Wednesday’s lumber was more of the same, with my aging ass in the woods and on the trail at 6:05 AM to avoid the worst of the day’s stifling heat and humidity.
The shortened for the heat, 5-mile hike was OK, but once again provided very little visible critter activity, although I did see a few deer (see pic) and could hear various peckers, tits, and chickadees high in the darkness of the leafy trees.
When I finished, I was once again soaked with sweat, bug spray, self loathing, and worldly indifference.
Later in the day, I had an appointment with the OG Mindbender, my first in a month for various scheduling reasons. It was good to see her and mentally regurgitate all over her office. I needed it!
Then I hightailed it home for the kickoff of England v Argentina, and it went just as I thought it would. [enter one big fucking sigh]. Having said that, Spain v Argentina should be a hell of a game on Sunday.
By the time the game was in full swing, the hot, humid air outside developed yet another issue: Canadian wildfire smoke.
Despite the weather app saying it was cloudless and sunny, the sky was white with hazy smoke, and the air smelled like a bonfire pit laced with beer puke and poor choices.
Sadly, way too often, I’ve seen friends from out west write about the days of smoke, trouble breathing, and the approaching fires, and I admit, couldn’t fully comprehend it. And, being several hundred miles away from these fires, I still can’t, but I am closer to understanding it.
We’ve lived here in Michigan since 2010, and as far as I can remember, this is only the second time we’ve smelled and seen the hazy smoke from fires. Sadly, this happens to be the second summer in a row, but as the world gets dryer and hotter, and people get dumber and dumber, it’s just how it is now.
When Thursday morning arrived, I was up with Lola, fed her, let her out, and was pleased with the dramatic drop in temperature. But the air was worse than last night. So, with air quality warnings abound, and me now halfway through my fifties, I aborted the hike so as to keep my lungs just healthy enough to finally mow our grass, and get my name removed from the HOA’s Deadbeat Blacklist1.
So, I’m off to clean up “dog dirt” in the yard and mow the grass. Hopefully, I won’t need an iron lung when I’m done. If you have breathing issues, or you’re close to the fires, whether they be in Canada, California, Colorado, or France, stay safe. To quote the late Leonard Nimoy, “This is fucking bullishit.”
Later.