Smoke in the hay field and an unedited post that rambles about nothing important

I skipped my walk this morning. I kind of feel like crap. My wife thinks it is the smoke. I think it is the sheer volume of things that must be done before September.

The TV says this area currently has the worst air quality in the world. I can smell burning wood all the time. It does not smell like Oregon Powerland, it smells like the baler or stacker is catching on fire. I have had enough fires in my life that I am always just a little on edge.

I have been listening to eatonrapidsjoe's prepandemic book on audible which got me thinking about COVID and working at Linfield University.

During the summer of COVID we had our first big wildfire season. I had to wear a cloth mask while mowing because Linfield was run by idiots. Ten acres and I had to wear a cloth mask. I suggested an N95 which would give actual protections. However, that idea was rejected because the idiots interpreted the CDC call to conserve N95's as a prohibition on N95s.

At the end of the day my cloth mask would be black from smoke. The smoke was so bad that visibility was limited to like one mile. I was told I could double up my cloth masks.

So I found another department head to get me a supply of N95's. It was explained that here was no real safety protocol written for heavy wildfire smoke so no PPE was required and by extension of this, no PPE issued.

The NEXT summer we had training on working on days with heavy smoke from wildfires and we were issued N95 masks when there was a slight haze.

These are the people who train your children...

I need to pull the air filters today and see how black they are

Just counted stacks and I am one block short of a full load. I have heard this before...

 What really irritates me in this smoke is the realization that these fires are the fault of government mismanagement. For the last 40 years I have heard that with the way forests are being managed there were going to be major wildfires. For the last 40 years every timber sale even imagined has been fought in the courts by the crazies. For the last 40 years they have all blathered on about roadless areas and natural cycles and the benefits of wild fire, but the only management done was through regulation and oppression of private landowners.

To add insult to injury, I don't think government run fire services can actually put out fires. I have observed local incidents where not only was the combine lost, the field lost, but there was real danger of houses being lost. All because they set their hoses to stream and not fan. 

I have heard tales from people hauling water and doing contract work for the Forest Service of Fire Bosses shutting down at night and the fire taking off again, of purposely letting the fire go to keep the money and management perks going, of just plain leadership stupidity where people die or get injured.

You always hear the prepper types talking about when society breaks down you will have to fight hordes of city zombies coming after your stuff. This will never happen. The city zombies never get further than city transit. It is the Anthony Fauci types and their accompanying police forces you are going to have to worry about.

They force you to evacuate, burn down your house, make it impossible to rebuild, impose regulation upon regulation, and then raise your taxes.

Its a brave new world... 

And I got to get this pathetic alfalfa harvest over with!

Buy yourself or everyone in your family a sketchbook. 

This is a shameless promotion of my daughter's sketchbook sales attempt