In a Mood

All afternoon the sky, blue again at last, sported small white clouds drifting north. The leaves were stirred by southern breezes which moderated the heat. The place seemed about as normal as it's ever likely to seem— but then I haven't been down to look across the canyon and see the charred mountainsides on the opposite side of the river. And the clouds gave me pause, as at times it looked as though they might thicken and grow into another thunderstorm of the sort which started all the fires. It will be one month tomorrow since it passed through. Since then I've had enough excitement to last all summer.

On the other hand, a bit of excitement might be good if it involved going to the beach. That's not going to happen, of course, but it would be nice to be out of the mountains and the dry, hot air for a while. Two of the thirty-eight fires in the local lightning complex are still burning, but are now 90% contained. Last night the smell of smoke was slight and intermittent. Maybe we'll be lucky again tonight, though the air has lately grown still and the breeze will probably swing around to the north in a while. There's something melancholy about the hazy golden sunset now providing a bright backdrop to the trees across the street. I think I'll go out and listen to the evening chatter of the woodpeckers, and maybe hear the crickets begin chirping. It might lighten my mood.

( Sunday Verse )