Equinox

Summer's waning fast. It's officially over tonight. And here in Portland, the weather people are hyping substantial rain over the next few days. The sunny, dry days are coming to a close for a while. But they're going out in style. Right now it's 72 degrees under a crystal blue sky. 

You can smell just a little grass smoke now and then, because the dozen or so Willamette Valley grass farmers who insist on burning their fields are at it again today. They do it just before it rains, every fall, stinking the place up for a million people to save a few bucks. But still, it's pretty out there.

Lately I haven't been enjoying the nice weather the way I used to. I think part of it is dread over the changing climates all over the world. Given my age, I know I'll miss the worst of the climate disasters, but I feel bad for the kids, who will see a lot worse than I will. It's almost as bad as the politics we're leaving them, the politics of the time of Trump.

On the surface, it's not a big deal, just a little nagging thing in the back of the mind. But when you can't fully enjoy a beautiful day because it starts you thinking about an ecological hell that's ahead, well, you've lost something. Even if the fire and flood aren't close by at the moment.