Babs writes: Last week there was a fire in Ellsworth which as you can see pretty much devastated this business. I send you this image, not for the devastation but because I really like the this photograph. I love the color, textures and the composition.
The fire gutted the whole corner when this auto repair shop went up, but the good news is that no one was injured. Half a dozen cars, trucks and motorcycles were destroyed and the cleanup is going to be a bear, but people are just pitching in and getting the job underway. Here’s a sobering thought for you (or for me anyway): the fire started from a woodstove in the basement. Good job by fire departments from this whole corner of the county to keep the old township hall from being destroyed too.
Fire and water. Our intimate friends here in the North Country . . . and sometimes our enemies, too.
Torch Lake Views 
P.j. grath
December 19, 2011
Striking image it is, like something from a war zone. Only yesterday I was musing on the safety and comfort features of a Russian wood-burning furnace (or stove), far from the house, with a long fire path. I imagined the heat ducted into the house beneath the floors.
Gerry
December 19, 2011
I think outdoor wood furnaces are quite safe. At least as safe as the giant propane tank crouched in my side yard. I think I’m going to go check my smoke alarm batteries.
Dawn
December 19, 2011
I like the colors too…but not the thought of a fire. I dreamed all night of a fire, having read about a family in TX who lost everything including 5 of their dogs. Scary.
Gerry
December 19, 2011
Yes. At least this fire took only things–although that has to be pretty scary too, when they’re your things and the way you make your living. Ellsworth is an astonishingly resilient little town. There will be a good story to come of this in the long run.
Martha
December 19, 2011
Ooh. Really good shot! The red in the left is especially good.
Gerry
December 19, 2011
That’s the bit I liked the best, too. You can just feel the cold metal.
Heather
December 19, 2011
The colors really are great. Also, I’m very happy to see the return of the snowflakes in your header. I loved that shot and keep looking for my own version 🙂
Gerry
December 19, 2011
Thank you. I decided that if we were going to have the fire photo up there, we needed something other than the mournful late autumn apple tree in the header.
Sybil
December 19, 2011
“The clean up is going to be a bear”. That’s a new expression to me Gerry. I like it.
I like the photo too. There is a goulish fascination within me about fires, and gutted buildings.
Gerry
December 19, 2011
I love it when people like playing with words as much as I do, and I know what you mean about the fascination of gutted buildings. Babs certainly captured this one.
shoreacres
January 3, 2012
Oh, my! Words! You really should at least look at this wonderful site: Word Connections. And as long as you’re at it, the fellow who runs Word Connections is a marvelous photographer who maintains a Texas wildflower site. His photos are scrumptious. Portraits of Wildflowers
Gerry
January 3, 2012
That is just what I need – more rabbit trails to follow. And these such delicious ones, too. Whenever I get into a flower identification frenzy I seem to end up on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center site, which is very little help at all when I’m after Michigan flowers, but can entertain me for hours at a time. The internet is a seductive place.