More Wildfires

Not a good time to be having a drought.  The Poudre Canyon wildfire that was claimed to be out and totally contained, has "blown up" again, thanks to the hot weather and gusting winds we've been having.  It was 94 degrees here yesterday, breaking the record set two years ago.  Another wildfire has broken out, also in Larimer County, in Stuart Hole - an extremely difficult terrain in a small canyon with lots of steep hills, arroyos, ravines, rock out-croppings, close growth underbrush and pines.  One house has been burned, 15 houses are currently evacuated, and 50 more are on stand-by.  I know there are a lot of wildfires burning across the nation; there is one in California that is threatening the giant Sequoias, and the Gila National Park fire has burnt over 377 square miles so far.  The two largest western wildfires that we have on record are the Yellowstone fire of 1988, which burnt over 2,340 square miles, and the Idaho and Montana fire of 1910 that burnt over 4,700 square miles.  I hope that none of the current fires get much larger! (And we're expecting winds of 45 mph today...)
   Poor Queen Elizabeth.  She had to spend the last days of her Diamond Jubilee without Prince Phillip at her side.  I realize that at his age (soon to be 91), that any illness can be life-threatening - but it must be dreadful to be so famous that the fact you have a bladder infection makes world headlines.
   I spent several hours with my kits yesterday, and hope to do so again today.  Right now, both are outside in the back yard - the ravens have been making a fuss, so I'm guessing that the kits have been stalking them.  Yesterday, one grabbed Lovey by the nose, and took a small chunk of fur and skin - I'd think she'd be a little more circumspect today....  but maybe that's made the grabbing of a raven even more of an incentive.  I don't think it will ever happen  -  unless the raven is ill to begin with.
   Tomorrow will be the draw for post positions for the Belmont Stakes, so I'll have to buckle down again and study pedigrees; but I will easily state that I hope I'll Have Another can win the Triple Crown.  Belmont Park is known as the "giant killer" - Man o'War lost his only race of 21 at Belmont; Secretariat was beaten there by Onion; and quite a few three-year-olds have arrived at Belmont with both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness titles, but few have been able to go on and win this mile-and-a-half distance race on Belmont's huge track.  (I wanted Sunday Silence to beat Easy Goer so badly that I could taste the dirt of defeat when Easy Goer won at his home track....)  Horse racing is horse racing - 50% planning and 50% luck.  We'll see if I'll Have Another has racing luck on his side Saturday - the planning and training is unquestionable.