Grassfires and Texas weather

Who opened the door to the Arctic on Wednesday? It brought to mind an old Ace Reid cartoon caption which read, “It felt like there wasn’t nothing between us and the North Pole but a barbed wire fence, and part of that was down.”

But that’s nothing compared to what our Panhandle neighbors have endured since high winds carried grassfires to consume over a million acres there in the last week of February. Four major fire systems were scorching towns, ranches, and grazing lands, killing thousands of head of cattle and destroying livelihoods in Texas Panhandle counties. Firefighters from all over the state, including some of our own, have aided in the battle now said to be the largest in state history.

Julie Parker, daughter of Dr. Robert Parker of Sulphur Springs, lives in Borger, Texas, and works for the Eagle Press newspaper. Julie emailed me on Thursday morning Feb. 29, saying snowfall had begun there and hoped that it would help to contain the fires. She and others had been evacuated to a shelter in the City of Borger, where people had been waiting it out since Wednesday. For a time, Borger was landlocked by fires and many could not return home to the town after work as roads were too dangerous to travel with fires moving across. Residents of towns surrounding Borger have also suffered damage and evacuations. Everyone welcomed the hope that the snowfall brought.

Despite continuing best efforts by fire fighting personnel, the blaze had moved into Oklahoma on the last day of February to cause more devastation there. The Texas and Southwest Cattle Raisers Association is seeking to assist those affected. The TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund is a nonprofit that supports cattle raisers in Texas and Oklahoma who are natural disaster victims. To donate, visit tscra.org or call 800-242-7820.

Here, daffodils and jonquils are blooming. I got a report from Mahoney where Jerry Voss spotted daffodils in full bloom on his old homeplace. Both the daffodil and the jonquil are in the Narcissus family. Many varieties of trees and shrubs are budding out, but not the pecan tree. It wisely slumbers on even after dogwoods and azaleas have blossomed. Its dormancy continues until it “knows” that its buds will be safe from frost, and that proves accurate in most years.

Meantime, as we await real Spring, let’s count our blessings and look after our neighbors. You can also get your soil ready and check your seed supply. Planting time nears!