sky was a very funky color. At that time I just ignored what was going on until I got closer to Wal-Mart and there was a HUGE cloud of smoke behind it. I quickly called my boyfriend explaining what I was seeing. The color of the sky and just all the smoke that was coming from that area I knew it was bad.

            I was glad that I finally was able to find out happened on Saturday in the news paper Sunday morning. Nearly 2,000 acres were nearly burned down. We are so lucky with the wonderful landscape that Oklahoma has and it is sad to see a small mistake led to all that land being burnt. The thing that got me really thinking was when we were finally grilling out; ashes were falling from the sky. It gave me a very creep feeling like how people in New York felt when they had ashes falling on them from the World trade Centers; my experience was not really close to that. But what if that fire got closer to Stillwater would our students really know what to do?

When you start to see ashes falling from the sky you start to look up to the sky and see what the heck is going on. Saturday January 29, there was about 1,500-2,000 acres burnt of Oklahoma’s land due to a hotdog cook out. No one was reported hurt during the blaze, but a few homes and structures were burnt down. There was reported to be about eighteen different fire stations battling the fire and also Red Cross volunteers were there to give aid to the fire fighters.



Smoke billows from a grass fire in northeastern Logan County.

Area ranchers were on stand by to protect cattle as the blaze

 destroyed more than 1,5000 acres Saturday. Law enforcement

 closed State Highway 105 for more than six hours because of the fire.

 Andrew Adams



            It would have been crazy to be there the moment it started to try to stomp out that little ember, to stop it from going crazy and burning down nearly 2,000 acres of land. It makes me wonder if the surrounding people of Stillwater know what to do when this kind of problem arouses. We always see Smoky the Bear saying “don’t play with fire,” but and going through safety tips what do we need an adult Smoky? It is very sad to me to see a man had to battle the blaze with just his water hose to protect his home, but that was just not good enough to save his motor home and a couple of his trucks.

             The man that started the fire has no charges against him yet, because there was no burn ban going on at the time. Branch in his article says that currently we need a state wide burn ban and the snow on Monday will not do much. Yes that may be true but for a large mistake of one man I do not think that currently we need to have a state wide burn ban, but more of an education of fire prevention for people. I am curious to see if the man who started the fire will have a civil action case to deal with. I am very glad that the fire did not reach Stillwater but I grieve for those whose land got burnt.

The Little Richard



Abeila Little Richard



                Spring is soon to come and the best part about spring is all the pretty flowers blooming trees turning bright green again. But did you ever know that Oklahoma has a selected group of plants horticulturists recommend. “Each year, a tree, shrubs, perennial and annual are chosen for Oklahoma Proven status,” (New plant, Tracy Payton). The things which makes these plants Oklahoma Proven they are able to survive the craziness of Oklahoma weather, hot or cold, pollution, drought, the bad things we put in our ground and the wide range of soil pH. The best part about these Oklahoma proven plants are the names.

                Would you like to meet the New Harmony, Valley Forge, and Princeton? These are the Oklahoma Proven trees for 2011. These elms are known to have resistance to Dutch elm disease, which is good; no one wants to be sick and we do not want our trees that we plant to look sick either. The American elm is known to have a “broad vase shape with dense canopies,”(New plant, Tracy Payton). Next is the 2011 selected shrub which is varieties of Abelia Collection: Kaleidoscope, Little Richard, and Rose Creek. These shrubs are known to have a wide range of color from deep orange to white. These shrubs are unique because they can withstand the scorching sun that we have during the summer time. I love that I came across this article to know about these plants when it come springs and summer time it will be nice to see if anyone has put these new plants in their gardens.

                Along with the tree and shrub there is the perennial plant, annual plant and the collectors choice, these include the Giant coneflower, pink crystal ruby grass, and the silver linden. All three are well know to withstand the blazing heat and the dry soil we get during those Oklahoma hot times. I never really thought there were plants like this horticulturists pick out the winner for Oklahoma’s crazy weather. It really makes me happy that we have people trying to think about how we can make our state more beautiful. The colors they describe in the article makes me want spring to come now, with the new blossoms and bright colors. No more brown and cold, spring is near.

                Thinking about spring made me realize that birds are starting to chirp loud in the morning and the sun is shining even brighter. I feel this is how nature/ our environment really affected me this week. I have been feeling so miserable with a sinus infection and Monday morning as I laid there debating if I should rise out of bed and battle my headache to go to class, I soon started to hear the birds chirping so loudly. I could see the sun was shining through my windows so brightly. That noise made me feel ten times better just hearing the small chirps and tweets. In all the birds really were the medicine I needed for that morning. When I finally got around to go to class and step out time I could feel the warm sun on my skin and what is better than warm sun when we have been dealing with seven degree weather.

                All the pretty flowers, green grass, animals starting to come out of their hibernation and the bright big yellow sun, who could ask for more; I cannot wait till spring to wake up and step outside and see vibrant colors that sound us. I hope to see some Little Richards popping up around places, Silver Linden, Giant coneflower, big American elms, and Pink Crystal Ruby grass and to see them survive the craziness of Oklahoma. I really do love flowers so so much but I think that I really do not like is the allergies that I have which come with pretty flowers. But this week I found a new medicine of just listening to the environment around me, that alone should heal my pain.

http://www.newsok.com/new-plants-trees-recommended-for-oklahoma-gardeners/article/3533291#

Element: Water

                What do you think you would do if someone told you, the cup of water next to your bed last night was a cup of cancer. It is a very scary thought, in Norman, OK they are now starting testing on chromium-6 in their water wells and distribution systems. Chromium-6 is known to cause cancer if taken over a period of time. Water is one the essential things we need to survive, the steps that Norman are taking seem to best for the people of our state that live in the area.

                The way I see how Norman is going about their testing, is the best they can do right now by following US Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for testing for Chromium-6. The new test the EPA has is specifically for Chromium-6, which many states and cities are only supposed to test for total Chromium count. What really caught my attention was that Norman already is known to have a high metallic count. If their water source already has problems they are aware of, I do not understand why their scientists are not focusing on what is causing the Garber-Wellington aquifer to have so many issues.

I find this very skin crawling, just the thought of everything we do with water and it could possibly be harming our Oklahomans. We as humans have to live with water; we clean our selves, hydrate, and water the plants and animals around us. We all know that Norman is the home of the Sooners, which homes thousands of students, teachers and families so I hope that when the city is able to do their testing they come with clean results.

I took this picture before I even read the article about Norman’s waters issues. I really love this place that I have been introduced to. It’s a river on the way to Gutherie, OK. When I came to this place it seemed so deceiving, there is sheets of ice floating around the water so when you walk up to the water and all the sand is behind you it feels like you are in a whole new world. I found this feeling to be so relieving; I just escaped all the problems around me.

 Our environment that surrounds us we need to appreciate. We need to take the time, to take a deep breath and look at the things around us. We Oklahomans are such lucky people, with the beautiful scenery that we blessed with. Always remember when you have that one little second to just look around you will really find something beautiful.  I just found that out recently and am very excited to find what else surrounds me in this amazing place I live.

http://newsok.com/norman-plans-unofficial-water-testing-for-chromium-6/article/3531807?custom_click=pod_headline_norman-news