Friends,

Men communicate so differently from women.

This afternoon I was trying to find a clip of Red Headed Stranger with Willie Nelson to insert into the middle of my Microeconomics lecture for Thursday.

My husband swings by my desk, and says he is going to pick up some hay at our neighbors, and "BTW they are burning behind us.", and he is out the door.

I must point out as anyone else who lives in the country might already know, in cattle country they regularly burn their grazing land in the Spring. Being a relatively new (5-1/2 years) rural Kansas resident, I still find this practice unsettling.

I continued a few minutes longer in my quest for my film clip, and suddenly it set in ... there was a fire behind our house!!!

Setting my priorities, I ran upstairs to get dressed. I decided real clothes would be better than pajamas for anything the rest of the afternoon might hold for me.

I went to the French doors in the back hallway of the kitchen, and studied the fire on the hill behind our house. A tree caught fire as I watched, and flames licked high into the air.

I decided I must call 911. I retrieved the cordless phone, and returned to the deck to study the situation further.

I told the 911 operator who answered about the fire. I got the name of someone at emergency management to discuss the situation.

I reached someone called J.D., and he said he would send someone out to see the situation for themselves.

J.D. arrived himself about 15 - 20 minutes later. He surveyed the situation himself, and said he would drive over to the property and make sure someone was watching the fire.

Long story short, the fires did fade out, although we never saw anyone tending to them.

That's all from the Prairie for now ~

EJ