Messages

To wander in smoke
To wish for fresh air to breathe
Two opposing views

~ carliewired

I chose McArthur Island's Butterfly Garden as my only hope for some colour in photos this morning. It was 21 C when I left home at 6 AM. If there was a sun, I could not see it at all this morning. I might assume that is would be a cloudy day as we are given a 60% chance of thundershowers today. 

Our province now has 245 wildfires in progress. Most of those are in our region. We can certainly use the moisture but we dread the lightning. 

We are currently in drought conditions. Our saving grace is our mighty rivers that provide our water. However, they are at very low levels already. There is now a concern for fish habitat. One wonders how our salmon will return to spawn if they have little or nothing to swim in. 

I did a little walk around the Butterfly Garden. It is always drenched when I get there in the morning. One lovely hibiscus was so soggy it could not hold its head up. The hollyhocks are the showstoppers this week. I find spiky flowers very difficult to photograph. They are all over the place! Taking a photo of just one blossom is not sufficient at all. 

My surprise today was finding little painted rocks in and around the Butterfly Garden. They were in bright colours with encouraging messages. I left them all in place, just taking my photos and moving on. I hope they brighten the day for others, too. 

I made a brief stop on the south side of the island for a look across the river to Rabbit Island. The long stretch of beach there is a testimony to the low level of the river. 

I picked up some groceries and my breakfast on the way home. I got caught at the railway crossing as a long freight train was leaving the city heading west. I took a photo of a memorial display at that crossing. It is in memory of a young man who tried to beat the train there. As I waited, I finished my morning coffee. 

We have a high of 29 C in the forecast for today. The smoke is overbearing and gives our air quality rating of 10 + (very high risk). It is so bad that our local fireman say it's begun to set off smoke alarms inside of homes.  It's another inside day for me!