BLOGGING THE MINNEWASKA WILDFIRE

Yeah, the day job intruded today - a good hundred miles of schlepping about on some lovely back roads, none of which were close enough to the fire that's been burning since last week at Minnewaska State Park. Not being close enough is a good thing if you live there, but I wanted to gawk do my job as a reporter. The best view I got of the fire's effects was from 20-odd miles away on the Kingston Rhinecliff Bridge where you could see the haze slowly drifting more or less north. From places like Cragsmoor, Alligerville and Kyserike, you could easily smell the fire but just as easily see no sign of it if you were down in one of the deep gullies in the area.

Still. There's loads of fuel for fires in that part of the county this time of the year, and I'm quite surprised it's been 36 years since our region has had a fire this extensive. Next time your local fire department has the boot out for donations, drop a 20 in there if you can swing it. Chances are they've had somebody over at that fire this week, and that's some rough country to be working in.

And then to Target for kitty litter, over to Red Hook for Chinese takeout, and home to the tastiest cuddles on the planet. I shaved this morning, which always rates extra smooches from Noodle.

Tomorrow the kids' day care center is closed. That puts me on solo child-care duty...so if there's another three-thousand-acre wildfire burning by this time tomorrow, you'll have some idea as to why.