Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Smoky Moon


Smoky Moon

Tuesday evening the moon was a brilliant yellow-orange crescent in the sky, colored and softened by the recent fires along Alligator Alley that have filled our atmosphere with smoke and haze. The fire was ignited the previous Tuesday by a lightning strike and burned about 34 square miles of land, to both the north and south sides of the Alley.

Contrary to its name, Alligator Alley is not a small road, it’s also Interstate 75. It crosses the state of Florida in an east-west direction linking the cities of Naples and Ft. Lauderdale. Last week, state officials closed the entire Alley because of this fire for several days, and just recently reopened it.

I live in Naples, and all week we’ve smelled the burning and squinted through the hazy brightness. Last Thursday I watched feathery flakes of ash fall around me as I worked outside. The ash was carried by winds aloft. We are not in danger, but it’s a remarkable thing to hold the possible remnants of a cypress tree or slash pine in your hand, and wonder if it’s from the Big Cypress National Preserve several miles away.

Fire is a part of the natural ecological cycle in Florida, and this is a vulnerable time of year. Factors like dry winds, low humidity and low water tables join with extremely dry vegetation to create the perfect environment for combustion. All it takes is a source of flame. This time of year a motorist will be ticketed for throwing out a cigarette butt from a car window.

This sketchbook painting is a composite of scenes: my memory of that vivid waning moon and the hazy skies, and a setting from a recent visit to the Cecil B. Webb Wildlife Management Area.

7 comments:

  1. I too live in an area where fire is a part of life. It is always scary for me, since my house is the out of place part of the landscape that naturally burns. Last year we had very dry weather and a couple of large wildfires burned hundreds of acres. (Luckily not in the wildlands my house is in.)The smoke made the skies look very strange for a week or so.

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  2. You can certainly tell when something like that has happened in your area--makes for spectacular sunsets, but it's unnerving!

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  3. And I forgot to say, Elizabeth, this is spectacular in itself!

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  4. Absolutely stunning! It's hard to imagine anything burning in Alligator Alley....I've driven through it twice, both times in winter, when it seemed to be pure swamp! :-) A long time ago, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, I read a fascinating series in the New Yorker about the role forest fires play in this country...fascinating! There are seeds that REQUIRE the high temperatures of a forest fire to crack their shells so they can germinate.

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  5. Thanks everyone!

    Gay, it can be scary, especially if you are out in wildlands where dry material can accumulate!

    You're right, Kate, about how things change...the very air is different!

    Jeanette, right now there isn't much water out there in some places! It is amazing that some species need fire to survive. I've heard old-timers talk about the ground catching fire and smoldering for days; there is no way to put it out. From what I understand, the peaty layer beneath the sawgrass dries out and once that catches fire it has to burn itself out.

    Our rainy season starts in June sometime and lasts through September - we should get the bulk of our precipitation then, about 53 inches annually.

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  6. When I lived in Florida for a few years in my teens, I remember thinking it was odd for Alligator Alley to be called an 'alley'. It is such a long highway! Maybe it was just a nickname by some ole timers when it was just one long dirt track?
    Anyway, love your painting.

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  7. Very Beautiful. It has the feel of a Japanese block print. I love how the trees merge into the darkness of night. Great mood.

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