Nuts!

Hazelnuts to be exact, and I live under the tree they grow on.  This is nut season and the squirrels and jays are having a field day harvesting their little hearts out.  I love to watch the process -- there's nothing cuter than a squirrel who thinks he's in nut heaven.  Of course, they discard the shells which fall like rain and then they crunch when you walk on them.  Not a bad sound, really.  Kind of reminds me of walking through piles of leaves when I was a kid.

Our beautiful Pacific Northwest sunsets have been on hold for several days now.  As a matter of fact, the sun is reduced to a mildly orange orb obscured by haze and smoke.  There are so many wildfires in Canada that the smoke has drifted south into Washington and for the past few days has been quite noticeable.  I hate the thought of wildfires and the damage they do.  I can only imagine  how frightening it must be to have one closing in on your home or territory, and then the thought of all the animals being displaced and injured really makes me sad.  Apparently there are a lot of fires across Canada right now.  We've heard numbers as high as 600 separate fires.  I hope that's inaccurate.