Earth, Wind and Fire!

California's burning and there's no escape!

                                                                                  picture from GOES West NOAA

This morning's satelite show's a wall of smoke, trapped by a wall of fog, the length of the entire state.

For those of you in teeny states like Rhode Island or Delaware, this may not seem like a big deal, but California is 795 miles long, and it takes 12-13 hours to drive from the border of Mexico to the Oregon state line. As of this writing, there are some 50 major fire complexes burning throughout the state.  These are made up of over 1,300 individual fires, and more than 330,000 acres have burned so far.

All this is to say that the air quality around these parts is really, really bad.

The light is dim. The sky is hazy.  The filtered sunsets resemble an alien landscape. 

The fires are doing strange things to the psyche. Driving down the highway, the cars resemble a crush of wild animals, panicked as they escape the burning forest. Not that California driving is ever stellar, but this smokey curtain has certainly added to the confusion. It's hard to see, hard to breath, and really best to stay inside.  

While the kids thought it would be a good day for a trek to the waterpark, we took them to see Wall-E instead. A concious commentary on conspicuous consumption, this film definitely brings new meaning to the phrase,  "pack your trash."  

No spoilers here... Go see it, and then come back soon for a new ongoing segment called "Trash to Treasures Tuesdays." Each week, we'll be looking at new and innovative ideas for recycling fun.  So, call out your inner grouch and join me in putting your trash to work for you!