More of Same

The smoke has us all
cloistered and furtive -  we seek
relief from its hold

~ carliewired

When I get up in the morning the question is always "Where can I go?"
This lingering, pervasive smoke affects everything, even my photography. 

I headed across the bridge to Riverside Park, always a favourite location for me. It was very quiet there this morning. I trod up the walkway to the Overlander Bridge, but stopped halfway. Visibility is so poor that to walk further was pointless. I could barely make out the railway bridge and the pier looking back at the park. On the way back down, I spied a marmot peeking out from under the Celtic Stones. Marmots in the park here are living very 'upscale'. They have much more selection for housing and I suspect the handouts are deluxe as well. I  noticed lots of leaf litter along the pathways. Many trees are already looking like it's fall. Heat has been a big stressor for trees. 

I had a brief chat with one of the city workers who tends the grounds in the park. I asked her how she was managing in the smoke each day. She shrugged and said she didn't have much choice but to carry on. I suggested our population might well be the focus of a longitudinal study due to our exposure to smoke. She laughed and said "Yeah, we'll all be dying of cancer!"

I walked down onto the pier where I could barely make out my mountains this morning. The sun's reflection in the river was a red ball. I noticed something dark dive into the river. I watched carefully for it to rise again. To my surprise, a loon emerged, took a quick look around, stretched his wings and dove again. I was delighted to catch him in action. I looked north off the end of the pier to see a very large bird sail around the end of the point and land at the tip. At first glance I thought it was an eagle, but my telephoto lens zoomed in to find a Great Blue Heron out for breakfast. What a lovely surprise! 

I just had to photograph the lovely zinnias in planters by the pier. One has to have colour! 

The sign on the concession stand was just another reminder of where we find ourselves this summer. Smoke is affecting everything. I'm hearing on the radio that flights in and out of our airport are cancelled due to the visibility problems the smoke is causing. 

We're looking to a high of 32 C today with our air quality right off the scale. I'm inside again.