Standing thigh-deep in waves of eel-grass,

on a hot summer day, is a lot nicer than it sounds.

Iconic first.

Apparently we are in an inferno. Note the weather icon for today. I've not seen that one before. This might explain why the backyard smells like an ashtray.

It just occurred to me that our children have no idea what an ashtray smells like. This is because they have no idea what an ashtray is.

Me: "The air smells like an ashtray."

Them: "What's an ashtray?"

Like watermelon seeds, another commonplace thing from my childhood that is foreign to theirs. In this case, a good thing.

Orange sky at night.

Last night's sky about 45 minutes before sunset. The haze and orange sun are due to smoke from distant forest fires, such as the one documented by the intrepid Susannah. I couldn't capture the true colour of the sun. It was blazing, traffic cone red-orange.

Under a smoky sky.

Sunbathing crow.

Today was cloudless, but the sky was opalescent grey rather than blue. High altitude smoke from the many fires in the interior of British Columbia has drifted to the southern BC coast and Puget Sound. Nevertheless, the light remained strong enough for sunbathing.

Rain gauge dusty.

During the month of July, the total amount of precipitation measured at Vancouver Airport was 0.6mm, which resulted from two long-forgotten events, on the 1st and 3rd days of the month. The average total for July is 39 mm, which isn't a heck of a lot, but still is significant. So now we are at 4 weeks without rain, with no end to the dry spell in sight.

For the third time in seven years, the trails in several wooded parks have been closed. A single cigarette could make many acres go "woof." Also closed is the Shell Road bike trail, which I think may be a bit much. The surfaces are compacted gravel rather than bark mulch, and cyclists tend not to smoke, at least while they're biking. Well, that's not entirely true. There's Puff-Puff, an old guy I regularly see, always with a smoke hanging from his lip as he pedals along at about half a mile an hour. I've only seen him on suburban streets, not on the trail , but perhaps he rides there too.

In any case, as you can see from the photo above, our city is rife with scofflaws. More of a guideline than a rule, ya know.