i’ve got your embers right here
“it is the color of baby poo outside”, originally uploaded by hambox
The photo above depicts my pal Violet at my home this past Sunday around 2pm. If you stare at the picture till your eyes ache, it’s a fair representation of what the day felt like. Also imagine hot hurricaney winds whipping ash and dirt into every crevice of your soul. And a pervasive smell of Very Bad Campfire.
The heinous hot dry maddening Santa Ana winds started blowing that morning (knocking fronds into my window and knickknacks to the floor). Within an hour or two the apolocalyptic vibe was complete, what with five separate fires raging all over the SoCal expanse.
At this point (knock charred wood) there are no fires too near me, my place of work, my route to work, or my loved ones. Ventura County to the north is starting to get bad, but, as long as the wind doesn’t blow the wrong way, we won’t get this poo-colored cotton covering all over everything.
I honestly don’t remember SoCal being so damn fiery last time I lived down here.
Oh my…! Thinking about you guys, crossing fingers. If it helps, I’ll go out and blow into the air, hoping for the butterfly chaos-effect to keep the direction of the wind away from you all!
Oi vey! My Morman in-laws are stuck in them thar fires. So far their houses still stand but they said the air is
barely breatheable! Stay safe my sweet friend! Run away to the North and find respite and
respiration!
The hot winds have unfortunately become known as Santa Ana winds by the popular usage. I have been on a crusade to harken back to the original term Santana winds, aka devil-winds.
There are also claims that the original form is Santana winds, from the Spanish vientos de Satán (“winds of Satan”, Sanatanas being a rarer form of Satanás), and that this in turn is a translation of a native name in some unspecified language.
This fact, and the fact that you can use an asprin topically to destroy a wart are my burden.
come visit us in san francisco and have an evacuation vacation! it’s sunny, the air is clear and clean, the cocktails are fresh and strong, the couch is super comfy and there’s a preschooler who loves attention 🙂