During late summer, while returning home after a walk along the beach, I noticed the sky becoming scarlet in color! Forest fires had been raging for several weeks throughout the province of British Columbia, but now, thanks to diligent firefighters, all were contained.
Since I was close to the entrance of another one of my favorite walking trails, I turned off the highway and pulled into a parking spot at Serpentine Fen, a local Wildlife Management Area. As this marshy refuge of 150 hectares (about 370 acres) is home to over 200 bird species, I am often treated to some fowl activity. This evening, however, all was quiet.
As I walked up to the bridge with my camera in hand, I could see the sun, a luminous white disc, hanging very low, sinking behind ink-dark trees, whose leafy branches cast quiet shadows. Firelight painted their rims. Wispy clouds blurred the upper portion of the landscape, but not the acrid smell of smoke! The stark contrast of the almost blinding white orb shining through the crimson sky and coal-black forest was incredible! For a few suspended moments as I focused on this amazing scene, the whole world seemed cloaked in a warm, red hush.
