Two weeks ago, I dreamed that our house burned to the ground.

First Reader and I were evacuated the Wednesday morning before this dream invaded my sleep. Best Riding Friend offered an invitation to camp at her place for as long as our evacuation lasted. Our two oldest fur-babies went to their usual sitter while the youngest stayed with us.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, fur-baby roused me from sleep, so I let her out to do her duty. I laid back down to sleep. As I drifted off, I walked through my house, looking at the hangings on the walls, books on the shelves, and dishes in the cabinets. The vision was eerily silent as those peaceful images began to flash between my memories and a raging inferno that consumed everything in its path.

Two days later, we learned that we had lost our home to wildfire over the weekend. That same night, a cold front moved into our region and blanketed the area in more than a foot of snow.

A couple of days ago, we made it up to survey the remains. It was hard to see what was left, but it was a necessary journey. Now we have an idea of the job ahead of us as we clean up what little the fire left behind. We found one dish that survived; here’s hoping we discover more treasures hidden amidst the wreckage.