This summer has totally gotten away from me. Late monsoons mean a longer fire season which means more time away from my apartment and less time to tend to my garden.
Last year, I wrote about the beginning, middle and end of our summer gardening experience.
But, this summer has been so busy with work that I’ve barely had time to tend to my garden, let alone write about it.
So, let’s start from the beginning!
What a weird fire season. It’s mid-August and I’m still finding my work life consumed with wildfire response!
I just wrapped up two back-to-back fires, the Scott Fire located here on my forest, and the Brady Fire, located south of my forest on the Tonto.
You might have noticed (probably not, who am I kidding) there was no “What I read” post last month.
Sad to say… that’s because I only read one single book in June. Whoops.
But, luckily, I did sneak in some time for some reading this month. Quite a bit of reading, actually, thanks in part to a trip back home to Michigan, which allowed for a lot of time with my Kindle. I finished eight books in July, which brings me past the halfway point of my annual goal of 50 books.
What a week!
I got back from a quick four-day trip to Michigan that I booked last-minute and kind of spontaneously for an unexpected family thing.
It was kind of nice in a way. During my last trip home to Michigan, I booked it faarrr in advance, and let everyone know about my travel plans, which means I spent way too long trying to cram in visits with friends I haven’t seen in forever.
Booking so last-minute this time around meant I had a lot of unstructured free time, and a lot of time to spend with family, which was something I didn’t realize I needed until I had it.
Well, here’s a unique version of the typical “what’s in my bag” posts that were popular circa 2014.
I’ve shared quite a bit of info about my day job, and even more info about the wildfires I work on as part of that job.
One of the tools I really rely on to do my job is what I call my PIO kit.
After about three years of living in Flagstaff, I’m finally comfortable writing out a post detailing some of my favorite places in town.
Back when I lived in Chicago, exploring the city was a never-ending task. I spent YEARS exploring neighborhoods and never felt comfortable giving a “guide to Chicago” or anything of the sort. The closest I got was a neighborhood guide, and even that felt like a reach.
But, given that Flagstaff is a biiiiit smaller, after years, plural, I feel very comfortable letting you know some of my favorite places around here, if you’re looking for things to do in Flagstaff.
Here we are, just a few weeks after the May edition of S#!T I’ve been loving lately, and I’m back with a few more fun discoveries that I’ve been really into lately.
This post? VERY fire-heavy. I’ve spent the majority of the past six or so weeks hopping from wildfire to wildfire to wildfire, so I’ve spent a lot of time loving things like industrial staplers and backpacking meals (made with hotel coffee pot hot water).
I’m back home after 14 straight days of fire — most recently the Hull Fire up on the Tusayan Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest.
Well, things have certainly been busy lately.
I blame fire season, obviously.
Did you know that our forests here in Arizona actually need fire?
I just wrapped up two back-to-back (well, almost — there was a weekend-long break in between) assignments on the Volunteer Fire and the Wilbur Fire, two lightning-caused wildfires located on the Flagstaff Ranger District and Mogollon Rim Ranger District, respectively, of my forest.
