How are you doing out there? A little smokey? UPDATE

rare

     We don't see much of this after winter and spring-green.

A network of springs under lace Cambria and this property not far from the east Village bears witness. The hills in the distance provide the dry counterpoint. 

thanks for the concern

    Friends back east write or call and ask how we are doing in this fire season. Two of California's wild fires have created air quality issues and some ash, but we are fortunate.
    Those "clouds" you see in the center of the picture are smoke from the Chimney Fire burning south of Lake Nacimiento. The map below provides a setting and relationship to Cambria, on the coast.

    The peak is Rocky Butte, some 3,200 feet.  Friends who live near the summit have a commanding view toward the ocean and back toward Lake Nacimiento, though now they are often inundated with smoke.

    **New Statistics--11PM PT  8/18
   The Chimney Fire has burned more than 11,000 acres and destroyed 45 homes in six days. 2,459firefighters are on the scene along with 170 engines, 7 air tankers, 13 helicopters, 28 dozers, 34 water tenders and 71crews. It is less than 35% contained.
   In the scene below you see dark and white smoke. Generally the darker smoke indicates a hotter burn producing more carbon.

      Fire season is the negative of living in rural or small town California.  

     Tourists do not always appreciate the frequent summer fog that rolls in during the evening and hangs around until mid-day, but locals love and depend on it. We call it May Gray, June Gloom, No Sky July and Fogust.

     Our native Monterey Pine survives by capturing the fog. Many of our other drought tolerant and Mediterranean climate flora get the only moisture they need from the atmosphere.

     The fog is a creation of the ocean temperature and the heat of the arid climate on the eastern side of our Santa Lucia coastal mountain range. In essence the heat of Paso Robles and the east side "draws" or "sucks" the cooler air through the mountain passes and canyons and a by product is our blessed flog.

      Rain is rare before October and rain season ends in March so every ounce of fog, marine haze, mist or humidity is a source of gratitude. 

       Last week ash from the Soberness fire North of Big Sur

some 45 minutes to an hour north created enough ash that it collected on surfaces here in Cambria. The last few days the wind direction has kept the ash away and the air has been cleaner.

     This is a portion of the burn area of the Soberness fire that has burned 79 thousand acres and destroyed 57 homes and structures. The top end of the blaze is toward Carmel Valley. It has forced the closure of the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, just north of the top of the frame.  It is now 60% contained.

     So thanks for your concerns. Keep the brave fire fighters in your thoughts and prayers. Many of the crews are hand fighting in rugged terrain, along mountain sides and in bone dry forests and scrub woodland.  

    
      See you down the trail.

    

DO YOU WANT OR DESERVE PRIVACY?-THE WEEKENDER

NOBODIES READING YOUR STUFF, SO...

     It's late, your mate has gone to bed and you are getting to delayed emails. You're sleepy, your patience is waning and something a friend has written prompts you to burn a politician or in a moment of anger-driven overstatement you threaten an act you would never do.  You know you would never seriously even entertain such an idea and your correspondent knows that, but what about the algorithmic watcher?

     There's no way you'd ever cheat on your husband but a foreign account executive with whom you do business regularly loves to flirt, and you flirt back, all in fun and in the sake of business relationships. Nothing serious to it, even when there is an occasional passing comment that might sound akin to Fifty Shades of Gray. It's just play, but does a government cell call listener know that?

     Or maybe you and your lover, frustrated by a long distance and a separation crank up your endorphins with some intimate conversation.  Is that anyone's business?

     Perhaps you and like minded folks find the only way to get some political action is to plan a protest or demonstration and you discuss civil disobedience. You are only talking and the most dangerous outcome of your pipe dreaming would be maybe a sit in. Should big brother be snooping into your conversations?

     These scenarios are modern dilemmas and they are getting no simpler. Exercise your thoughts for a moment by considering what these folks have to say.

THE WEEKENDER LIGHT

    Here's some wisdom for you, direct from the recently poured cement at my daughter's cooperative apartment.

    And some of us may remember getting into trouble for 

leaving initials in new sidewalks or driveways.

THE COLORS OF A CONTROLLED BURN

    The drive south on the Pacific Coast Highway had an extra bit of color in the sky today.  Cal Fire was conducting a "controlled burn" on about 195 acres near the Harmony Headlands State Park.  

See you down the trail.

POWER

MULTIPLICITY OF POWER

natural-phantom-shopping

A GOOD BLOW

    California's central coastline is roiling with strong surf

     driven by the first of three punches of wind and rain 

     coming in from the north.  Storm #1 left a half inch in our gauge and debris on the beach.

      15 to 20 foot waves are expected through the weekend.

    The power of the sea rakes the kelp beds.

     Writers, painters and nature lovers take inspiration from
the seasonal brooding.

PHANTOM POWER

     Appliances in our homes and offices that remain in stand by (televisions, chargers, microwaves, computer boxes) cost us hundreds of dollars a year.  David I. Levine at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business wrote an eye opening piece for the LA Times. 

     Read and learn about "phantom power" by linking here.

OUR POWER TO SAVE LIVES

     Unraveling this string of circumstance may lead us to an uneasy truth.  Many clothing shoppers seek the lowest price, sometimes even over quality. Manufacturers seek to lower production costs. Clothes are made abroad, in nations with "cheaper" labor and without benefit of health and safety standards.  

     The 112 people killed by a fire in a Bangladesh garment factory were making clothing for Wal-Mart, Disney, Sears, Sean Combs, Teddy Smith and Edinburgh Woollen Mill as reported by the Associated Press. 

      When asked about these tragedies, and there have been several, retailers and even manufacturers often cite contract language and explain how they are sometimes duped by sub-contractors over which they have no control.  Some of that may be true, but it is also disingenuous and refuses to accept responsibility. 

      Retailers award contracts to those who can make their product most cheaply. That maximizes their profit while offering a product that we can buy less expensively. So we are back to our role in perpetuating sweat shops where humans are abused because of profits and low prices.  

      I've heard people explain how the poor of other nations are at least given work.  Yes, but under what conditions?  And at what cost to American workers, put out of work by out sourcing to cheap labor markets?  We really can't escape our blame in these tragedies.  Well, maybe my mom could have.  Before her passing, she made a habit of never buying any thing but Union and or American made goods.  She even returned gifts if they did not pass that test.  Wonder if that is even possible today?

      See you down the trail