Blossoms After the Blaze--II

Last year in April I put up a blip entitled Blossoms After the Blaze, showing blossoms on the very branch in the center of this shot, in front of a window with colorful shutters.

The text began: "The idyllic air of this blip is cruelly deceptive: The wall behind the dogwood flowers is one of the few undamaged parts of a house that was set on fire during the early hours of 27 December 2009, leaving it a total loss. The house is two doors down from ours in Northampton. That night, between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. fifteen fires were started within two kilometers of us. Four houses and at least a half-dozen cars burned seriously, killing two persons five minutes away. The fires received national attention."

The house was damaged beyond any repair, and in the last two days it has finally been torn down, leaving only the chimney, the ground floor, and lots of rubble. The young man who soon confessed to setting the fires has just had his trial set for this September, on two counts of first-degree murder, among others.

A blip a week later shows a broader view of the house, which bore a date of 1828 above the front door. Though I described it at the time as a total loss, several blippers nonetheless said they hoped it could be restored--perhaps characteristic of the optimism in our community.

Molly, bless her soul, liked the original blip so much she put it on her Twitter page.