So far I've only had those two brief whiffs of smoke, and we might be lucky enough to continue escaping it, as the prevailing winds this time of year, both day and night, will tend to keep it away from Chico most of the time. In autumn we'd probably be getting hit with loads of it. Fires in the coast ranges are the ones that pollute this area in summer, and so far we've been lucky enough not to get any of those this year. The Chico airport was busy with firefighting planes all day, but as they are headed east none of them flew over my neighborhood.
Sandwiches continue to be a mainstay of my diet, even as the days have cooled slightly, and I'm getting a bit sick of them. Food in general grows less appealing, perhaps because I can no longer get my favorite beer to wash it down with, and I still haven't gotten an adequate substitute for it. I don't think I realized how important that particular drink had become to me. It had become such a routine that I took it for granted. I guess Joni Mitchell was right that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.
I'm going to go outside and enjoy a bit more of the cool night air before I go to bed. There were two crickets chirping tonight, and intermittently the lone mockingbird joined in. If only there were frogs here.
