A Wind Chilling 67 This Last Saturday Of August In Texas

As you can see, sitting out on the patio with me, it is dark, very dark. Up this last Saturday of August way before the anticipated arrival of the sun.

67 at this point in time this morning. No Heat Index, even though the Humidity is at 68%. This morning, according to WeatherBug, we have a Wind Chill going on.

An Air Pollution Alert or Warning or Whatever it is called, was issued yesterday.

Yesterday morning, when I opened my windows, I thought the air smelled like bleach. This morning it is bleach-free, but something is causing an eye stinging nuisance.

Yesterday when I left Oakland Lake Park, heading towards Town Talk, heading north on Oakland Boulevard, as I crossed Interstate 30 I saw that the Barnett Shale drill pad, slightly north of the freeway, was being fracked, with a lot of trucks waiting to waste water in to the hole.

The drill pad site is surrounded by a tall wall, so you can't see what is going on in there. But, a strange haze of misty particulates was wafting airborne. Was it diesel exhaust from a truck? If so, why was nothing blowing airborne from all the water trucks outside the wall?

One of the things I like when I return to the Pacific Northwest is how good the air smells. I remember in July of 2001, when I drove solo back to Washington for my mom and dad's 50th, as I crossed Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 to Western Washington, past the summit the air began to smell like Christmas trees. That sensation continued for about a week, and then I no longer noticed it. When I lived in Washington I never noticed how good it smells.

The only thing I ever smell in Texas that smells good is the smoke wafting from a Texas barbecue. I will forever associate that good fragrance with Texas. That and the stench of oil.