The Smoke

This photo is old, it's from 2012, but it's the one photo I could find in my flickr that had some of the orange tinge you get when there's forest fire smoke in your air.

Because, yeah, we have that right now.  Again.  Honestly, we've been really really lucky the last few summers.  We had a bad year of it a few summers ago and I've been bracing myself for another bad year ever since.  But we've avoided it for the most part and even this... yesterday and today... hasn't been too bad.  (Hopefully not jinxing things by saying that out loud.)

The reason this is on my mind is that I'm sitting here by my window, as I pretty much always do and there are pieces of ash coming in through the screen.  Not a lot.  Not enough for me to close the windows and lose what much needed air flow there is, but enough.  Enough that as I type, I notice flecks on my keyboard.  Enough that I'm sure it's on my window sill and floor.  And yes, I'm running and air purifier but it's not like it's sitting in my window catching things.... you know?

So yeah, an ash filled day.  A hot ash filled day.  I already feel the drying affect... even though I'm working to be hydrated for the heat, the smoke air is drying.  My lips and eyes and skin and body just feels... parched.  Dry.

I don't like this.  Who would.  And I have never not been grateful for summers without this.  And I can't, not right now, I can't talk and think about the current future path humanity is on.  I just can't.  

So for now I'm doing the best I can, without sleep (due to the heat last night) and I'm trying to stay hydrated and all the rest.