Smoke

Even though the 30,000-acre wildfire in Pender County has been dampened by some passing thunderstorms, we're still affected by the smoke, miles away. It's like being under siege, depending on the wind direction.  Today there's a haze almost like morning mist, but sluggish, acrid, putting everything behind a scrim.

Yesterday morning was clear enough that I worked outside for a few hours.  But afternoon tennis was cancelled due to the smokey atmosphere on top of heat--94 degrees, which ordinarily wouldn't deter The Empresses as long as we had plenty of water and towels!  Last night, the sun was just a reddish blot as it set.  Then in weird pre-tornado-like light, an enormous brown cloud engulfed the sky, lumbering west to east.  This morning, we again agreed to cancel weekly women's doubles. Even indoors, you can feel a subtle stinging of the eyes and clogging of the throat.

Poor firefighters and homeowners in the vicinity of the blaze.

Considering all of the recent oppressive and sometimes devastating natural disasters--piles of snow, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis--one takes a deep--well, sort of--breath and understands that this is not so bad.

We are preparing for a drive Out West, so we should be escaping it for awhile.

Except we're headed for Santa Fe, where in nearby Los Alamos, wildfires also rage.