This afternoon a big fire and plume of smoke resulted from a solvent/chemical warehouse blowing up in Des Moines.
Here’s a picture from a local TV station showing the fire at mid-afternoon. It’s still burning at 8:30 pm, but they have reopened I-35, I-80, and I-235 after shutting them down for a good portion of the afternoon. As I-80 is the busiest cross-country interstate in the nation, it made a huge mess to detour the interstate via city streets. The wind is SW, which means the smoke is blowing in our general direction. What made me scared is that this warehouse is adjacent to a natural gas storage facility – you can see some of the tanks in the left-hand side of the photo. Had the wind been different, I wonder if the gas tanks could hold back the barrage of 55 gallon flaming barrels shooting out of the plant?
Here, out in the country, this is the view to our east as you can see the wisps of smoke from the fire, at this point, about 45 miles away from the fire. Officials claim the air is safe to breathe.
Hey there High Hopes Gardens!
I’m Coloratura, a student at USC, currently writing essays about sustainable
agriculture and the negative impact of “corporate farms” and such on the
environment. I stumbled across your blog while looking for blogs that were
relevant to my research subject, which is sustainable farming. And, therefore,
small farms! 🙂 So, I just had a couple “practical”-type questions for you, just due to increased curiosity from my latest project, I hope they’re not too silly for you!
Anyway, I was just curious about the “practicality” of farming; I mean, you have
three children, how do you school them? Homeschooling seems a little too time-
consuming, on top of running a farm, although it also seems difficult to commute
to and from a school, if you live far from it. And, what do you do in your
free time? I mean, do you (“you” being collective for your family) have enough
free time on the farm to take up any hobbies?
Sorry for all the curiosity; being a city-girl my whole life, your farm sounds
absolutely incredible, and I’d love to hear more about how everyday life is there.
🙂 Thanks so much for writing your blog, it’s a fascinating read!
Best of luck to you with the fires, we’ve been having some of those in California
lately as well, and they’re no fun at all!! I hope everyone stays safe. 🙂
~Coloratura