White flakes of ash litter the ground. A fine film of black dust/dirt covers surfaces near all cracked windows. The moon appeared orange last night, like a pumpkin.
The air is very dry. Shirts and bed-sheets have that fresh-out-of-the-dryer crispness. The shower is bone-dry 10 minutes after stepping out.
I soaked a few towels last night and hung them up, to add some moisture to the air. The winds have died down today, but raged last 2 days, knocking down a section of fence here Sunday night.
••• today's entry continues below •••
The Dog called (from NYC) this morning » "I'm calling to see if your @ss is on fire."
He says he was just down in Atlanta last week, visiting his sister there, where they have a drought so severe they might have to begin trucking-in bottled water soon.
People are reporting their neighbors for mis-using water. "I saw the Johnsons watering their lawn at midnight." .. leading to arguments and fights. My buddy Jeffrey said:
The drought is a MAJOR issue here. Durham has water for 60 days, Raleigh 75. People are diming out their neighbors left-n-right over misuse. I'm lucky to live out in the country, where I have a spring-fed well (300 ft deep). I won't run out any time soon. But I don't water anything or waste. My yard looks as brown as my shoes.