Poems & Other Lies
Good Morning
8/11/26 7:45 62F (16.6C) AQI 64 Clear blue sky with a faint odor of burnt plastic. A white cloud of smoke sits low on the SE horizon, beyond the canyon rim. There is no breeze. I got up late this morning. The sun is up. Walter barked beyond my endurance, so...
Good Morning
8/10/26 7:00 59F (15C) AQI 32 The sky appears clear and blue, but the air smells burnt and I can see haze in the distant trees. The rooster is crowing and Walter has found something to bark about. Probably the orchard workers picking pears across the road....
Good Morning
8/9/26 5:15 58F (14.4C) AQI 18 No wind. The air is good this morning. Mostly clear, with a few wisps of clouds, very little haze and only a faint whif of wood smoke. The last sliver of the moon is rising in the east. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
8/8/26 5:30 59F (15C) AQI 80 Walter rests on the deck; the fingernail moon reclines on a maple branch overhead. There is a breeze, and the air quality index has improved, but smoke lies in the canyon and it smells worse than yesterday. Like a campfire someone...
Good Morning
8/7/26 5:30 59F (15C) AQI 81 Birch leaves flutter and cottonwood saplings sway in a faint breeze. The sky is hazy; lavender, blue, and pink. Birds are chirping. A quarter moon sits atop the maple. The wind shifted around from the west yesterday afternoon and...
Good Morning
8/6/26 6:00 56F (13.3C) AQI 234 The moon has slipped into its final quarter, suspended in a dirty sky, high above the maple tree. This morning is grey and smells like ashes. There is no wind. It is too smokey to enjoy a soak. Amy and I followed Walter around...
Good Morning
8/5/26 6:45 53F (11.6C) AQI 193 The Grasshopper fire has grown to over 39,000 acres and is holding at 19% containment. The air is dirty. It is much smokier than yesterday, but I can still make out the outlines of the canyon rim. High above, the waning half...
Good Morning
8/4/26 6:30 50F (10C) A windless, smokey morning. The air quality index is 160. It is abrasive to the throat and eyes. The Grasshopper fire is approaching 35,000 acres and is 17% contained. It has not gotten any closer. Smoke has settled in the canyon. The sky...
Good Morning
8/3/26 6:45 50F (10C) No wind on the ground. The sun has topped the ridge, a red ember glowing through the haze, smearing the canyon with bilious light. The Grasshopper fire is at 31,000 acres. The prevailing wind is expected to be light today, but it has...
Good Morning
8/2/26 6:15 51F (10.5C) Partially cloudy with a whisper of a breeze. Birds are cheeping on either side of me. They sound like a pair of microwave alarms, nagging me to come get my tea. But I have my tea. It's right here. Good morning. ...
