This photo is part of the aftermath of the wildfires plagueing the eastern Texas panhandle. At the time of this writing, over 1300 square miles (850,000 acres) has been turned to ashes. Aircraft have remarked "My God! Texas is burning up!" as they flew over the panhandle - heard on scanners. Over 10,000 head of cattle have been killed. Eleven people have lost their lives in these fires. The Governor has called out the Army National Guard to help.

The panhandle has been in a drought for months. Only a slight amount of rain has fallen (once or twice) since October or November of 2005. A few drops (literally) fell today, and those few drops were a very welcome sight. We are all praying for more, to quench the land's thirst and to slow or stop the fires from raging.

In the months (or years) ahead, this charred, barren land will become new again. It will be more beautiful than it was last year. For now, it has been laid to waste.