I’ve been sitting here for half an hour wanting to write something positive, or joyful, or up lifting. 

Oh well…who knows…maybe such a mood will evolve as we go along. 

This year has become all about the fires, the smoke, the beach vendors going broke, burnt out lives, and millions of creatures who could never run fast enough or far enough, now just ash on the forest floor. 

We’ve had three almost smoke free days and it has been wonderful. It’s strange but as soon as the air clears it’s as if the smoke was never here; there are no lingering effects. It’s like waking from a bad dream. 

And maybe that’s the reason for the funk today…the smoke is thickening again and with the very first whiff all the dread rises again. 

I’ve been reading about the fires. They have now surpassed last year to make this the most devastating fire season ever…and there is no end in sight. This is the worst drought ever, even in the normally damp northern forests. There are concerns that water sources for the firefighters will dry up…some already have. 

I’ve heard people on the radio saying that they will stay and fight the fire on their own…they have too much at stake to leave…many have farms or ranches and large herds of animals to protect. 

But there is no protection, especially not if the water dries up. 

What is amazing is that, so far, no one has died. 

I saw a graph of annual fire damage from 1955 to the present…the worst previous fire season was about one third the size of last year… and now, even that huge leap in destroyed acreage has dropped to second place. 

So it’s got me wondering what the cycles will be. 

How many parched, smokey seasons must we endure before we get a damp, clear one?… three?… four?… forever more? 

And what about the sunny, hot, all around gorgeous summers the Okanagan is famous for? 

Sigh! 

OK, well…the smoke is not getting anywhere near the density of last week so that’s a blessing…or the absence of a curse anyway. 

And we are still only victims of smoke…and we are still in our homes… 

And we gotta keep the faith. If you love a place you have to stick by it…plan for the best…believe that there will be a lot of snow in the mountains this winter and an ‘old times’ normal summer. 

It would be nice to see boats on the lake again…and people having fun.