Morning in Lithia Park

Taking my new 70-year old Leica for a photo shoot.

Sundays I’ve been going out mornings to take photos. My first excursions were to Lithia Park, which was designed by John McClaren, the man who designed San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

This fountain is the Butler-Perozzi Fountain, hauled all the way to the Pacific Northwest in 1915 from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. It’s striking to think that an fountain carved in Italy would end up in what was then a an unknown logging town.

Evacuation Level 1

Today a wildfire hit Ashland and spread north to Talent and Phoenix and is now on the borders of Medford. We’ve had gusty winds up to 40mph driving the fire north. Once the emergency bulletins began dinging my phone I couldn’t focus on my work We moved all of our evacuation luggage to the living room so that we can make a quick exit if we have to.

I packed a laptop, my iPad, backup drives, power supplies, and cables so that I would be able to rebuild my entire work setup if we were forced to evacuate. We packed some canned food, some kibble for Willy, and his leash. It’s sobering to think that our essential possessions can be packed into a couple of suitcases and a backpack.

At this time we’re in no danger, but the hot winds continue and we live in a forest of tinder-dry trees. Things can change in an instant. I’ll sleep lightly tonight.