Wind Change

We awoke this morning to a strong north wind. Around here that means it’s going to get hot, and, sure enough, it was about twenty degrees warmer than yesterday.

The field in front of our house has been irrigated for the past 36 hours. They have dug deep furrows to allow the water to spread from where they’re pumping it out of the ground right along to the road. I’m not sure what they’re planting this year: possibly sorghum?

There are lots of reasons why irrigating like this is a bad idea in this part of the world but now there’s a new one: West Nile virus. There are puddles of water everywhere, providing the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

But the poppies are blooming bright orange and the kingbirds are nesting…