When the Forest Seemed Out of Sorts

When the Forest Seemed Out of Sorts

August 6, 2026  |  By Chris Noah

Today we might be forgiven for thinking southern California has migrated about two thousand miles eastward. Looking out my dining room window, the sky resembles chalk dust that picked up a tiny bit of blue coloring somewhere along the way. “It looks just like the skies I grew up with!” proclaims my husband, who spent his formative years in Pomona. If we were to drive east on SR725 right now we would look left and see Dayton spread out under a classic inversion layer of dirty brown.

But this one cannot be blamed on California, no matter how hard we try. And no brisk off-shore wind is going to rescue us. Somewhere up in Canada, thousands of acres of timber are burning, generating an awful lot of smoke. The jet stream, ever attentive to such events, is now treating us to a monumental dump.

Even the forest seemed out of sorts this morning. Yesterday we had walked in the usual glorious, near-operatic hyperbole of a summer morning in the woods. Everything is wonderful! cries the forest. The birds are singing their territorial and mating songs, the flowers are cycling in and out according to their own schedules, people smile and exchange greetings. It's a good day.

What will make today good? Well, there is a thunderstorm on tap. That would certainly shift the energies if it happens. We have been in the woods, watching as the storm comes. There comes a massive cloud with its dark underbelly. A wind whips ahead of it, chasing away the doldrums heat-saturated air. The temperature plummets, and you notice goosebumps erupting on your bare arms. A curtain of rain moves with relentless force, edging onto the river, moving across. It's too fast to outrun. The only shelter is the trees. Even with sixty feet of overlapping leaves over your head, you will be drenched. As you deal with the consequences of leaving umbrellas in the car, the rain curtain moves on. About now, you try to remember if you actually did bring the towel. This time.