As you know, there's been some massive fires in the nearby mountain range. You must have heard about it. Unless you live in a cave. Except if that cave is on the burning mountain, in which case, the prior "cave" reference is negated. In any event, there's hills-a-burnin' in the vicinity. So this morning, as I walked out with the kids for our weekly "bringing in the trash-cans" parade, the strong smell of dense smoke filled air filled my nose, and the sky was startlingly and surrealistically gray. It was an eerie vision, while the smell was oddly comforting and reminiscent of a fireplace on a winter's dawn.
I drove up highway 280 last night to meet up with my good friend Tom, who was up from Santa Monica on some business. We had a great time catching up over a couple of beers, and while driving home at about 11.30pm, through the dark rolling hills between there and the Santa Clara valley, I caught sight of a spectacular "Harvest Moon". You know how the moon typically looks like a distant penny, while there's occasions it'll appear as a massive planet almost within reach? Well, the latter was the case last night and the moon itself was a stunning yellow hue, unlike anything I've seen before. As I thought through the possible causes for the "moon illusion" I was observing, I wondered about the unique yellow color, and if it was due to the fires and the smoke in the air.
This was one of those moments that you wish you had a camera, but my iPhone did not suffice.
