January 29: Troubling perfection

It was a gorgeous day.

Whenever we have a day like this after the winter solstice or new year, sunny and unseasonably warm, I get a little lump of dread called Summer's Coming. I spend a good part of the day trying to control that anxiety and enjoy weather that anyone in the frozen north would give a toe for—weather which, if it occurred during my actual summers, I would greet as a miracle.

Despite that unattractive inner struggle, I did take advantage, drying laundry outside and walking the dogs in the woods. The men were hard at work rebuilding and repairing several pasture gates. The sky was oh so clear and blue and the air fresh and breezy—at least until woodsmoke began rolling in.



It was odd, because although many people in this rural area heat their homes with woodburning stoves, nobody should have needed heat in that weather. The answer was that the weather was so amazing, everyone decided to take advantage and do outdoor chores, and one of those chores was burning brush.

It reminded me that when I was driving in the night before, as soon as I entered the hills, I had started smelling smoke, and I thought the Forest Service must be doing some controlled burns. But the next day was breezy, and I knew the Forest Swrvice crews wouldn't be that unwise. It turned out, of course, that plenty of individual folks are that dumb, and as a result there were several small wildfires around the county. The rural volunteer fire departments were being overwhelmed and the county had to issue an emergency burn ban.

Nature gives us an amazing day, and sometimes we don't quite know how to appreciate it and use it best. Still though... amazing day.