Breath taking

At first glance you may think this is a dreamy looking landscape and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Actually this is breath taking thick smoke from a prescribed burn of hundreds of acres of flatwoods. The burn was set the day before this image was taken and we were amazed at how thick the smoke was after an all night smolder and there were still hotspots of fire in some areas. It was near impossible to take a breath without coughing having a window opened so I shot through the windshield.

These controlled burns alter the landscape by removing invasive plants and renewing the land giving native plants a better chance to regrow and reclaim their turf and in turn giving wildlife fresh sources of food and shelter. It doesn’t take long in this climate for the remnants of the fire to disappear with exceptions of scorched tree trunks where flames ran up to grab dead leaves and limbs. It’s a necessary way to preserve the land for long term rather than letting nature take its course with a lightening strike or carelessly left campfire that can burn out of control and devastate the land like the wildfires that are burning in Canada and past fires in California.

 

 

Done