After a summer of almost no wildfire smoke—a welcome reprieve after a number of bad ones—a fire way too close to neighboring Sisters and just 20 miles from Bend, coupled with another one 100 miles to the West, nailed us. If the wind was blowing smoke from the nearby fire away, it was also blowing smoke from the more distant blaze right into town.
Moderate smoke had started a couple of mornings before, intensifying as each day progressed. The smoke levels were acceptable for a dog walk, as long as it wasn’t too long and didn’t involve too much running. On Saturday, however, I woke up, rolled over, checked the smoke quality map, and realized that the air east of town was clean. Time to roll, no hesitation, no delay.
The pups and I got in a three-and-a-quarter-mile walk under blue skies before high temperatures and smoky haze seeped back in. They ran, including one hunting sprint that yielded no prey, I’m happy to say, along with a lot of trotting, a lot of sniffing. Happy to breathe in the sweet air, I did a fair amount of sniffing myself. As a result, our afternoon was relaxed (translation: dog naps for them and couch time watching the U.S. Open tennis for me, with a little play thrown in). A welcome outcome, as every dog owner knows.
We writers need that same do-it mentality. No matter how carefully we plan, life gets in the way and circumstances negatively affect our writing schedule. So, when conditions look good and the opportunities present themselves, we need to take advantage of them and prioritize our writing.
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