There are no close active fires, but the current weather conditions have allowed smoke to drift into the Flathead Valley and stay here. Farmer/Ranchers are working long days to get in wheat and hay: combines have been visibile in 2’s and 3’s working large acreage. I think they are close to being done. The combines add dust to the stagnant, smoky air.

After a fairly mild summer, late August and early September decided to show a bit of heat…and dry…and crisp. Good for the wheat and hay gathering, but always a bit scary for fires.

The good news about the smoke and dust is that it has kept the valley heat from getting as hot as originally forecast. Nights have been cool in the 40’s. This time of year it takes all day to heat up and it cools quickly in the early evening so it is a more manageable heat than June and July.

Still…smoke, dust, unusual September heat…there is no where I’d rather be than my house on the road home.

And just a little note…it was a VERY good work week, a VERY good week with Bear off leash AND an ok week for Bob whose blood glucose we are having a wee bit of trouble getting in line…he is fine, the numbers are just wacky which means a glucose curve – RATS!

Still hazy today (Sunday) with the clouds bringing the humidity up to a whopping 47%…

But this scene – the fresh field, the barn, the snow covered mountains: this is Montana.

Last night…

It does this sometimes in the Spring and Fall. As the sun is setting, there is some combination of clouds and ??? that seem to bend those last rays to light the tree tops in my woods and in the valley beyond.

I watch, amazed. I turn toward the West and can see through the woods that the sun is low, but the light hits the valley tree tops, not the mountains. Sometimes, it creeps up the mountain to be alpenglow, but last evening, it turned the valley gold and then just faded away.

Evening light: Valley gold.