Weather and Smoke Report

    Welcome to your weekly weather and smoke report from the mountains above the Applegate River of southern Oregon. 

    I am sorry to report that the smoke has moved back in. It's only half as bad as it was before (I can still see Humpy Mountain through the smoke), but half as bad is only half comforting. Williams was back on the AQI chart yesterday, fourth in the country, with a 298 rating. To be "unhealthy" might be one step better than "hazardous," but it still means staying indoors. [UPDATE, Friday morning: The smoke has disappeared again!]

   I took advantage of the clear days before the smoke returned to hike a bit on the Upper Rogue River trail. It was so beautiful! A soft rain made it even nicer. 

I was hiking with my friend Barbara Holiday, who has participated in the Bay Area's Bay2Breakers marathon every year for many years. Because the race was virtual this year (run or walk wherever you are and record your time), we hiked the seven and a half miles of the marathon on this beautiful trail. Our finish time was two hours and fifty-five minutes. We stopped often to take pictures or just bask in the colors. 

     During the clear days I took my fan back to the tool shed. Since there are no more mosquitoes and many fewer bees and flies, I opened all the windows, letting the butterflies flitter in along with the cool, clean air. Now, though, if the temperature goes up much more, I'll have to put on my smoke mask and walk to the tool shed to get the fan.

    It was such a relief to see Humpy and the blue sky behind it during the day and Orion rising over it at night that I wrote a cheerful poem. It was a relief not to be writing poems of doom. Here's my poem (the cheerful one):

The Day the Smoke Lifted

The day the smoke lifted

the sky discarded her smoke-stained frock

and slipped into her silkiest, sexiest, bluest dress.

The wind skipped in, waved, and went on.

A frolic of butterflies giggled and drifted.

At night the shiny-faced moon moved in

and when it docked

the night sky adorned herself with jewels

polished to their shining, sparkling best.

The air held not a taint of fire

no smoky pall of gloom.

The best-dressed sky and skip-to-my-Lou wind

uplifted us smiling from our sense of doom.