Here Comes the Heat

Those of us who have lived here for a long time joke about needing a good natural disaster to clear out some of these tourists and newly-imported residents, but my level of concern about wildfires is starting to ratchet up. I have one of the Spokane news stations in my Twitter feed. (Monitoring the news stations, traffic reports, and weather in Spokane and Seattle is all Twitter is good for, in my opinion.) Last night, the station had footage of a brush fire within the city limits. In fact, the fire was only about a quarter of a mile north of the BMW dealer and close to one of my favorite Indian restaurants. The news report said that another nearby restaurant had to evacuate during the dinner rush when the hillside next to them went up in flames. Spokane is under an excessive heat warning from Friday afternoon until Tuesday, and that heat is headed our way next week. I am seeing forecast highs in the high 90s. This currently-green vegetation will dry out quickly, and all it’s going to take is some idiot dragging chains on the highway or flicking a cigarette out the window and we’ll be off to the races. It’s going to be a long couple of months. Summers are great for road trips, but I am going to be sticking close to home.

We’ve also had more than the usual number of jerks visiting the neighboring state and federal hiking areas. The amount of traffic out here has increased exponentially. I was blasted out of a sound sleep at 3:43 this morning by someone who thought it would be fun to drive by our house while gunning his (very loud) engine. It was so loud that at first, I thought someone had hit a tree in our yard. (That has happened before.) None of these people seem to have mufflers on their vehicles. Our house sits on a straightaway just after a curve. Drivers come around that curve and take off like it’s a NASCAR speedway. Our road is also a popular cycling route, and I worry that it’s only a matter of time before we have an accident out there.

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I am done organizing fabric. My mother shipped me a box of leftovers a few weeks ago—she’s no longer making masks—and all of that has been pressed and added to the stash.

Elysian’s son is doing Kids’ College again this summer. I ran errands yesterday morning and was happy to provide transportation, which also gave me an excuse to take him to lunch afterward. He’s in a math camp class this week. I asked him what they were learning. He said they have learned such marketable life skills as playing War, Rummy, and Go Fish. I wondered if poker was on the syllabus as the teacher seems very laid back. I am providing transportation again later this week, so I’ll find out what else they’ve learned.

[I picked up a booster seat to keep in my car for when I have him or Ali’s little guy with me. WS was very impressed that the booster seat came with cup holders.]

The husband is on a bit of a concrete hiatus this week because the batch plants can’t find enough mixer drivers. (Oh, the oft-heard refrain . . . ). He’s used to being able to call a day ahead and order concrete, but he tried to do that this week and they couldn’t fit him into the schedule. He says it’s very similar to several years ago when all the general laborers left here to go work in the oil fields in North Dakota, except that this labor shortage is courtesy of the federal government paying people to sit on their asses. He and the crew are prepping jobs for next week when they will be able to pour again.

We’re about to be overrun by raspberries. The canes are loaded:

If anyone wants to come harvest and take some home, let me know. These should be ready in another week or two.