Blood Orange Sun

Even before the lightening strikes that occurred during the Relay for Life event on June 21st, our air quality was pretty bad. Then it got worse. Here in the valley we were caught in the middle with fires stretching from this side of the Coastal Range to the Sierra. You could look outside and it would leave you with an eerie feeling. There would be a thick blanket of smoke. My eyes have itched, been irritated, and have watered off and on. I have caught myself holding my breath, not wanting to inhale this bad air. But, you have to breathe. I have taken some pictures of the sun setting and rising. There, you can see the gray matter in the sky. Today we could actually see the first glimpse of blue sky. Oh, how I have missed the sky! During this past week I have often thought of what it must have been like or would be like if we had a real disaster like the Chernobyl disaster. I have noticed the effect not being able to see the sky has had on me both emotionally and psychologically. I could only imagine... and not wanting to breathe the air.


This was taken at 8:02 P.M. on Saturday night.


This was taken at 6:43 A.M. the next morning.


This was taken today at 7:24 P.M. and you can see the sky but...


at 7:50 P.M. just a several minutes later, you can see that there is still quite a haze coverage. There is a nice breeze tonight. I am hoping that it will blow the rest of it away. BUT, not flame any fires!

We are only getting the smoke... my heart goes out to the people who have been touched in a more personal way. I am also grateful to the fire department and all of the volunteers that have fought these fires.