We’re taking the pups outside to the ash-covered backyard. Maya and Murphy race past me and, thinking Gerry’s right behind me, I leave the door open. We can’t leave the door open for long or smoke creeps in, so I quickly look behind me and see he’s not there. ”I thought you were right behind
What if? What if the birds put the word out that three of the past five summers have been different around here? Nests burned fledglings perished and cries from fleeing fauna and flaming flora left indelible impressions on avian brains. So they put the word out. To those who migrate: don’t return. Find another, safer
We wake to news of evacuation alerts and orders and reports of what hungry fires consumed while we rested. It’s hard to rest easy. With daylight comes updated reports of the monsters consuming our forests and communities. We don’t want to look, but we have too. We’re glad for wind that cleared smoke from our
To tell you the truth I’ve lost track of what’s burning, what’s out, what's under control, and what’s growing; of evacuation alerts and orders and which of these have been rescinded. Here’s what I know. A whiteboard hangs on the wall in our laundry room between the clothes dryer and the pantry cupboard. We use
The smoke is so thick we can’t see the hills on the other side of the valley. After being outside for a while, my head aches and my eyes burn. We take the dogs out for one last sniff around the backyard before bed and I am struck by the brilliance of the sun in