We had a warmer-than-spring-weather day today, and by this afternoon the valley looked hazy and dull. Then the whole appearance changed.
A huge cane fire in the valley sent smoke wafting westward, across toward the mountain, helping out the sunset in turning the sky smoky-orange in colour.
The sugar cane fire was a douzy! Rarely do we see the fires this big, and it burned for longer than usual as well. The valley quickly filled with smoke, and as I took a photo of the striking appearance of the sky, I couldn’t help but notice the dark clouds accumulated over the mountain, the dark near-nighttime valley below, and the inviting portal of light shining behind the mountain. 🙂
In My World 
Wow! Doozy fire indeed! Stunning pictures. I like your headline, Portal into the Light.
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Thank you, Kathy. It was an unusual sight, like a hole in the sky that you could step through. I’ve read two fantasy novels for uni recently and I imagined the portal as a white entry into another world in a novel. 😊
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Wow! Very dramatic pictures! An impressive fire and a mysterious portal…
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It does look mysterious, and I was lucky to be there at the right time to catch the combination of the orange smoke, dark valley and clouds, and the white “portal” in the centre of it all. 😊
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So much drama in the valley below you. Your photos are gorgeous!
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Thank you so much, Carol. Mother Nature provides me with plenty of beauty and drama. I just have to show up at the right time with my trusty camera. 😊
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Cool image! Are there any issues with air quality, particularly with the valley dwellers? With all the focus on wildfires here and healthy air issues, it makes me wonder.
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Thank you, Eliza. People who live in the valley know to expect cane fires, so if the smoke bothers them they just don’t live there. Most of the cane farmers come from families who have lived in the area for several generations. The fires don’t last for long either, and only during the cane harvesting season, so the air quality remains incredibly healthy in our area. I think we have more problems from the spring pollen on the plants! 😊
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Wonderful pics .. Are there other alternatives to lighting the fires?
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Julie, how wonderful to hear from you!
Apparently there isn’t a successful alternative to burning the cane, something about the equipment the farmers need to use, and our subtropical climate making the husks around the cane damp, which clogs the harvester. (I hope I’ve got that right!)
I hope you are well over in NZ, and how is Bill going in the UK?
Sending love across the oceans. ❤
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Thanks for the info! So good to chat with you, has been ages hasn’t it! I’ve been enjoying your wonderful photography too 🙂 We are well and Bill is back in the UK and good too! Hope you and the family are well, love right back at you!
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❤️
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