28 JUNE—The already-epochal heat wave of 2021 peaks in the Pacific Northwest over the course of today and tomorrow with temperatures predicted to moderate later in the week—but that is a very relative term these days. There is nothing moderate—let alone normal—about the mid to high 80s in the once temperate city of Seattle, where I will be housesitting later in the summer. God willing and the heat wave doesn’t return.
I have friends hunkered down in the village of Stehekin, on the north shore of Lake Chelan, where it will hit 109 today, peak at 112 tomorrow, and on Wednesday drop again to 109. I am sure they will appreciate the 101-degree-days coming later in the week, but only by comparison with the fires of hell.
Moderation is the word to take note of—a thought to take hold of—in a world tipping into catastrophic environmental collapse. Indeed, there is a reason temperance has long been considered a virtue. I am working on a much longer piece that takes up the themes glossed in this brief missive—if I prove to have the heart for it. But my brain is somewhat addled by the heat and I cannot think clearly. I hope that wherever you are, you are well and safe.
I am ever more mindful of the imperative to love the world.
Hunkered down but surviving with pastries from our bakery!! ❤️